9 Ways Teachers Can Stop Students From Losing Focus

Are you a teacher whose students are struggling to stay focused during lessons? Then, don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Whether they are in prep or year 12, there are several things you can do to keep your pupils engaged and engrossed in the subject you are teaching them. So, don’t despair or doubt your ability as an educator. Instead, take a deep breath and employ these measures. You’ll be surprised at what a difference they can make!

1. Take away their mobile phones

It’s no secret that children love their devices. It is also no secret that children love to spend time on social media, gaming and chat forums.

Unfortunately, for some students, the lure of doing so can’t wait until after the final school bell has rung. As a result, using their mobile phone in class is one of the biggest reasons why students end up losing focus. For this reason, it pays to take a tough stance on them. 

Many schools across Australia adopt a zero-tolerance policy to mobile phones in class, even going as far as ordering phone lockers for school from TechXpress to store their students’ devices in during school time.

If your students are losing focus on their studies due to being on their phones, sourcing these lockers is something you might want to consider.

2. Mix the lesson up

We’ve all been in meetings where we’ve found our minds drifting due to their monotony. Well, this can happen to students if they feel the same.

A good tactic for keeping the attention span of your students going is to mix the lesson up. This means incorporating an interchanging blend of group activity, working with a partner and completing individual tasks.

Freshening things up like this is a great way of enabling them to remain engaged with the lesson for longer than they otherwise would if they were just being taught by you.

3. Have a half-time break

In sports and theatre performances, they have a half-time break. So why not do the same with your lessons?

We are not advocating a 15-minute interval, but a couple of minutes of detachment from what you are teaching them can do wonders for their attention span.

During the break – which should only be about three to five minutes – you can let them talk with friends, put on some calming music or even get them to meditate.

The key here is to bring their focus back in line once you decide to resume the lesson.

4. Make sure you have extra activities for those who finish first

Children complete tasks at different paces. So, it is only natural that some will finish before others.

Often, those who finish first can lose focus or patience and begin to get bored, which could often lead to them distracting others who are still doing the task.

For this reason, it is a good idea to have some extra activities for these children to do, which will prevent them from interrupting their classmates.

5. Declutter the visual stimulus

As teachers, we like to showcase some of our student’s best work, so we often display it on the walls, along with motivational quotes and other learning materials.

While this makes for a bright and vibrant classroom, there is evidence to suggest that too many classroom decorations can actually be a distraction for students – particularly younger ones.

Subsequently, you’ll need to find the best happy medium to ensure this doesn’t happen to your pupils.

6. Introduce Flexible Seating

Another clever way to stop your students from losing focus is to introduce a flexible seating arrangement.

Not only does this break up the lesson, but it also provides students with a different vantage point of you and the classroom.

A good method to get children to swap seats is to put all their names into a hat and make it into a draw – which could be done during your lesson’s mini break.

Doing this will turn their attention away briefly from the lesson and inject them with a fresh bit of enthusiasm.

7. Get them to drink lots of water

Drinking water is incredibly important for concentration as it helps your brain cells communicate with each other.

Additionally, water also removes the waste and toxins that can impair brain function, as well as carries nutrients to it to keep it healthy.

For this reason, you should remind students to regularly drink water during your lesson.

8. Play memory games to improve their concentration

If you want your pupils to remain focused during lesson time, a good way to do this is to help them build up their concentration levels through playing memory games.

The likes of Guess Who, matching pairs and Battleship can all help to do that while keeping your students engaged and entertained.

9. Allow fidget toys

This is a controversial option, as many schools have banned fidget toys.

However, there is a school of thought that suggests clickers, spinners, and bubble toys can actually be beneficial in keeping a child’s attention during lesson time.

If you do allow them, make sure they are not noisy or being used to distract others.