The iGen: Freeing Their Voice in Cyberspace and the Theater Space
Christi Pidskalny Sargent
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Lesson 2: Concentration and Distraction
For concentration to occur, our brain must complete two tasks: decide what to focus on and ignore distractions.47 The prefrontal cortex controls executive thinking. For concentration, this part of the brain is activated to help us decide where our attention should be placed. However, if there is too much stimulus the prefrontal cortex will become tired and unable to figure out where the focus should be placed.48 We may see this happen when our phones ding with notifications from various social media sources. These are the types of distractions that your brain is attempting to battle for successful concentration. The more that we practice ignoring distractions, the better we get at it.
By the end of this lesson, students will understand the value of concentration and practice the skills. Before they can practice the skill of concentration, they have to see how often their phones distract them. The lesson should span one 90-minute class period.
Essential Questions:
- How are our brains programmed for concentration?
- How did it feel when your phone went off in class?
- What do you think about when you see the collective number of notifications?
- Did you want to immediately reply to the notifications?
- How much time were you able to give to rehearsal?
- How did it feel to have your rehearsal interrupted?
Activity: During this activity, students will keep the volume up on their devices. The purpose is for everyone to hear the notifications that pop up on their phones while students are rehearsing and sharing the first part of their Riverstory. For every notification received students will come up to the board and tally where that notification was received from. At the end of the period, I would like for us to look at the data collected and discuss how the interruptions interfered with our ability to delve into our acting work.
