We know multitasking isn’t possible. We know distractions compete for attention, and failure to attend to learning completely derails any hope of future retrieval. In fact, as Michelle Miller states in her new book Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology:
There’s no backup tape, no way to rewind and retrieve something you weren’t attending to–because once it’s screend out, it’s trashed by your cognitive systems and gone forever.
(Miller, 2022, p. 138)
As we examine ways to combat distractions and task-switching, there are five specific strategies that Adam Gazzaley and Larry Rosen (The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World) propose we can encourage students to employ to minimize distractions.
Improve metacognition
Merely being aware of the interference distractions cause can help mediate distractive behavior. One potent way to do this is to have students attempt to alternate between their ABCs and counting one through ten (as discussed last week). Making students aware of the overwhelming research about “multitasking” in the classroom also demonstrates the widespread reach of distractions.
One study divided students into three groups – one group simply studied, a second group answered a message and then studied, and a third group studied but was interrupted with a message. All three groups performed well on the quiz, but the third group took a substantially longer time (Bowman et. al., 2010).
There have been a few studies that also show multitasking during learning sessions increases stress levels in learners (Mark, 2014).
Another study tracked the number of text messages and social media posts during a learning session. Not surprisingly, the more texts and posts that were made during the session resulted in lower test scores. Interestingly, this was a linear trend – the more texts and posts, the lower the scores (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2010).
Gazzaley & Rosen also found common predictors of a lower GPA (Gazzaley & Rosen, 2016, p. 123):
- Percentage of time on task
- Studying strategies
- Total media time during a typical day
- Preference for task-switching rather than working on a task until it was completed
Limit accessibility
Eliminating (or minimizing) distractors is paramount. Switching phones to silent (not vibrate) helps. Physically separating from phones is a good idea as well. There have been a few studies that show proximity to a cell phone – regardless of if the cell phone belongs to the subject – decreases performance on a task (Thornton, 2014).
There are apps that students can install on their devices – computers included – to minimize distractions. Even closing all applications on a computer that are not absolutely necessary for a session that requires focus can help.
Decrease bordedom
Notice that this heading is not titled “Removing boredom”. That differentiation is a metacognitive signal that it is not always possible to eliminate boredom, but there are strategies to grapple with boredom. Simple changes like standing for a bit while working or listening to familiar music can help. A higher-level change includes structured time on task sessions (the Pomodoro Technique is easy to adopt. In the book The Distracted Mind, the authors suggest gradually increasing the focus session; “You control the breaks, rather than the breaks controlling you” (Gazzaley & Rosen, 2016, p. 228).
The authors also suggest excercise (even 12 minutes helps!), 20-20-20 rule (every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break and focus on objects 20 feet away), spend a few minutes in nature, take a ten-minute nap, talk to other people, grab a drink and snack.
Reduce anxiety
“Technolgoy has induced anxiety associated with FOMO, which then causes you to interrupt your work and reorient your attentional resources to the detriment of your performance on that all-important task” (Gazzaley & Rosen, 2016, p. 230). One solution to avoiding interruptions is to prevent interruptions. Use a calendar to block out focus time – and stick to it. Many calendar users only block off obligations (dinner plans, meetings, etc.) and fail to block out time for deep work. It is an easy practice to implement and has a high payoff.
Another strategy includes managing expectations of family and friends. Informing friends and family of a study plan and asking for no interruptions does two things – it reduces the interference from outside interruptions and it signals intent. A byproduct of that signalling oftentimes encourages a heightened awareness in the support network and bolsters encouragement and assistance.
Mindfulness
The benefits of mindfulness extend well beyond the domain of learning, though most of the benefits reaped from mindfulness translate well to learning. A Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis across 47 trials that investigated effects of mindfulness. There was moderate improvement in anxiety, depression, and stress (Goyal, et. al., 2014) which is great news for learners! Additionally, James Lang states:
Experiments have demonstrated the ability of mindfulness practice to lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve anxiety and depression, help people with addictions, and more. Other experiments have shown that regular practitioners of mindfulness have a better ability to control their attention and regulate their emotions.
(Lang, 2020, p.196)
There have been a few studies that show mindfulness has positive impact on quizzes. One such study had students engage in mindfulness activities up to three times a semester in one class; quiz grades were higher in students with mindfulness intervention. The research is still unclear whether mindfulness in classes boosts longer-term learning, though. Regardless, having regular mindfulness practices certainly increases performance and is a wonderful tool in the arsenal of tools to combat anxiety and wellbeing.
Media, technology, FOMO, the pandemic, and a host of other distractors are everpresent in the lives of students. While we as educators cannot eliminate the distractions that threaten attention and lead to “multitasking”, we can help students regulate the threat.
If you found value in these tips, you may be interested in James Lang’s book Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It. One of the more involved ways Lang combats distraction is by building a culture of attention in the classroom. He acknowledges that distraction will always be present, but curating a healthy environment that values attention is a great mitigation.
Thank you for your attention.
REFERENCES
Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M., & Gendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54(4), 927-931.
Calma-Birling, D., & Gurung, R. A. (2017). Does a brief mindfulness intervention impact quiz performance?. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 16(3), 323-335.
Goyal, M., Singh, S., Sibinga, E. M., Gould, N. F., Rowland-Seymour, A., Sharma, R., … & Haythornthwaite, J. A. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA internal medicine, 174(3), 357-368.
Kuznekoff, J. H., & Titsworth, S. (2013). The impact of mobile phone usage on student learning. Communication Education, 62(3), 233-252.
Lang, J. M. (2020). Distracted: Why students can’t focus and what you can do about it. Hachette UK.
Mark, G., Wang, Y., & Niiya, M. (2014, April). Stress and multitasking in everyday college life: an empirical study of online activity. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 41-50).
Miller, M. D. (2022). Remembering and Forgetting in the Age of Technology: Teaching, Learning, and the Science of Memory in a Wired World.
Thornton, B., Faires, A., Robbins, M., & Rollins, E. (2014). The mere presence of a cell phone may be distracting. Social Psychology.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
