Do I have your attention? Attention and engagement: What are they, and do I want them?

Abstract

Although many articles and books exist describing various classroom strategies to increase student engagement, often advice to newer faculty is given as prescriptive ways to organize a class or to repeat what was given by the last person who presented the material. Yet irrespective of the structure of the class or learning environment, there are subtle hurdles that many faculty erect that hinder a student’s progress. This Personal View discusses some of the potential barriers educators put up that deter effective student learning and, importantly, offers advice on how those barriers can be dismantled.