The problem

It has been said that “even with a particularly entertaining professor, most students only pay attention for about 15 minutes at a time.”¹ This can be a disturbing statistic for those who are seriously involved and interested in teaching and labour for hours preparing for a lecture. This provoked me to think of ways in which the statistic could be defied. However, I realised that it was important for me as a teacher, to understand why most students have merely a 15-minute attention span. In this regard, it is useful to first consider the nature of learning.²

The nature of learning

The three main categories of learning theory have been identified as behaviourism, cognitivism and the social construction of knowledge. Each of these is briefly considered below:

• Behaviourism is based on the idea that certain behavioural responses become associated in a mechanistic and invariant way with specific stimuli. In other words, a certain stimulus will evoke a particular response.³
  
  
• Cognitivism is based on the premise that to better understand learning, in addition to observable behaviour (behaviourism), it is necessary to consider a learner’s mental ability to reorganise his psychological field (e.g. his world of concepts, memories) in response to experience.⁴ In other words, while behaviourism focuses on the external environmental structures that lead to reinforcement of behaviour, this theory focuses on the mental processes or conscious thoughts on the part of the learner.
  
  
• Social construction of knowledge recognises the importance of assisting students to develop a critical awareness of the values and ideologies that shape the form of received knowledge. It sees learning as essentially a social process, requiring communication among learner, teacher and others. This involves engaging in personal reflection, to seeking new information and testing ideas through social contact with others.⁵

Bearing the above in mind, I tried to devise ways in which the painful statistic could at least be challenged, if not defied. It is not possible to pinpoint exactly which theory each measure addressed (as they sometimes overlapped) but the cumulative effect of the steps I took were indeed helpful to keep students engaged in lectures—beyond 15 minutes. Here is a summary of what I found useful:

• Ask questions, give pop quizzes—students are motivated by grades⁶ (or what you think of their academic ability); but do keep these questions simple and focused;
  
  
• Allocate a few minutes for students to vocally share their answers to questions or situations you pose; highlight to them a related event that is currently receiving media attention;
  
  
• Ask students to consider briefly the advantages and disadvantages or strengths and weaknesses of a procedure or theory⁷ if the questions you pose require a prior understanding of fats or data, as a logical progression. This naturally induces a certain level of engagement and builds on the strengths of the social construction of knowledge theory.

Points to bear in mind:

You may have to vary or combine the above depending on the nature, objectives and demands of your subject (including the level of the Module) as well as the characteristics of your students. The latter includes their age, academic backgrounds and abilities.
Class size and class duration are also critical factors. Thus a one-hour class comprising more than 200 students may be less amenable to a variety of methods than a two-hour class comprising 50 students. Otherwise, there is the risk of ensuing confusion and this will obviously interfere with learning.

But how will you know?

The best method for ascertaining the effectiveness of the steps you are taking to optimise your lecture slot is by obtaining feedback from your students. This may be formal or informal but it is best done during (not after) the course. Perhaps you can also request a peer review. These will assist you to fine-tune your approaches and use your better judgment as to what techniques are more effective to defy what the statistic says you have. The key is to introduce variety during the lecture and increase interaction. This way, during a 60-minute lecture slot, there will be approximately four 15-minute sessions to make use of!

Endnotes

1. Wankat, P. & Oreovicz, F. (2003). ‘Teaching: Breaking the 15-minute Barrier’. ASEE Prism Vol. 12, No. 8 (April 2003). . Last accessed: July 16, 2004.

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2. Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education. Jossey-Bass: John Wiley. See also Donovan, M., Bransford, J. & Pellegrino, J. (Eds.). (1999). How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. Washington, DC: National Research Council, U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

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3 Wankat, P. & Oreovicz, F. (2003). op. cit.

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4. Fontana, D. (1981). Psychology for Teachers. London: Macmillan/British Psychological Society.

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5. Ibid.

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6. Wankat, P. & Oreovicz, F. (2003). op. cit.

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7. Fry, H., Ketteridge, S. & Marshall, S. (2003). A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education.2nd edition. Kogan Page.

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