by Chase Weisberg, Adath Israel

There are many different types of attention. By having knowledge of these types of attention we can help our students, as aids, be in the best environment to have the most successful learning experience. The different types of attention are: sustained (A continuous attention span; most likely in long time periods), alternating (shifting of the attention focus), and selective (selecting a certain thing to focus on while suppressing irrelevant information). In this session of TAP we learned how to utilize our knowledge of different types of attention to make a successful learning environment.

In the beginning portion of this session we discussed why some students have trouble focusing and how to fix it. We talked about using fidgets to divert the student from other distractions around the room. We found out that sometimes students don’t do well with fidgets and we have to use other strategies to draw their attention to the work. By using our knowledge of attention management we can create an environment that best helps students. The teachers in this lesson taught us how to create this environment while in the classroom.

Later in the session we had a guest speaker come in for the second time, to discuss problems we were having in the classroom. As an aid sometimes we run into difficulties with students that we don’t know how to deal with. So it was very important for the speaker to come in and answer specific questions. With this session and this information in our back pockets we are better prepared to handle issues around the classroom.