Learning to Focus

 Concentration or focus is something that needs to be practised to get better at it.  Some children find it easier to focus in class while others need help to learn strategies to focus their attention on the task at hand.  Concentration helps students to be more self confident and have a positive self esteem because they know what to do and when.  Focused students are organised and can complete tasks to a good standard. 

The focus for my inquiry this term has been to help three children to focus more in class.  As a class we have discussed and modelled what being focused "looks like" and why it is important for our learning and why disturbing others is not kind.  When we are calm and focused our classroom is quieter, we get more done and invariably have fun learning.  Tasks that are fun are often easier to concentrate on, but it is the "boring" tasks of learning to read and write that are often a challenge. 

When giving instructions and encouraging these students to focus I have found these simple techniques to be useful.    

 * to be close by the students when giving instruction.  In this way I can make eye contact to remind them that they need to pay attention

* to give one clear instruction at a time of what is expected

* help them be organised by saying what they need for a task

* a visual reminder of how well they are doing using a sticker chart to positively reinforce that the children can focus 

* celebrating with them their achievements

The novelty value of using sticker charts has been very effective.  The children have all responded positively to the charts and are eager to receive stickers for focusing and being able to carry out tasks without bothering their classmates as to what they need to do.  They are trying hard to use their "focus muscles", to earn praise and to complete tasks to a better standard.

For me, I am trying to use students interests to hook them into focusing and to accept we all have different learning styles and to use these styles to vary teaching.   I reflect on the day asking myself  - How can I do this better next time?  I may have to find another reward system at a later date as the novelty wears off but at present the children have responded positively to try to focus more and help their learning.