switching your attention between two different tasks. WHATS’ IN THIS JOB AID: ATTENTION ISSUES o What is attention? Owing to the wide presence of numerous o Various natures of attention. distractions present in the modern world, it is o Issues related to Learning. quite challenging to maintain sustained o Effects of Learning. attention. Attention thus begins to waver. However, research indicates that attention WHAT IS ATTENTION? spans themselves are not shortening. Attention is a mental faculty which enables us Selective and alternating attention is to selectively absorb a selective amount of something used quite frequently. This isn’t as information from the environment. This serves much a cause of concern. The frequent use of to protect our minds from being overburdened divided attention, however, is concerning. It with processing too much information. The can only be used effectively when one of the human mind has a limited capacity to process two tasks is something which may be done in a a given amount of information, at a particular state of autonomous cognition, such as time. The environment, however, has walking and talking, where walking requires no seemingly limitless capacity to bombard us active thought. with information. Attention serves as a filter Where the need for deliberate attention is to here, taking in what is contextually important, be found in both tasks, our mind cannot at the expense of that which is irrelevant. Only multitask. We are really just alternating that information which passes through this attention at a rapid pace, which is quite filter proceeds to be processed. This essentially counterintuitive as it decreases productivity makes attention the first step in the thinking for both tasks. process. The most crucial function executed by ISSUES RELATED TO LEARNING Attention is that it gauges the environment for Often, in a misguided effort, we pursue gaining variations, thus allowing us to rapidly respond and retaining attention as our primary to environmental threats. Attention relies on objective. A better approach, however, is to past memories and knowledge to determine understand the limitations of our attentive which inputs are important, and which ones capacities and mould our plans accordingly. can be ignored. Developing instructions with more meaningful, deep-rooted strategies encourages people to Forms of Attention remain invested. The are four main types of attention: In the process of learning, attention is only the 1. Sustained Attention: When you’re first step. Our primary focus should rather be attentive towards a task for an on the subsequent outcomes such as extended period. comprehension, retention, and application. 2. Selective Attention: Choosing to be Developing strategies around the limitations of attentive towards one input while attention and retention can have the following many other distractions are present in effects (as shown by research) on learning, and your environment. its implementation in the work environment: 3. Divided Attention: Like multitasking, *Words in parentheses are science of learning terms. your focus is split between two inputs 1. Develop plans while accounting for simultaneously. attention fluctuation. 2. Grab attention by making stories relevant. (Gagné, step one: gain Dempster, F.N. 1988. “The Spacing Effect: A attention) Case Study in the Failure to Apply the Results 3. Avoid overburdening working memory of Psychological Research.” American (cognitive load). Psychologist 43(8): 627‐634. 4. Ensure that your writing is to the point https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a59f/da0ea and intelligible. ecfa15a51c672a9ee6fc0ec4d526fae.pdf. 5. Minimize distraction such as with non- essential imagery. Gagné, R. 1985. The Conditions of Learning, 6. Make people’s learnings meaningful 4th edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart & for them. Winston. 7. Form a relation between people’s learnings and their existing Pashler, H. 1998. The Psychology of Attention. knowledge. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. 8. Link people’s learnings to their work, as well as their personal lives. PolicyViz. 2016. “The Attention Span Statistic 9. Use advance organizers. Fallacy.” PolicyViz, January 29. 10. Encourage people to reiterate https://policyviz.com/2016/01/29/the ‐ concepts in their own words (self- attention‐span‐statistic‐fallacy. explanations). 11. Expose your audience to thought- Roediger, H.L., and A.C. Butler. 2011. “The provoking questions about the Critical Role of Retrieval Practice in Long‐ Term content shown (generative Retention.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 15(1): processing). 20‐27. 12. Make people absorb and practice http://psych.wustl.edu/memory/Roddy%20ar learnings in smaller segments rather ticle%20PDF's/Roediger%20&%20Butler%20% than all at once (spaced learning, 282011%29_TCS.pdf. retrieval practice). 13. Encourage people to use their Shank, P. 2017. Write and Organize for Deeper learnings from training sessions in a Learning. practical manner. www.pattishank.com/make ‐it‐learnable‐ 14. Frequently quiz people to foster better series. attention and retention (testing effect). Szpunar, K.K., S.T. Moulton, and D.L. Schacter. 15. Evaluate people’s understandings to 2013. “Mind Wandering and Education: From ensure that nothing has been the Classroom to Online Learning.” Frontiers in misinterpreted. Psychology 4: 495. 16. Rely only on proven methods, and not www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC373 trends. 0052.
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Chun, M.M., J.D. Golomb, and N.B. Turk‐
Browne. 2011. “A Taxonomy of External and Internal Attention.” The Annual Review of Psychology 62: 73‐101. www.iapsych.com/articles/chun2011.pdf.
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