Self Study

Self Study: Regaining Students’ Attention While Using Technology
Focus Area of Improvement:

As educators we are always looking for ways to implement technology in our lessons.
Not only does it provide infinitely more learning opportunities, but it also can give students a
chance to use those higher order thinking skills to enrich learning. But, when technology is in
front of students, it can be hard to regain their focus while you are giving instructions. To
combat this issue I saw in my classroom, I put in place a “half staff” procedure. When students
were working on the Chromebooks and I wanted their attention to start discussion I would ask
them to put their Chromebooks at half mast, halfway down with their hands off the keyboard
and their eyes up on me. My goal for this self study is for students to recognize the appropriate
time and place where they should be diligently working on their assignment on the
Chromebooks, and then the time where they need to focus back on instruction. Eventually and
ideally, it would become habit for them to put their Chromebooks at half staff while we are
discussing as a class, or if I am at the front of the room giving instruction. But during my Student
Teaching, my main goal was to introduce this procedure and see how successful it could be in
my own future classroom.
Reflective Log:
I first introduced half staff in my Economics class. They were starting a personal budget
activity where they used the Chromebooks to research a profession that they drew out of a hat
to see how much their monthly paycheck would be, and how they would allot their money to
different expenses like housing, groceries, and a car payment. I noticed my students have a
habit of immediately opening up the Chromebooks, and logging in before instruction. After
noticing this, right away I gained their attention and introduced the procedure I wanted them
to practice. I told them, “Okay class, so while I’m at the front of the classroom or when I need
your attention while you’re working on the Chromebooks, I’d like you to put them at half staff.
You know how when flags are halfway up the flagpole? I’d like your computers to be halfway
shut, your hands off the keyboard, and your eyes on me.” They quickly did what I asked, before
giving instruction I made sure everyone was at half staff, there was about six or seven students
that I had to remind and get their computers at half staff. It worked really well this first time, I
was impressed that you could see the shift in their focus almost immediately.
The next time I used this procedure was again in my Economics class the following day.
We were continuing on with our budget activity. Students were dismissed by row to grab their
Chromebooks and got to work. Then with about ten minutes left of class, when I wanted to talk
about some of the discussion questions from the activity I again gained their attention and then
asked who remembered what it meant when I asked for computers to be at half staff. I called
on one student to answer, and then made sure all computers were at half staff before starting
our discussion. This time I had to remind only two or three students to get their computers to
half staff. It took me aback a little bit with how fast they got ready for discussion after the
procedure. It was impressive to see their focus shift so fast too. The procedure is working
beautifully.
Next time I implemented the half staff procedure was in my US History class when we
were looking at slave spirituals during the Antebellum period. Before my students had opened
up their chromebooks they were given instruction, but at the end of class when I wanted to go
over the questions as a whole class I asked them to put their computers at half staff. I
introduced this procedure by asking which students were also in my economics class, and if
they could tell the rest of the class what I expect them to do when I say Chromebooks need to
be at half staff. Before moving on to our discussion I had to correct a few students to get their
computers at half staff, but we were able to transition pretty quickly. Again, I was impressed
how well this procedure works in regaining attention.
The final time I observed this procedure was actually when Mrs. Fox was giving
instructions to our RIT Target Class during 7th Hour. She was trying to explain what the
students were expected to do during our class period, when she noticed that some kids weren’t
paying attention, and their focus was on the Chromebooks. She quickly said, “Hey guys, your
computers need to be at half staff, okay thanks!” and moved on with instruction. All the
students quickly got their computers to half staff and their eyes were up on her. It was really
cool to see her use that procedure, and even cooler to see it work so well with that class as
well. This is definitely something I would love to incorporate in my classroom in the future.
Resources:
Edutopia Article: This article described teachers struggling to regain students’ attention while
they are using technology in the classroom. It suggested putting in place a procedure that
encouraged students to put their computers half way down before moving on to instruction or
discussion. At first I thought it was a really cool idea, and then I noticed that my classroom
faced the same struggle, so I gave the half staff procedure a try. It has worked extraordinarily
well in my classroom during my student teaching experience and I’m excited to bring it into
new classes too.
Best Year Ever by Bill Cecil: In his book, Bill Cecil outlines the importance of procedures in the
classroom. He says that you should put these procedures in place as soon as possible and
continue to use them consistently throughout the year. This concept really stuck with me,
especially when I was thinking about what I could do for my self study. I wanted to put a
procedure in place and have it become a habit for them to get into. This has benefitted me
because I do feel like procedures help make your classroom run more smoothly and gives
students structure. When we let students lose to use technology in the classroom it is just as
important to have a procedure that goes along with it, especially as we move towards using
technology more often in the classroom.
Teach Like A Champion by Doug Lemov: This book also outlined some best practices, tips, tricks,
and techniques to utilize in your classroom. Of the many techniques, the ones that discussed
expectations in Chapter 6 stood out to me the most as I was researching what to do to regain
students’ attention while they are implementing technology. Technique 36 says that you need
to have 100% all the time, all students should be following directions. If you don’t achieve this,
your authority is undermined and noncompliance is now an option. This has benefited me in
the classroom because my students know that I will not start our discussion until 100% of the
students are at half staff with their computers. The expectation has been communicated
clearly.
Resource for Portfolio:

I created an infographic that clearly outlines my expectations for this procedure. This
infographic can be easily shared with students, or even posted somewhere in the classroom.
Benefits and Difficulties:

I had a really hard time finding an area where I could do a self study in our classroom. Mrs. Fox
has pretty strong classroom management already in place, so I had to look hard to find
something to put in place. But, this procedure was really beneficial in regaining students’
attention before moving on to discussion or giving further instruction. Students are so
accustomed to using technology, they have also developed bad habits of not paying attention
when they have a device in front of them. This procedure also helps them recognize when they
need to shift their focus away from their devices and back onto the teacher.

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Self Study: Regaining Students’ Attention While Using Technology

Focus Area of Improvement:

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Benefits and Difficulties:

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