Fresh Focus

Focus is key to effective learning.  Keeping it fresh is an art form anyone can master when it is simplified.

Focus is a result of an engaged mind with a clear purpose.  Just as important for the teacher as for the student, focus is the power behind an effective learning process, (i.e. academic productivity).  The clear purpose comes from well articulated objectives for the task at hand that are based on systematic plans for achieving long-range goals.   An engaged mind, however, is less predictable.

There are many methods in education, ways to teach and ways to learn.  Each manner of engaging with educational material has a span of efficiency, a time period of interest and salience.  Our brains have natural triggers, filters, adaptations, etc. that can either be the basis for excellent academic hacks, or they can nullify efforts, creating the intellectual sensation of just spinning our wheels and going nowhere.  Building an atmosphere of achievement involves paying attention to personal patterns in productivity, heeding the subtle cues when productivity starts to drop off and rotating engagement factors to keep things fresh and stimulating.  For more information on Patterns in Productivity, click to read my post.

Attention is drawn to anything new, not just for the sake of curiosity, but for the sake of survival.  Our brains are wired to notice anything different, unexpected, moving or standing out.  Any stimuli that remain constant or regularly recurring are even tuned out, in order to have more mental resources at the ready for change or to sense anything novel (with sensory adaptation, we don’t even realize it is happening).  This natural predisposition to give priority to the new or changing is so ingrained in our minds and sensory organs that it is hard to override.   Rather than fight it, we can use it to enhance education and stretch attention spans. 

Adjust engagement factors to keep context fresh and minds stimulated.

Modifying or tweaking even one factor of engagement can give a very different feel to the educational experience, keeping the brain more engaged.  The more engaged a brain is, the more effective it is at encoding new information and expanding connectivity, making information stored in the brain easier to find and use.  Any manner in which the following engagement factors can seem different, unexpected, in motion or standing out, even briefly, will automatically draw attention and engage the mind.

Information

To make information itself more salient (sticking out or noticeable to the brain): rearrange it, include snippets of curiosity, rotate perspectives or circumstances that change up the game, or shift focus to an entirely new subject.  

Activity

The manner of exploring and using information can be changed up by alternating between complementary exercises: listen then articulate, study then create, consider then question, deconstruct then redesign, observe then demonstrate, calculate then stylize, experiment then analyze, etc.  Diversifying activities also allows for more individuality to be expressed, developed and connected to studies, further enhancing cognitive encoding.

Challenge

Keep the degree of challenge engaging by stepping up the complexity, quality or competition, shortening time frames or upping quotas.  Establish a few different levels of intensity to systematically climb and break through limitations.  Then drop the expectations to a more relaxed level for a while to clear any stress and prepare for a new set, like a runner in speed training.

Attention spans and interests heavily influence personal productivity patterns.  Though they vary by age and from person to person, attention spans can become more flexible as they are stretched and exercised.  Incorporating personal interests and brief on-topic conversations into studies can significantly increase attention spans, especially for those with ADHD. When using the zoom-in/out rounds mentioned in Patterns in Productivity, adapting the time frames to slowly stretch attention spans or trim back less productive edges can make the overall educational experience more successful.  

Being sensitive or alert to the subtle cues that the brain is not as engaged is elemental in not losing time on ineffective busy work. Wandering eyes, delayed answers, fidgeting, doodling, off-topic questions, etc. are classic signs.  Eliminating distractions is always a first step, followed by intentional re-engagement.  As soon as attention starts lapsing or productivity starts sinking, try a new angle by switching out some info, changing the activity or adjusting the degree of challenge.

"Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus." -Alexander Graham Bell

Planning is still critical to success, especially with homeschooling.   Adjustments need only be minor.  Changing things up too often or task switching during high productivity can create lag due to an initial reconfiguration of mental resources and the new task-set inertia building.  The stability of a plan actually makes impromptu creative solutions easier for teacher and student, grounding any flashy tactics in larger, more important objectives and keeping things on track once students are engaged and active.

A few other tactics for making educational material more dynamic, and hence easier to focus on, can be found in my posts Serious Play and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Focus is the only force that propels ambition into reality.  By making minor adjustments to engagement factors, accents are created like a subtle iridescent finish on studies to catch the eye.  Using the natural reactions of the brain to notice and adapt to fluctuations, education becomes more dynamic, fresh and engaging as information is spiced up, activities are alternated or the degree of challenge shifts.  The end result is more focus on the educational material and more effective learning overall

-S. E. Bocker

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