Educational Neuroscience

What?
I chose to research Willy Wood's perspective on attention. Willy is currently researching the impact distraction has on teenagers. He is researching the different types of attention and what can help students stay focused. He is observing teachers in a normal classroom and taking notes of what impacts distractions and what keeps the students attention.

So What?
Attention is one of the key factors in education. Willy Wood states the role of attention and learning is attention is considered to be the gate keeper. It is the starting point which later leads the student into the processing stage. In order for children to learn in the classroom, they have to first pay attention to what is being taught. Wood also states, better attention equals better learning. Wood states we as teachers need to be the managers of the flow of attention. We need to give away information and in return get it back. Wood mentions three types of attention, arousal, stimulus driven, and control. Each of these types of attentions will affect education and the learning process.

Now What?
I really enjoyed listening to Wood's presentation on attention. He gave a lot of valuable information to help attract my students to learning. A key point I liked was the fact we don't learn while teachers are talking or reading. The attention should not always be on the teacher. We as teachers need to give our students more time to process and less time on input. Teachers give too much direction at one time. Another tool he suggested was using novelties. He said they need to be balanced with routines. The last tool I would use in my future classroom is the affect music has in the classroom. He said music can be good if used in the right way. If playing music during class, look at the situation and make sure the beat is at the right pace as well as the volume. I really enjoyed his presentation and took great notes on what to do in my classroom to get my students attention.