Angela Watson's Truth for Teachers EP321: Meaningful & relevant: Engaging learners in an age of distraction (with AJ Juliani)
Mar 23, 2025
AJ Juliani, an educator and author from the University of Pennsylvania, dives into keeping students engaged in a distraction-heavy world. He argues that simply removing devices won’t fix engagement issues. Instead, he emphasizes meaningful, student-centered learning and the importance of choice in education. Juliani also discusses methods to integrate technology effectively and build self-regulation skills among learners. His insights highlight the adaptation needed in education to resonate with today's digitally-oriented students.
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Continuous Partial Attention Impact
- Continuous partial attention means we are giving attention to many things at once, not just dividing it.
- This makes it very difficult to focus due to the brain's competing networks shifting between tasks and scanning for new information.
Brain-Based Focus Strategies
- Use the 25-5 method: focus task-positive network for 20-25 minutes then allow the default mode to scan via breaks.
- Create threat-free zones by limiting distractions and use triggers like playlists to signal focus time.
Engagement Beyond Attention
- Engagement requires both high attention and high commitment from students.
- Meaningful, relevant learning fosters commitment that outperforms TikTok's mere attention-grabbing tactics.
