English teachers are constantly competing in what many call “the attention economy” to get students to look and listen so they can learn. In this keynote, Jim Burke will discuss attention as it relates to teaching in general and English in particular. But the threats to attention are not limited to just our students: teachers themselves frequently struggle to capture and keep their own attention. In this session, participants will examine what attention is, how it works, and what we can do to help students (and teachers) protect and develop this precious and limited resource. In addition, teachers will learn how to apply key aspects of attention to improve their students’ reading, writing, speaking, and learning skills. As part of the session, participants will examine their own classrooms, assignments, and instructional choices to find ways they might better “compete” for and keep students’ attention.
bit.ly/ICTEkeynote
