It was a pleasure and a privilege to appear on first ever The Science of Learning in Action Podcast where we discussed: Mastering Attention in the Classroom When It Really Matters.

You can listen to the podcast here.

Here are the notes that I wrote in preparation for the episode with some additional material and suggestions for further reading.

1. Because only what students pay attention to enters working memory, how do you make sure they focus on what matters most?

• Establish norms and routines from Day 1. For example, make sure there is something to do on the desk from the minute they walk in. Make paying attention the expectation by teaching about the model of memory at the start of the year.
• Frequent use of miniwhiteboards. Nothing arrests their attention like having to respond on a miniwhiteboard question. You instantly have everyone’s attention. Have them on the desk/close by so there’s no downtime getting them out.
• Use animations or videos thoughtfully. I now use them with the whole class so I can pause/tell them what to look at. Then a whiteboard question to check that their mind hasn’t wandered! However this ‘pointing out what they should be looking at’ is universal.
• Establishing pace is key. If they expect time when their minds can wander they will make sure they use it! Frequently bringing them back sustains pace.
• DON’T distract with jokes/cartoons/images or distracting elements, and keep wall displays to a minimum.
• KEY PLANNING POINT: What will they be thinking about? (Not what will they be doing).

References/books to read: Do I Have Your Attention? (2025) Blake Harvard. Summary here.

2. Because working memory is limited, how does this impact how you present new information?

• I’ve moved away from PowerPoint for everything, and now use a document camera extensively. PowerPoint is great for images/ short video clips, and to keep relevant information in view to reduce cognitive load. Seeing things presented in real time is much more accessible than just clicking for the next slide.
• That is particularly important with diagrams; building them up/labelling while talking simultaneously accesses the visual and verbal channels. It makes you do things in very small chunks.
• Use a whiteboard or PowerPoint to keep needed info in view. This reduces the impact on their working memory (WM) so they can focus on new material or the new strategy. Bear in mind their WM is having to do a LOT more work than yours!
• Mini whiteboards give the option of ‘I do, we do, you do’ with everyone involved.
• I now plan my worked examples very carefully. Very simple then getting harder BUT also incorporating non-examples and examples that elicit common misconceptions (of which there are plenty in physics!)
• I keep in mind that on various timescales I’m moving from concrete to abstract, familiar to unfamiliar, and thereby getting them from novice to expert.
• DON’T use worksheets with lots of information/things to do – always chunk it up and do in real time.
• KEY PLANNING POINT: Novices are NOT little experts.

References/books to read: Cognitive Load Theory In Action (2020) Oliver Lovell or A Little Guide to Cognitive Load Theory (2023) Greg Ashman. Summaries here.

3. Because learning strongly encodes in long term memory when students make meaning of it, how do you help them connect new ideas to what they already know?

• Start with retrieval about areas they’ve studied that link to the new material.
• Help them access what they personally know (which will be different for each individual) through, for example, retrieval practice, or a ‘brain dump’. Images work well: a group of images to find similarities/differences.
• Exemplification is essential – show your mind map. Use brain dumps to take ideas from each student and organize them in a concept map on the board. E.g. brain dump ‘waves’, I put them into 3 lists on the board and they have to work out the headings (mechanical, electromagnetic, other).
• Stories are privileged in terms of learning and the brain. The story of Ampere noticing a compass moving when he turned the current on a wire on, Newton wrote more about alchemy than he did about gravity, but we have to take care with extraneous cognitive load.
• Zoom out/zoom in – why are we learning what we are learning? It’s essential to keep locating the content in the bigger picture. You might want a ‘Map of the terrain’ on the (back) wall.
• DON’T assume they’ll make connections, so don’t teach one lesson separately to the whole… help them develop schema/cognitive architecture by being explicit.
• KEY PLANNING POINT: How does what they are doing today link to what they did yesterday/will do tomorrow?

References/books to read: Cognitive Apprenticeship (2021) John Tomsett, or Strengthening the Student Toolbox – Dunlosky (2022) Amarbeer Singh Gill, or Meaningful Learning (2023) Sarah Cottinghatt Summaries here.

4. Because retrieval strengthens memory, how do you decide what to have students recall—and when?

• In class – retrieval practice always contains ‘last lesson, last week, a while ago’. It is always fully correctable 100% credit, and I always give time in lessons for them to correct it. The questions on a given topic start easy/recall/straightforward/familiar, and over time become harder/applications/complex e.g. several related parts/unfamiliar contexts. This progression is key.
• It is the same idea for homework scaffolded, easy/recent, medium/medium, long time/harder with (most of the time) the answers so they can check. It’s SLOP – Shed Loads Of Practice.
• Starting the year by teaching them the language of metacognition: RP/Working Memory/Long Term Memory really helps. Students asking for SLOP on what they are about to forget!
• DON’T think one exposure will result in learning.
• KEY PLANNING POINT: Graham Nuthall’s research indicated that they need to interact with material at least 3 times before they ‘know/understand’ it enough to apply it. Teach them the ‘Rule of 3’ – it’s really sticky AND it reassures them that it’s ok not to get it first time!

References/books to read: Hidden Lives of Learners (2025) Bennie Kara, or Five Formative Assessment Strategies (2021) Kate Jones. Summaries here.

And that’s it! Thanks again to Brett Benson and Laura Stam for the excellent questions, and masterful hosting. I’m sure the podcast will be a great success!