Quote from The Distracted Classroom: “They argue that distraction actually arises from a conflict between two fundamental features of our brain: our ability to create and plan high-level goals versus our ability to control our minds and our environment as we take steps to complete those goals.”
This quote speaks to the themes of the week which are technology and the distracted student by highlighting how the process of distraction is our brain essentially working against itself to complete high level goals that it previously set for itself. I myself have struggled with distractions in the classroom, especially when technology is a significant part of the class. It is all too easy to use your laptop to start working on other assignments or browse the internet during important class time, taking away from the students’ individual learning goals as well as the class’s.
Quote from The Distracted Classroom: “But our admirable goal-setting ability runs up against the fundamental limitations of our “cognitive control abilities.” Those abilities ‘have not evolved to the same degree as the executive functions required for goal setting,’ Gazzaley and Rosen write. ‘Our cognitive control is really quite limited: We have a restricted ability to distribute, divide, and sustain attention; actively hold detailed information in mind; and concurrently manage or even rapidly switch between competing goals.’”
This quote raises a question I have of how cognitive control abilities are intertwined with procrastination. The human mind’s ability to control how we divide our time and attention is one of the most important aspects of education, yet it is also one of the most challenging to master. Though procrastination is not a huge problem for me personally, I find myself struggling with it when the projects are larger and occur over a longer period of time. For example, I am in an advanced documentary class that is essentially one large semester long project. While I have set goals for myself throughout the semester, actually getting myself to do it is a whole different thing.
Quote from 4 Things You’ll Miss by Banning Cellphones in Your Classroom: “If I have already banned or taken away the cellphones, I lose this option as a teacher. Take the cellphone away and I tell them metaphorically, “You aren’t mature enough to handle this. You are a child. When you are ready, I, the adult, will let you have this back.” My student’s behavior in my class becomes linked with their desire to hold on to this symbolic totem, the cellphone.”
I agree with the point of this quote, which is that outright banning an item in the classroom can foster some type of resentment towards the teacher from the students. This applies especially to older students as they feel they need to be treated with respect and as adults rather than being micromanaged by their professor. While I understand that cellphones and other electronic devices in the classroom can act as a distraction for the student and the rest of the class, I also believe that these resources are irreplaceable teaching in a modern society.
