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Teaching Tips January 1, 2009 |
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The word concentration is a compound word that means “with a center.” It enables the brain to be fixed on a central point, for the child’s attention to be focused on a specific task. It is an underlying ability essential to intelligence and learning. It is also absolutely essential to memory.
The ability to concentrate is a learned task. It develops over time, beginning in infancy and toddlerhood – or at least it should. For better or worse, we live in a fast-paced world of breakneck technology that offers immediate access to information just about anywhere, drive-thru fast-food, complicated subjects condensed into superficial sound-bites, and high-energy audio and visual entertainment. If something doesn’t capture our interest immediately, we click the remote to surf through the channels or click the mouse to view another webpage. And we’re not just talking about adults here. Even toddlers are induced into video games, computer games, DVD players in the car, fast-paced TV shows, and audio books presented on a screen. There is very little time for snuggling up with a parent to hear a story read aloud. Or for sustained play that requires the child’s own imagination to add the elements of “real life” to it. Toys have become expensive, complicated, and often computerized recreations of grown-up versions; the child has to add nothing to the mix except superficial attention that soon wanes. It used to be assumed that concentration was an automatic part of the brain’s functioning. That’s because it was so much a part of natural play and development that it just seemed to “happen.” But as young children interacted less with the world around them and became merely spectators, educators began to see a troubling trend. Children do not know how to concentrate. And the results are dramatic. Not only are more children being diagnosed with so-called attention deficits, teachers and parents are finding that the vast majority of children cannot concentrate for any extended period of time. Even those who have not been diagnosed with any attention issues. Courses are now being developed to teach students how to concentrate – a skill that normally is learned through early childhood play. The reason concentration is so important is that the brain has a limited capacity. It can only process so much information at once. The brain must be able to select what information to pay attention to and what information to center on. And it must be able to ignore or suppress other information for the time being in order to deal with the task at hand. If the brain cannot select and concentrate on a specific piece of information at one time long enough, the child will have a hard time learning – let alone thinking. This is, in fact, another disturbing trend. Educators are finding that children are having trouble even thinking. Word problems, exercises that require multiple steps, multi-tasking, and even thinking through the consequences of behavior are becoming a “lost art.” Fortunately, these skills can be taught, but it’s sad that it has come to that when the brain has the natural capacity to develop these skills with the right stimulation. That is the key – providing a stimulating environment that actively involves the child. And for the record, children clicking on a computer mouse are not actively involved, even if they are enjoying the game. The minor motion required to click a mouse requires very little active brain processing; watching a video screen also requires very little brain activity compared to reading a book or full-motion play. This is known as passive processing, and much of it is automatic, so it never fully enters the child’s consciousness. This is true even of so-called educational games on the computer or game player. The passive processing can be useful for drill and repetition, but it rarely is sufficient for learning new material or interacting with the material enough to move the information into long-term memory. Yes, it’s convenient, but costly in terms of lifelong success.
I have had families tell me that computer and video games are the only things their children want to do. Exactly my point. They have been trained to develop this habit – a habit of not having to pay attention or concentrate for any extended period of time. Of course the child isn’t going to enjoy anything slower paced; it will take time to wean the child off the “high-octane” stuff and develop the necessary connections for concentration. These connections are developed first through sensory-motor activities. That is, activities that involve the whole body, active movement, and as many senses as possible. In other words, active physical play. The next step is sensory activities that are more sedate (e.g. can be done at a table or on the floor) that use the child’s preferred sense. These include auditory, visual, and hands-on learning activities. For primary or early elementary children, the more senses involved, the better. These should be followed up with materials that model basic thinking skills. For a detailed discussion of critical thinking skills, see the review of I Think Therefore I Am: Critical Thinking Skills; click on the Product Reviews button on the homepage. Probably the best thing a parent can do is read aloud to the child. And read, and read, and read. Even when the child can read on his/her own. Even when the child is older. Ask the child questions about the story as you’re reading. What do you think is going to happen next? What do you think of this character? This forces the brain to pay attention, process the auditory information, use the imagination to form pictures or images in the brain, and reinforce concentration skills by having to give a verbal answer. Exactly the type of multi-sensory activity described above. In homeschooling, you can use concentration and memory games to drill baseline skills such as vocabulary words, spelling words, math facts, and definitions. Write the question on one index card and the answer on another. Mix up the stack of cards and then lay them out in a pattern face down. Turn a card over and then try to find the match by turning over cards one by one – as with the old-fashioned games of Concentration. When you are traveling, play verbal games such as “I Spy” or Story Builder where each person adds a line to the story. Each successive person has to repeat the story before adding the new material. Encourage quiet reading – and be sure to model it yourself! If all your child will read is a magazine or comic book, that’s okay for now. What’s important is that the child is reading something in print. Eventually, you do want to get the student used to reading more involved passages that require more concentration. But you have to begin somewhere! Begin with what matches your child’s natural way of learning or learning style. If the child is a visual learner, use highly graphic books such as the DK Eyewitness series. If the child is a hands-on learner, have the child explain out loud what he or she is doing. When learning rote facts such as the times tables or spelling words, have the child bounce a basketball from hand to hand or toss a bean bag from hand to hand while saying the facts. This will add another sense to the process and heighten concentration. Once the child has developed concentration skills with information they enjoy, then begin to apply those same skills to less interesting material. This is vital. Many homeschoolers over-react to the dull, boring tedium of classroom work and try to make everything interesting and fun. But life doesn’t work that way. Sooner or later your child will have to deal with something that is not enjoyable. The child must learn how to concentrate even when the task is boring. Granted, this can come later in the intermediate and high school years when the child has more maturity and recognizes the need to be diligent and persevere. KEY WORDS: attention, ADD, ADHD |
