Attention, Please!

Shahrukh Khan's famous line, "Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai," highlights the importance of attention span in learning. Teachers must focus on the effective domain and the psychomotor domain to develop social and ethical life skills.

Any Shahrukh Khan fan will recall this well-known line: Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai. Why shouldn’t they?

"Attention, please!" is a statement heard frequently among kids throughout the school. Similarly, "concentrate" is a phrase that parents across cultures frequently use to encourage their children to pay attention during the learning process.

In classrooms, at home, and in self-learning, attention span is a challenge. However, television, media, movies, and commercials have mastered the skill of attracting the attention of people of all ages.

Early learners were not much different from today's students. Globally, today’s learners have access to visuals, while previous generations of students had just auditory. Previously, learning was primarily through listening; however, it is now heavily affected by visuals. The impact is readily available, whether in the form of a short video or a lengthy lecture video.

As?traditional?teachers?continue?to?impart?education?in?schools,?schools?are?struggling?to adapt to the visual needs of all classes. This could be one of the reasons why children’s attention spans are so short.

Cinema, television, social media, and other forms of entertainment have grown in popularity because they are entertaining, motivating, and meet cognitive requirements. Before the release of a film, a series of methods, such as posters, teasers, trailers, songs, interviews, and so on, are used to maintain the interest of people of all ages. Second, the quality of visuals and audio in movies can keep spectators’ interest.

In theory, an 8-year-old child's attention span is 8 years plus 5-7 minutes, implying that their attention span during the teaching-learning process is approximately 13–15 minutes. Educators ought to examine this element in order to devise techniques for boosting children’s attention span.

In this approach, three things are synchronised: vision (for example, the enticing colours used in movies), the two sensory organs—the ears and eyes—which supply inputs to our minds, and the interest and motivation components of a particular cinema. Such strategies frequently lag behind in education, but when combined, they have the potential to enhance attention spans beyond the boundaries of psychological theories.

Schools require not only well-qualified teachers but also teachers who have completed full-time B.Ed. programmes in order for such strategies to be successful.

Classrooms are about more than just imparting knowledge; they are also about dealing with, addressing, and engaging students in the teaching-learning process. Teachers’ roles in education have evolved to include a variety of functions such as facilitators, performers, demonstrations, and so on. To have an impact on attention span scaling, teachers must use digital technologies.

One alternative counterargument is to relate cognitive learning to watching films when there are no assessments or expectations from parents, society, or peers. Several boards or systems may have different assessments and expectations, according to some points of view. Some countries have few or no elementary assessments. However, one of the key goals is for children to acquire age-appropriate material.

Assessments?should?not?be?the?main?motivator?for?learning,?nor?should?they?be?thesole?driver?of learning. To develop social and ethical life skills, teachers must focus on the effective domain and the psychomotor domain.

Educators must recognise that evaluations and expectations are not the only elements influencing attention spans; there may be influences beyond the classroom's control. A viable assessment strategy could entail students being unaware that their teachers are routinely assessing them on numerous aspects via activities and observations.

Finally, it comes down to implementing measures to improve school conditions so that children may learn and live happy lives. And keep in mind that any remarkable teacher will make studying unforgettable, exactly like Shahrukh Khan fans: Mere Chhaatr Seekhana Abhi Baki Hai.

Summary:

Shahrukh Khan's famous line, "Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai," highlights the importance of attention span in learning. Teachers must focus on the effective domain and the psychomotor domain to develop social and ethical life skills. Traditional teachers struggle to adapt to the visual needs of all classes, leading to short attention spans. To boost children's attention span, educators should examine the elements of vision, sensory organs, and interest and motivation components of cinema.

To have an impact on attention span scaling, teachers must use digital technologies and be well-qualified. Schools must also address and engage students in the teaching-learning process, using digital technologies to impact attention span scaling. Assessments should not be the sole driver for learning, and teachers should recognize that evaluations and expectations are not the only elements influencing attention spans. Implementing measures to improve school conditions and creating memorable learning experiences can help children learn and live happy lives.

The article is based on a conversation with Mr. M. Marimuthu, principal of Vaasavi International School, Puducherry.

Santosh Avvannavar , CEO at QtSTEAM and Mentor at QtPi Robotics

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