Newsletter #41 They Say | Conversations on Education： What Does It Really Mean to Pay Attention?

They Say | Conversations on Education

ISSUE 03 | Attention

What Does It Really Mean to Pay Attention?

In the classroom, students are often reminded to pay attention, put away their phones, and avoid distractions. But does appearing attentive necessarily mean that learning is taking place? Learning requires more than receiving information. Students need to identify what matters, make sense of new ideas, and connect them with what they already know. Attention plays an important role in this process, but it depends on more than students’ willpower. Drawing on the work of researchers, this issue explores how mental effort, emotions, and digital environments influence the way students engage with learning.

Daniel Kahneman: Is Attention a Limited Resource?

Why is it difficult to follow a complex explanation while responding to messages or completing another demanding task?

In Attention and Effort (1973), psychologist Daniel Kahneman developed an influential account of attention that emphasizes the limited capacity available for demanding mental activities. His work helps explain why the effort required by one task can affect our ability to perform another simultaneously.

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Imagine a teacher introducing a new concept while displaying a crowded slide, explaining unfamiliar terminology, and asking students to copy extensive notes. Students may be trying to follow the explanation, but they must also divide their effort among several competing demands.

Students’ difficulties do not necessarily indicate a lack of motivation. They may be working hard while struggling to identify the most important information or understand how different ideas fit together.

For educators, this raises an important question: Are students struggling because the content itself is challenging, or because the way it is presented places unnecessary demands on their attention?

This distinction matters. Learning should involve intellectual effort, especially when students encounter unfamiliar or complex ideas. However, teachers can reduce avoidable demands by organizing information clearly, breaking complex explanations into manageable steps, and ensuring that classroom activities serve a clear learning purpose.

The goal is not to eliminate mental effort from learning, but to help students direct that effort toward what matters most.

Mary Helen Immordino-Yang: How Do Emotions Shape Attention?

Why do some classroom experiences remain memorable long after a lesson ends, while others are quickly forgotten?

Neuroscientist and educator Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, together with neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, explored the relationship between emotion, social experience, and cognition in their 2007 article, We Feel, Therefore We Learn. They argue that emotion is deeply intertwined with the cognitive processes involved in learning, attention, memory, and decision-making.

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This perspective challenges the idea that effective learning requires students to separate emotion from thinking. What learners find meaningful or socially significant can influence how they engage with information and interpret their experiences.

Imagine two lessons introducing the same scientific concept. One presents definitions and facts in isolation. The other begins with a question about an environmental issue that students recognize in their community, then uses the same scientific concepts to investigate it. Both lessons may contain accurate information, but the second provides students with meaningful context for considering why the information matters.

This does not mean that every lesson must be entertaining or emotionally intense. Nor does emotional engagement automatically guarantee better learning.

For teachers, the implication is not simply to make lessons more interesting. Connecting abstract concepts with real-world questions, human experiences, and students’ existing knowledge can provide meaningful reasons to engage with new ideas.

Gloria Mark: What Happens When Attention Is Constantly Interrupted?

Digital environments expose us to frequent interruptions, from incoming messages and notifications to competing online activities. Even when each interruption seems brief, repeatedly switching between tasks can make it difficult to sustain attention on demanding work.

Researcher Gloria Mark has studied how digital technology, interruptions, and multitasking shape people's experiences in information-rich environments. In Multitasking in the Digital Age (2015), she examines how information workers manage competing demands on their attention, including interruptions and digital communication.

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Her work offers a useful perspective on the challenges of maintaining focus in digital environments. However, her research on information workers should not automatically be treated as direct evidence of identical effects in university classrooms.

Yet digital technology itself is not necessarily the problem. It can provide access to valuable resources, support collaboration, and help students explore complex ideas. The challenge is how technology is used and whether it supports or competes with the intended learning activity.

For educators, this suggests that supporting attention requires more than asking students to exercise self-control. Clear expectations for device use, opportunities for uninterrupted work, and tasks that give students a specific purpose for using technology can help reduce unnecessary distractions.

At the same time, not every shift in attention is harmful. Discussion, reflection, and transitions between activities can be valuable when they serve a clear learning purpose. The goal is to distinguish these purposeful transitions from distractions that make learning more difficult.

In a world filled with competing demands for attention, helping students learn when to focus, when to switch, and when to return to a task is an increasingly important educational goal.

They Say | Rethinking Attention

These three perspectives help us reconsider what it means for students to be engaged in learning.

Kahneman reminds us that attention and mental effort are limited, making the design of learning tasks important. Immordino-Yang and Damasio highlight the close relationship between emotion and cognition, helping us understand why meaning matters in learning. Mark draws attention to the challenges of managing competing demands in digital environments.

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Together, their work suggests that attention is not simply a matter of student discipline. It is shaped by cognitive demands, emotional significance, and the learning environment. While students need opportunities to develop self-regulation and manage distractions independently, the tasks they encounter and the environments in which they learn can either support or complicate that process.

Perhaps the question for education is not simply, “How can we make students pay attention?” but “How can we design learning experiences that help students direct their attention meaningfully?”After all, the goal of education is not to keep students looking at the teacher at all times. It is to help them engage with ideas, make connections, and develop understanding that lasts beyond the classroom

References

Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Damasio, A. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(1), 3–10. Kahneman, D. (1973). Attention and effort. Prentice-Hall.Mark, G. (2015). Multitasking in the digital age. Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

Key Updates about CTL

Faculty Activity Day 2026 | Powering Up Teaching & Campus Connection

We are pleased to announce that Faculty Activity Day 2026 will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, on the WKU campus.

Centered on advancing teaching excellence and fostering cross-college collaboration, this event will bring together faculty across disciplines for professional development, peer exchange, and shared insights on teaching practices.

Call for Proposals | Submission Deadline: 11:59 p.m., November 1, 2026

We warmly invite faculty members to share their teaching practices, research experiences, and practical insights with colleagues. Proposed sessions may cover topics such as AI in Teaching and Learning, Student-Centered Teaching, Inclusive Teaching Practices, Assessment and Student Success, Research and IRB, Faculty Well-Being, and Faculty Portfolio and Reappointment.

Faculty may choose between two presentation formats:

• 60-minute interactive workshop

• 30-minute lecture-style presentation

The FAD schedule is as follows:

• Morning: 9:00–10:00 a.m.

• Afternoon (Open for Proposals): 2:30–5:30 p.m.

• Evening (Open for Proposals): 6:30–8:00 p.m.

To submit a proposal, please reply to our previous email, “Call for Proposals | Faculty Activity Day” by 11:59 p.m., November 1, 2026, with your proposed session title and topic area, preferred format, a brief description, and intended learning outcomes, and any scheduling constraints.

Further details, including the full agenda and registration information, will be shared soon. We encourage all faculty members to save the date and consider contributing to this opportunity for faculty exchange and collaboration.

We look forward to seeing you at Faculty Activity Day! 

Instructional Skills Workshop

🗓️ Upcoming Sessions

• Session 26: March 6 & March 7, 2027 -March 20 & March21,2027