Keep this in mind: If you want your students to pay attention, focus on how you present the content rather than repeating it over and over.
Why? When something is presented predictably, the brain filters it out as unimportant.
The Solution?
A 2-step technique based on surprise and challenge.
Step 1: Break the Predictability Pattern
🔹 Change your approach: Instead of saying “Open your book to page…”, start with a curious question or a visual stimulus.
📌 E.g., “If you were the hero of this story, what would you do?”
📌 Show an image without explaining anything.
🔹 Break expectations:
✔️ Speak slower or louder at unexpected moments.
✔️ Write a word upside down on the board.
✔️ Change where you stand in the classroom while teaching.
Step 2: Engage Your Students in 5 Seconds
🔴 Turn the lesson into a challenge:
Instead of asking, “What do you remember from the last lesson?”, say:
📌 “Can you count to 10 before someone answers this correctly?”
📌 “Who can explain this in 6 words or less?”
🔴 Use the “Teacher’s Pause”
When you ask a question, pause for 3-4 seconds without filling the silence. This gap creates tension and makes students think.
Extra Tip:
People naturally pay attention to what is unusual. Do something unexpected, and you will have their full attention!
This was today’s RFL: (Reschool Flash Letter), with condensed, practical teaching insights you can read in just 1 minute!
📢 Coming up in the next RFL: The 3-2-1 Technique ➡ How to help students summarize the lesson using a simple, quick method. Stay tuned! 🎯
