15-18 Minutes
I found the fact that adults have an attention span of 15-18 minutes to be very interesting. I think I would enjoy breaking my lectures up into 20 minute sections. Maybe doing a question/answer section every 20 minutes or throwing an activity in there every 20 min. I think this will greatly help especially when you are teaching a class that is 4 hours long.
Sandra,
If a 10 minute break doesn't fit into your instructional planning I would suggest you use mini-lectures of 15-20 minutes and then some type of activity to keep the students engaged. You can do role playing, case studies, discussions, games, etc. and the deliver another mini-lecture. The key point is to remember that the attention span of adults is between 15-20 minutes before they need a change of pace or some type of activity. By offering variety in your instructional delivery you can keep your students engaged and focused for the duration of the class session.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I teach a two hour course, twice a week. I never thought to give a 10 minute break between the 2 hours. I can understand if it was a longer time period like the 3 or 4 hour class period once a week or if students go to the class period daily and have more than one class. I am curious what other campuses have as a policy about this.
I try to break my classes up by doing the first part lecturing and the scond part something more hands on. Then they take their break and are ready to come back and finish the lecture then break off into groups and do a critical thinking exercise. This also gives me a chance to go amongst the students and answer questions individually if needed.
I have learned that with adult learners they need that change of pace.
William,
You can keep them focused by offering variety in your delivery. Do a mini-lecture of 15-20 minutes and then have a Q&A session or a discussion. Just simple changes of pace help the students to reset their minds and stay focused on what you are teaching.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
i guess i thought if i can stay focused longer than 15 minutes others could also
Danielle,
With your approach you are offering variety and change of pace for your students. This is what helps them to reset their attention spans. Keep up the good work!
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Wow! That is amazing, I thought it was 50 min what I do in class to get everyone involved everyone has to have a question after every topic to make them think and get feed back from their class mates because I have learned that some students can grasp the information the is being giving if it comes from a class and not the teacher.
Debra,
Thanks for sharing how you have your instructional flow going. This keeps the students engaged and the class progressing while keeping the students engaged.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
20 minutes seems to be the best blocks. Our students take a 10 minute break every hour so it is perfect for a 20 minute lecture, 10 minutes of hands on or discussion and then 20 more minutes of lecture. I always make sure to even break up the 20 minutes with questions, etc.
I like this. This means the questioners would have to dig a little into the material to ask a good question. Thanks for info.
Jennifer,
With this information you can pause to ask a question, start a discussion or simply move to another part of the room along with a 3-5 pause. These little things help the students to reset their brains a bit and then focus on the next part of the lecture.
Gary
Vincent,
Good way to pace your class delivery.
Gary
I also was surprised at the 15-18 minute attention span. I thought the limit was 30-40 minutes for adults. Good to know.
I agree. I really try to break up lectures into 15 minute sections interject video or student driven discussion.
This is something new to me. I found that students can pay attention more time than that.
Deborah,
You don't really have to stop the lecture. What you can do is pause and ask a question or share an example with the students. This gives their brains a chance to "shift gears" for a few seconded and then they can connect back on the next part of the content that is being shared.
Gary
It can sometimes be hard to break up a lecture into 15 minute sections if you are in the middle of a lecture, it's hard to stop, because you can lose your class attention.
Mary,
Great to hear about your strategy success. I know this information is going to be valuable for other instructors as they plan their instructional delivery.
Gary
