Summer Reading Book Review: “Distracted” by James M. Lang

Summer’s here, and Tech-Based Teaching is hitting the books! In this series, we’ll be looking at books about teaching, learning and more. Be sure to check back for new reviews over the summer! ☀️

July’s book is Distracted: Why Students Can’t Focus and What You Can Do About It by James M. Lang, which explores attention in the classroom and how to help students focus.

Overview

Distracted was published in late 2020, at a time when many teachers were teaching remotely or through hybrid lessons. Lang acknowledges that while the bulk of the book was written prior to the pandemic, remote learning hasn’t changed the problem of distractibility. This long view of distraction — and its reverse, attention — informs Lang’s research and suggestions.

The preface and introduction provide a good overview of what to expect, including audience and scope. Lang offers three major principles of attention, which sum up to being that sustaining attention is difficult but doable, and that its cultivation in the classroom must be deliberate. These ideas are predicated on theories of why humans evolved to be distractable in the first place.

The first part of the book looks at theoretical views of distraction. Firstly, Lang shows how fears of distraction have long existed, such as when then-new coffee shops were blamed for impeding on deep, thoughtful work. Next, he looks at student distractibility, exploring some of the research and suggesting that distracted students can distract others. Lastly, he considers the tech ban problem and possible solutions.

Part two is slightly longer, and it provides practical applications for both getting and keeping students’ attention. Lang suggests that, just as learning goes through multiple stages such as encoding and retrieval, attention itself can be categorized in different ways. As such, this part’s six chapters look at how to cultivate various types of attention, from curious attention to mindful attention, and even communal attention.

A Closer Look

Lang writes in an accessible way, which makes reading Distracted breezier than picking up a journal article. The topic itself is difficult to untangle, as it can be colored by perceptions of what “attention” looks like. This idea is particularly evident in the section on tech bans, as well in the conflicting way that distraction studies are presented by the media. Even so, Lang distills many of these ideas to provide groundwork for part two, which moves into hands-on ways to spark and sustain attention.

One concern going into the book was in how Lang would connect distraction to neurodiverse learners. Even with the axiom that “attention is an achievement,” the difficulty depends on the student! Lang anticipates this concern early on, acknowledging in the preface that there are students who have reasons for diverted attention and suggests that the resources he shares will be a net benefit to all students, a sort of universal design approach.

Throughout the book, Lang shares quotes from cognitive scientists and educators to show how the attention–distraction dichotomy connects to learning. These ideas are expanded in the practical applications in part two, such as the idea of building out modular learning to take advantage of breaks in attention or the way that curiosity can fuel learners. The latter idea — which Lang compares to creating “mystery” — seems especially useful for students who need novelty to direct their focus. This can be done through course questions and inspiring a sense of wonder in lessons.

Takeaways

Distracted is written in a casual, engaging way. That said, this book was set aside, then picked back up, over and over during the course of this review. (Becoming distracted while reading Distracted seems oddly apt.) At least the book’s content — well cited and explicated in a list of notes at the back — explains the challenge in sitting down to read!

This review is partially for the printed text and partially for the audiobook. Both share the information clearly, although the headings in the printed text are helpful for navigating the second part. The reiteration of key ideas at the end of each chapter through “Quick Takes” is welcome. These bulleted lists provide short takeaways, such as the idea of addressing students directly to take advantage of the cocktail party effect. The final chapter in part two distills suggestions even further.

The book feels like a spiritual successor to one of Lang’s previous books, Small Teaching. Both books focus on ways that teachers can make small changes to their classrooms and teaching to best reach students. For Distracted, Lang focuses on the ways that attention can be redirected to the lessons being taught as well as to course materials.

Some of Lang’s ideas rely on a physical classroom, which might be less relevant to socially distant classes. Not all ideas need space, however. Modular learning, for example, can be simulated through the functionality of a learning management system. The ideas for assessed attention connect handily to best practices for evidence-informed teaching.

Ultimately, this book came out at an interesting time. With Lang’s assertion that attention can be joyful, creating these attentive opportunities for students seems to be a win-win for both learning and learners. The need for attention-aware lesson-building will only grow over time with the ever-increasing use of edtech and the likely necessity of remote learning. This is a hopeful book, and even small takeaways may have big effects.

If you’ve read this book, what did you think of it? Share your thoughts below.

For more book ideas, check out this guide for a list of brainy books.

About the blogger:

Jesika Brooks

Jesika Brooks is an editor and bookworm with a Master of Library and Information Science degree. She works in the field of higher education as an educational technology librarian, assisting with everything from setting up Learning Management Systems to teaching students how to use edtech tools. A lifelong learner herself, she has always been fascinated by the intersection of education and technology. She edits the Tech-Based Teaching blog (and always wants to hear from new voices!).