Based on the Theory, there are four things to center our applications around:

Allow for Internal/External shifts
Novelty
Intensity
Movement/Motion

The application techniques will be explained in detail so that you can use them directly, followed by a more theoretical explanation at the end.

Chunk your material

No matter the lecture length split the material into ~10-minute chunks. These chunks should ideally contain a slight separation of material, e.g., if you are covering Maslow’s hierarchy of needs impact on motivation, have one chunk be the details of Maslow’s ideas and one chunk be how it pertains to motivation. While such a clear difference is not always possible, it is not always needed. There are two factors to consider for your chunks: they cannot be connected by the same technique and need to be separated by a moment with a different external/internal focus. External focus means the student’s attention is on something outside their own thoughts, and internal means focusing on their thoughts and connections.

Here’s an example of how to separate chunks:

I have one chunk where I lecture about t-tests, and the following chunk is where I give application examples of how to use t-tests. These chunks are externally focused, given that the students need to be focused on me and the examples. Thereby, the chunks need to be separated by an internal moment where the students focus on their thoughts and make connections. At the end of the first chunk, I can ask the students a question, such as “When should we use a t-test over a z-test?” and then give them ample time to think and connect to the previous material. After giving them this shift of attention, I can lead to the next chunk, covering the answers to the questions posed.

This same thought process can be used even if the chunks are internal. For example, chunks of self-writing can be intercepted by a moment of the professor lecturing.

Why this application?

By splitting up your sections, you shorten the demand for attention to about 10 minutes, which is what most humans handle without breaking significantly. Beyond that, by giving a moment between chunks where you change the form of attention required and break the flow, you create a new instance that the students are more likely to pay attention to and give time for a form of attention that might otherwise become distracting.

Differentiate your chunks

When starting a new chunk and covering (hopefully) new information, use a different technique to cover it. If the previous chunk was lecture-based, consider presenting the material differently, such as videos, real-life applications, and discussion questions. If there is no way to use a different pedagogical technique, then change the details about the technique. The key aspect is to ensure that you are not presenting new information with the same presentation but giving your students a new type of presentation or medium so they can more easily latch on to it.

Examples would be showing a video addressing the new topic instead of continuing a lecture format. If I am lecturing and have to keep lecturing about the new chunk, I will try to change at least the details surrounding my lecture. If I were using a PowerPoint, I might change the theme of the slides, create a new color and font, or switch to a drawing board instead of a PowerPoint.

Why this application?

Novelty plays a key role in determining whether we should pay attention. Most students stop paying attention because something becomes drawn out and feels like it’s droning on. When introducing a new chunk, it becomes vital to differentiate it from the preceding moments. The difference tells the students that there is something new and gives them a new way of paying attention, easing the demand to retain their attention.

Don’t be afraid to give them the wheel

A great way of ensuring attention is paid is by putting the brunt of the lifting on them. Instead of the students being spectators, they are now in charge of the material. Examples include giving them material they need to discuss in class or making them present their ideas about a material before going into the professor-led part of the class. While most often we think of a flipped classroom as group-based, it can also be individual-led, having each student responsible for their own material. The key to ensuring this works is to make them accountable and give them clear instructions. If they do not feel accountable for the material, they are less likely to put ample work into it, which can be mitigated by making them send in their work, present it, or point out that it will be on the exam. A lack of clear instructions will lead to the flipped side of the classroom being unsure of what they are supposed to do and potentially doing the wrong thing.

Why this application?

When students are forced to take on the responsibility and intensity of their teaching by determining and discussing materials themselves, they are more likely to pay significant attention to the material because if they do not, they will not be able to work with it. Compared to regular professor-led teaching, this style creates pressure that forces attention from students. However, if the pressure becomes too much, they might become overwhelmed.

Create room to breathe

During your classes, giving time for attention fluctuations is important. While creating chunk separation helps, pauses in your material give you even more time. These pauses are not meant to be minute-long pauses where people should hold hands and breathe (although that probably is helpful), but rather one or two moments where nothing is being said to give a quick moment for the students- and your own- brain to relax and reset. In these moments, you, as the professor, can be preparing what you will say, prepping your computer for a new PowerPoint, or even standing in silence. The important thing is that time is given. Students might fall behind and give up if they constantly go at a pace that never pauses. If you want students to pay extra attention to any specific sentence or words, then saying it, pausing, and repeating it ensures that students who are listening get time to understand what you are saying, and students who are tuned out will tune back in due to the pause.

Why this application?

Similarly to the first application, this allows students to circumvent attention shifts by giving them small opportunities to tune out so that they can later tune back in. Furthermore, it gives novelty to what comes after the pause because instead of being one large thread, it gets separated and given new weight when it becomes said.