Distracted: Why Students Can't Focus and What You Can Do About It

by James M. Lang

Overview

Keeping students focused can be difficult in a world filled with distractions—which is why a renowned educator created a scientific solution to one of every teacher's biggest problems.

Why is it so hard to get students to pay attention? Conventional wisdom blames iPhones, insisting that access to technology has ruined students' ability to focus. The logical response is to ban electronics in class.

But acclaimed educator James M. Lang argues that this solution obscures a deeper problem: how we teach is often at odds with how students learn. Classrooms are designed to force students into long periods of intense focus, but emerging science reveals that the brain is wired for distraction. We learn best when able to actively seek and synthesize new information.

In Distracted, Lang rethinks the practice of teaching, revealing how educators can structure their classrooms less as distraction-free zones and more as environments where they can actively cultivate their students' attention.

Brimming with ideas and grounded in new research, Distracted offers an innovative plan for the most important lesson of all: how to learn.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541699809
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	10/20/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	255,088
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

James M. Lang is an education writer and a former professor of English and director of the D'Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University. He is the author of three previous books on higher education teaching and learning: Small Teaching, Cheating Lessons, and On Course. He is also a longtime monthly columnist for the Chronicle of Higher Education. He lives in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Introduction From Distraction to Attention 1

Part 1 Theories of Distraction

1 A Brief History of Distraction 25

2 Distracted in the Classroom 41

3 The Tech Ban Debate 60

Part 2 Practices of Attention

4 Communities of Attention 95

5 Curious Attention 124

6 Structured Attention 145

7 Signature Attention Activities 174

8 Assessed Attention 196

9 Mindful Attention 218

Conclusion The Classroom as Attention Retreat 239

Acknowledgments 245

Appendix 247

Notes 251

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/17/2020

Lang (Small Teaching), an English professor at Assumption University, delivers an optimistic and useful guide to cultivating student attention. Soothing concerns that digital device dependency is degrading American classrooms, Lang contends that although the human brain has evolved to continually seek out novelty, teachers can harness this urge to get students to do the “hard cognitive work” of acquiring new knowledge. He tracks “anxiety about distraction” from ancient Greece to 17th-century London coffeehouses and the rise of video games in the 1980s, and debunks claims that the internet has permanently diminished human attention spans. Still, Lang acknowledges, “the people and devices who seek our attention have become better at soliciting it from us.” His suggestions for dealing with the proliferation of distractions in the classroom include “context-specific” policies regarding smartphone usage rather than outright bans and employing “signature attention activities” (such as prompting students to write about how the course material connects to their personal lives) in order to restore and renew focus. Lang’s lucid prose and dry wit make for a pleasant reading experience, and his evidence is consistently on-point. Teachers and parents teaching at home will find inspiration and insight in this sterling study of “the crucial connection between attention and learning.” (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"An optimistic and useful guide to cultivating student attention.... Lang's lucid prose and dry wit make for a pleasant reading experience, and his evidence is consistently on-point. Teachers and parents teaching at home will find inspiration and insight in this sterling study of 'the crucial connection between attention and learning.'"—Publishers Weekly

"A lucid discussion of attention and how to persuade students to pay it."—Kirkus

Every educator, from kindergarten teachers to graduate and undergraduate school teachers, struggles with reducing distraction in the classroom. Lang tackles this problem by offering strategies for students and constructive approaches and tools to encourage attentive behavior.—Library Journal

"Distracted proves once and for all that the question we face today is not 'How do we make students stop looking at their phones during class?' but rather 'How can we help students find meaning during class?' Packed with specific, easy-to-implement pedagogical strategies for seizing and maintaining students' academic attention, Distracted is an eminently practical guide for increasing authentic student learning in any subject. It will transform the way we think about teaching and learning in higher education."—Jessamyn Neuhaus, SUNY Plattsburgh

"This book will change how you think about education. Distracted takes us on a phenomenal ride into a much misunderstood aspect of human learning and finally into the refreshing light that science, literature, philosophy, and history bring. Anyone who cares about learning—their own or anyone else's—should take this journey."—Ken Bain, author of What the Best College Teachers Do

"Lang's books have held a place of honor in my library of parenting and education books, and Distracted will, too. It is a delightful mash-up of the research and history on attention and learning. I adore this book and will be recommending it to parents and teachers."—Jessica Lahey, author of The Gift of Failure

"Attention is a finite and precious resource we are always in danger of squandering. Distracted will help teachers and students use it to nourish mind and soul."—Ian Leslie, author of Curious

"Distracted is a must-read for every classroom teacher. Lang makes a compelling argument that 'attention is an achievement' and that we should be cultivating 'attention renewal' rather than preventing distractions. He presents practical classroom activities for fostering curiosity and community—with the research to back them up. Candid insights on effective laptop policies, inviting students into the conversation, and the role of assessments make Distracted an invaluable resource that will change how you—and your students—think about learning."—Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D., cognitive scientist and author of Powerful Teaching

"In order for learning to happen, we need our students to be fully present in the classroom—and we need to be fully present for them as well. This book tells us why we must actively cultivate our students' ability to focus, weaving together compelling and unexpected approaches for addressing the age-old problem of distracted students."—Michelle D. Miller, Northern Arizona University

"Attention is an essential part of the learning process. Yet, to those who teach, attention can feel elusive and fleeting. In Distracted, James Lang helps us navigate the challenges presented by technologies that bring both a world of information, and the potential for endless distractions, to students' fingertips. Lang encourages us to rethink our attempts to ban anything that may distract learners, and instead, to focus on practices that gain attention."—Bonni Stachowiak, Teaching in Higher Ed

From the Publisher

10/01/2020

Lang (English, Assumption Univ., MA; Small Teaching) combines theoretical analysis with practical tips on how to cultivate attention in the classroom. Basing his text on the premise that learning occurs in three steps—attending to a new concept, processing it, and being able to retrieve it—Lang demonstrates the interdependence of all three. Recent research sees digital devices as a major distraction for students. To create a balanced and blended learning environment, Lang says that students and teachers should work together on technology policies and goals. He supports his ideas by referring to the theories of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow and Edward Deci's work on self-determination, as well as others. He also provides real-world examples, including his own experiences and that of his colleagues and of his wife, Anne, a kindergarten teacher. Each chapter concludes with a "quick take," or ideas that teachers can apply. Lang wraps up the book by proposing that classrooms become "retreat spaces" from distraction, places that build communities to support and encourage attention and learning. VERDICT Every educator, from kindergarten teachers to graduate and undergraduate school teachers, struggles with reducing distraction in the classroom. Lang tackles this problem by offering strategies for students and constructive approaches and tools to encourage attentive behavior.—Jacqueline Snider, Toronto

Library Journal

2020-08-18
A lucid discussion of attention and how to persuade students to pay it.

A professor of English and director of the D'Amour Center for Teaching Excellence at Assumption University, Lang is addressing teachers, but he delivers advice with universal applications. Though modern technology usually receives the blame for restless, distracted students, it’s a problem as old as history. Socrates considered writing a malignant invention, a crutch that destroyed the ability to remember. “The telegraph, the radio, the television, the computer…brought with them critics who argued that they were destroying our attention spans,” writes the author, “turning us into distractible creatures who could no longer focus on our work, our prayers, our study, or one another.” Lang quickly shoots down the idea that modern students can effectively multitask. They can’t, except when one task is trivial, such as folding clothes while watching TV. Studies show that people who believe they are multitasking are actually switching back and forth between two tasks. You can’t text and drive; you either text or drive. Even when not life-threatening, the result is inefficient. Research has demonstrated that it leads to lower grades, including for students sitting near the multitasker. No Luddite, Lang advises against banning devices in favor of limiting their role, and he devotes an appendix to his personal “device policy.” He urges teachers to “make a fundamental shift in our thinking: away from preventing distraction and toward cultivating attention.” Humans are relentlessly curious, so a teacher who follows this approach has a decent chance of pulling student attention away from Instagram. We are built to pay attention to others, and a successful classroom is a community. The author shares many educational thinkers’ low opinion of grading, but he insists on some form of assessment, an irresistible strategy that focuses a student’s attention.

Although aimed at educators, the book offers good lessons in psychology for the average reader.

Kirkus Reviews