[memb_has_any_tag tagid=Re-engaging]Return to Re-engaging students with Managing Distractions[/memb_has_any_tag][memb_has_any_tag tagid=Engage students in managing distractions,Learning habits in a Nutshell Phase 1 ed. 2,Stepping stones phase 1 ed 4,]Return to How distracted are your students?[/memb_has_any_tag]
In this questionnaire; you will find twelve questions about how your students might react to or deal with Managing Distractions. Look at each question carefully and think about:
- the proportion of your students the statement applies to;
- Don’t worry about the outliers…those who are very different to the statement in one direction or another;
- Concentrate on the average range of students;
- Estimate (roughly) how many of your students the statement describes.
So many more students are able to now deal with distractions within the classroom.
Class has a variety of ages i.e: mixed abilities, EAL, SEN and Behaviour.
Unfortunately quite a few get distracted easily and the main reason they don’t like to be challenged.
Pupils are easily distracted, they engage in the situation that occurs until the class teacher intervenes.
student becomes distracted and does not use strategies to cope with distraction. This can then disrupt the group.
Pupils get distracted easily as the work may not be challenging enough to their abilities.
Students often get distracted easily. Getting themselves back on track is the key.
Getting students to get themslves back on track is the key.
Students who know how to positively manage distractions such as routine disruptions, absences due to illness, etc. are usually the ones that exhibit resilience when facing difficulties and they are also the ones that show greater academic improvements.
Wanting to see students valuing not only learning, but also managing distractions is a key goal of mine. Most of my students are in the lacks phase at the moment. I want to know how to practically help students move from being distracted to being interested and why the latter is a ‘must do’ in school and life
My students need concrete strategies to manage distractions. A lot of them are willing to try but don’t know how.
My students need concrete strategies to manage distractions. A lot of them are willing to try but don’t know how
Many of my students positively manage their disruptions, but it is often the few that do not that cause the ‘loudest’ disruptions. Suggesting, training and supporting them in some key strategies can help them to tap into their resilience and perseverance.
Most students are aware of distractions but lack the motivation to avoid them. Helping place greater importance on their learning over their peers will help them to change their attitude from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’ and has a positive influence on their peers also.
I find students are well aware of distractions. Some choose to to allow distractions to take control, whilst others are willing to take control of the situation, because they understand the importance of engagement and commitment to their own learning.
Resilience and perseverance are key to this and require internal motivation on behalf of the students.
I’m realising there’s a difference between knowing you’re distracted or what triggers you and actually choosing to manage/minimise distractions actively!
Who is Rod Baine…
Some of my students tend to lack ‘impulse control’ or lean towards distraction to become re-energised.
A number of my students are aware of what distracts them. However, they don’t all have the capacity or self-control to refrain from ‘buying’ into those distractions.
It would be great to see more students using their own ways to maintain focus.
Students who are motivated by either a topic of interest, interactive game or a reward/significance manage their distractions better.
Looking forward to skills/techniques to do recognise when to up the stakes or re-direct attention.
Students are well aware of their distractions. It often boils down to their habits in the classroom and their desire to learn/not to learn which determine what they do with these distractions. We also live in a noise-filled world so students are often distracted and overstimulated in general. Focusing is both a science and an art and requires regular practice and consistent training.
I find that students may be aware of distractions but as they deem them “Funner” than what is being done in class they don’t bother to try and avoid the distraction.
It is difficult for 3-4 year olds to be aware of their distractions and to manage them, as for most, it is age appropriate for them to focus only for short periods of time. Some children naturally focus depending on their personality or their desire to please, but many are not even aware they are becoming distracted as they are just engaging in the next thing in front of them. This is a challenge for ELC teachers every day.
Most of my students have made the big leap from being unaware of distraction to being in the know about it. They are still inclined to be distracted but are beginning to understand what distracts them. I am working on helping develop greater awareness of their actions and encourage them to find and try out their own ways of maintaining focus.
I have a small class and most are able to organise themselves. They are become more aware of when they are being distracted or when they are distracting others due to being prompted and reminded to keep focused on the task. We are now working on building strategies to avoid distracting and maintaining focus without prompting.
Some realise but choose not to do anything about it.
Having students in kindergarten we are still working towards managing distractions, knowing when I am distracted and what strategies I can use to overcome them.
Many of my students are away of how people distract them but are not able to manage their own environment and organise themselves to be on task.
For some of my students, the distractions appear more fun (so desirable) than the learning.
I can know that some of my students don’t manage distractions well and a 3-4 employ distractions to avoid doing work and only complete the bear mimimum..
I find that distractions become more of an issue for all students as the day progresses, but some students seem determined to avoid completing work at any time. Distractions seem to decrease when we are completing activities that don’t require a device. Laptops offer the capacity for numerous tabs to be available at any one time and this becomes too much of a temptation for many students.
Judicious use of technology is an important way to manage distractions. We can also set up our learning spaces to help students with this. Inevitable external distractions eg. a siren or car crash outside the classroom window, seem better handled as a brain break and an opportunity for task refocus.
Covid has raised a whole new set of issues. As we are sitting socially distanced on individual tables, there are seemingly fewer distractions and children are not interacting with each other like they used to. We’re trying to put plans in place to ensure children don’t go back to adult dependence.
I find that competitive games (small groups against other small groups) are a good way for most of my students to keep concentration high.
I find my Year 4 students struggle to concentrate when something has upset them in the playground. We need to work through these situations before they can attempt to engage in their lessons.
Small challenges help assist the focus of my students. I’ve noticed that the structure of our classroom also matters to reduce or increase distractions.
Some students are distracted by their devices and the only way to manage that distraction is to physically remove it. It can be difficult to get them focused or interested in the task at hand.
Seating plans seem to help with managing classroom distractions. There are quite a lot of students who know that they are distracted by their friends, but very few who will actively choose for themselves somewhere to sit that will help them avoid that distraction.
A lot of students miss the fact that THEY are the distraction. Calling them on their behaviour can begin to open their understanding of the impact (positive or negative) that they have within the classroom.
I agree Mark! Many of my students are good at noticing when they are being distracted, but not quite so good at noticing when they are doing the distracting. We have been talking about being a good friend and asking ourselves if our actions help our friends to learn, or stop them learning.
My Kindy children are where I expected them to be, considering their age and developmental level. A bug on the window can cause complete lesson breakdown; either through horror or fascination! As in any class, there is still a spectrum of abilities and responses.
I totally agree, Tam! My class is about the same.
Some of my students are very capable of choosing appropriate learning environments for themselves; they will choose to not sit close to a friends if they know they want to concentrate on a task. Other students will still always choose to sit with a friend if they can, regardless of any impact on their ability to concentrate.
Through the use of consistent language and and an ongoing focus on specific learning powers, students are generally becoming more aware of challenges and developing strategies to overcome them.
Being ‘distracted’ can look differently for different students too. It can be hard to tell sometimes when a student is distracted. I have a couple of quiet daydreamers, who are sitting quietly, not distracting anyone else, but are actually obsessively thinking about something totally unrelated to the task at hand.
Some students are deliberately coming in to derail a leasson and distract other students. REspectign the right of others to enage with thier learning would be a good thing.
I have a select few who enjoy distracting others while quite a few a unable to prevent themselves from engaging in distraction with their peers. It also depends on the time of day and how worthwhile they see the task.
I work in an Early Learning Centre and am introducing this concept to young children. It is amazing to see that the children in my class can become aware of managing distractions and there are some that are making choices at group time about who they sit next to and where they are sitting in relation to the book/me/screen, thinking about managing their distractions.
I find many of my students still rely on me as the teacher to manage their distractions.
I find I still need to manage and redirect a lot of my year 5 students
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I think the class room and time of the day can affect student disractions
I find it difficult to get students to value the activity higher than the social kudos they derive from interactions together. I find they often need extrinsic rewards or I need to gee up the value of a task, as they often do not persist without these motivators. They have not yet found the intrinsic value of delving and persisting and managing distractions.
It depends on the cohort and how motivated they are by the learning or upcoming assessments. For example, my College was motivated to study for exams.
Some of my students are fabulous at managing distractions and are very focused learners. However, there are others who may be highly engaged in something completely different, such as reading a book or doing some craft, but6 not be focused on the learning at hand. They are simply somewhere else.
The final question is interesting. We tend to have a culture in the classroom that being distracted is a negative thing. I need to consider how we reset out thinking about this, in order to turn something inevitable into something good.
It can vary quite significantly between different classes and subjects. Many students might be able to get back on track after a distraction but often rely upon teacher encouragement to do so.