June 23, 2025 • 27 mins
Are you struggling to teach piano students who seem to bounce from one thought to another? Wondering how to keep young learners engaged or help your neurodivergent students thrive? This deep dive into teaching students with short attention spans might just transform your approach.
Ready to transform your teaching approach? Discover how to time your lesson pacing perfectly around your student's natural attention patterns, creating productive learning experiences where both teacher and student leave feeling accomplished. Your students with short attention spans aren't incapable of focus—they just need you to understand how they focus differently!
Find the full transcript, show notes or links mentioned in the episode here!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Everh (00:01):
Hello and welcome to Episode 7 of the
Creative Piano Pedagogy Podcast.
It's great to be back withanother episode in our summer
series, and this one is a reallyfun episode.
I want to thank everyone whovoted in Instagram and Facebook
stories this week to help medecide which episode to do,
(00:22):
because we had a couple ofreally good options and the
votes are in, so today's episodeis on teaching students with
short attention spans.
I think this will be reallyinteresting.
I had a lot of fun preparingfor this one and I hope you have
a lot of fun listening.
As always, if you have a topicor question you would like
(00:46):
covered in the summer series,please send me a message on
Instagram or Facebook atCreative Piano Pedagogy.
You're also welcome to send mean email anytime as well
creativepianopedagogy@ gmailcom,and I would love to add your
question or topic to the queue.
All right, so digging in rightaway: Short attention spans.
(01:09):
I looked this up online becauseI was curious what the actual
definition of a short attentionspan is, and it is defined as "a
limited amount of time anindividual can focus on a task
without becoming distracted orlosing interest.
" So that is our officialdefinition, and you might be
(01:32):
wondering what population ofstudents can be affected by
short attention spans.
The first population Iimmediately think of are the
very young learners.
These are kiddos aged three tosix we'll define it as that age
range and they are very easilydistracted and they have to be
(01:54):
moving quite quickly throughactivities to keep their
interest and they don't have alot of time where they're able
to be focused on a singularactivity before they lose
interest.
Another thing that's veryapplicable for this podcast, of
course, is our neurodivergentlearners.
These are going to be thestudents with ADHD, autism.
(02:16):
Even things like dyslexia canimpact a student's ability to
focus on a task.
So those are another few thingswe can think of.
Students who suffer fromanxiety or mental health
struggles can also have troubleconcentrating and really have a
difficulty staying focused ontask as well.
(02:39):
This can really impact ourteenage students, and this is
not just for piano lessons, butteenagers in classes, in music
classes, band, orchestra, otherprivate lessons or tutoring.
Their ability to stay focusedmight be a bit minimal due to
all of the stressors they havegoing on, but also all of the
(03:02):
hormonal changes as well.
They can really impact theirfocus.
Something that might kind ofsurprise you is the number of
adult students that have troublewith short attention spans, not
just our adults that arediagnosed ADHD.
But if you have taught adultstudents in the past or
(03:23):
currently, you know that theycan kind of easily lose their
momentum.
They might get very excitedabout something and kind of
hyper- fixate and want to learnall of the music by, you know,
friedrich Chopin- and thenhalfway through the first piece,
"I' I'm not so interestedanymore.
So their interest in attentionspan might kind of wane.
You know, and that's sort of aninteresting thing to think of,
(03:48):
Since our definition says thatstudents can become distracted
or lose interest, let's hortfirst talk about things that
could be a distraction in yourlessons.
These are going to be yourenvironmental factors, so things
in your physical studio space,like clutter.
(04:08):
I have a rule for myselfbecause I can easily clutter up
things just with little stacksof books or stacks of papers or
things like that.
They don't really bother me perse, but I kind of have a rule
for myself that if a studentcannot touch that item or we're
(04:30):
not going to use it during thelesson, it has to be put away
when my students are here.
That eliminates those visualdistractions.
That's something you couldthink about doing.
It doesn't mean you have tototally take away all of your
personal aesthetic in yourstudio, but just making sure
that you don't have a lot ofother things around that are not
(04:50):
pertaining to the lesson thatcan be distracting.
Also, interruptions in thelesson like needing to go to the
bathroom or "oh, I forgot abook, let me go get that.
Or a student forgetting thingsAll of those kind of disruptors
in our routines can just bedistracting and help us really
really easily lose focus.
Another thing that can bedistraction is any sounds in the
(05:16):
environment, like tickingclocks or anything that you have
that might make a constantnoise, or a random noise can be
very distracting.
That you have that might make aconstant noise or a random
noise can be very distracting.
we're talking about losinginterest, that's different from
a distraction.
When people lose interest,it's often due to a couple
different reasons, and one ofthose is boredom.
(05:38):
And when we are bored, it'susually due to a lack of
engagement, a lack of mentalstimulation.
Maybe the pace of learning isjust too slow.
This is how it is for me when Ilisten to podcasts or watch
YouTube videos.
Often I have to bump it up tolike 1.5 times or two times the
(06:02):
speed, because I can absorbinformation much more quickly
than the person talking.
So I have to be very mindful ofat the speed at which I talk on
my podcast, on things like that,because if I talk at the speed
that I think or that iscomfortable for me, it might be
really, really really quickly.
(06:22):
But the pace of learning canvary for teachers and students,
so losing interest could be theresult of a mismatch of pacing.
We can also lose interest due tooverwhelm.
I don't know about you, butwhen I approach some projects,
(06:43):
even in just my own life, liketaxes- if I feel overwhelmed at
the process, I'm going to loseinterest.
And let's be honest, I reallydidn't have a lot of interest in
my taxes to begin with, butit's something I know needs done
.
However, if I'm veryoverwhelmed at the aspect or
even just at the thought ofdoing that, it's going to really
(07:04):
decrease my motivation and I'mgoing to be very easily
distracted and look fordistractions.
So, students who areoverwhelmed at a certain aspect
of music maybe technique orscales or theory they could show
signs of being very disengaged,of being not interested, of
(07:26):
very distracted and losinginterest because they are
overwhelmed.
So we have to really keep inmind that aspect.
That's really unique makingsure that our teaching is very
sequential so we're not skippingover steps that would be
important for our students tocover, making sure they don't
get overwhelmed as easily.
(07:49):
An interesting kind of sideeffect of folks with short
attention spans is, because ofthe different reasons for short
attention spans, they canactually result in some kind of
defensive behaviors and that isbecause of the sensory aspect of
(08:10):
a short attention span.
So even if you as an individual, perhaps you as an adult, you
feel like you have a very shortattention span but you're not
ADHD or you're not on the autismspectrum, that's perfectly
normal to feel like you mighthave a short attention span and
you certainly don't need to fitinto one of those neurodiverse
(08:30):
categories to do that.
But all of us are very aware ofsensory things.
Sensory input are things thatwe're touching, we're seeing,
we're hearing, and all of thatcan result in overwhelm due to
sensory input.
This is something probably Ineed to discuss on its own
(08:52):
episode, but a lot of studentsare going to be either sensory-
avoidant or sensory- seeking, sothey might want to tap their
feet a lot and might want toconstantly be moving their
fingers, constantly playing yourpiano, constantly chatting with
you clicking a pen, or theymight want to be touching things
.
Those are sensory- seekingfolks.
(09:14):
They kind of need to be doingthat in order to think or while
they're learning, perhaps theyneed to have some kind of
sensory input.
The other folks might need tocompletely be silent and not
have any distractions, becausethey're sensory- avoidant and
they get easily overwhelmed.
So I will discuss that onanother episode because I think
(09:35):
that's something reallyimportant we should talk about.
But that's something else thatcan be at play here with these
short attention spans.
I want to share a quick mythwith you.
There's this really interestingconcept that students with a
short attention span needeverything to be taught to them
in a very fast paced, gamifiedway and everything needs to move
(09:57):
very quickly.
That is very, very false.
I am someone who has a shortattention span.
I am ADHD and I do not learnwell when I am rushed.
So that myth of everythingneeds to be very fast paced, we
need to talk quickly and gothrough things quickly- that
does not work well for me.
(10:18):
Moving quickly through a lessonfor our students does not equate
an efficient lesson with morelearning.
Talking quickly will not get astudent's attention and keep it.
It's not a way to gain theirinterest or their engagement.
Playing 18 games in one lessoncan still be classified as
(10:39):
boring, and if we keep thingstoo loosey-goosey, with no
routine at all, or vacillate tothe other side and have too
strict of a schedule, that canalso be highly ineffective.
Folks with short attentionspans are a bit, admittedly-
self-contradictory.
We can have extreme oppositesof being completely and totally
(11:04):
disinterested and disengaged, orI can repeat the same phrase in
a piece 12 times withoutgetting bored.
So let's talk about those veryinteresting dichotomies and how
we can build a lesson forstudents with short attention
spans and make it a verysuccessful lesson, hopefully
(11:26):
every time.
I don't know if you've heard ofthe term hyper-focus before.
This is a term that's oftentalked about in disability
research and special education,but this is when someone is
locked in on a learning processor is very actively focused on
something.
For adults, it could be yournewest fixation on sourdough
(11:51):
bread or gardening or whateveryour hobby is that you're really
obsessed with right now.
For a student with a shortattention span, hyper-focused is
going to be that part in thelesson when they are totally
engaged in what is happening-mentally, physically, they are
there with you; joint attentionis achieved and they are way,
(12:15):
way excited about doing thisthing.
So you will want to verycarefully assess your students'
energy levels throughout thelesson.
If this is a new studentyou're working with, make a
mental note to watch out forthis, and if it's a student
you've been working with for awhile, pay attention to where
their hyper- focus peaks duringthe lesson.
(12:38):
Is it right at the beginning?
Do they walk in and they'rejust ready to go?
Perhaps it's in the middle ofthe lesson- lesson that's pretty
typical for a lot of students,students and then maybe it's at
the end, who knows?
But we want to find that momentof hyper-focus and use it.
We want to save the mostchallenging thing we're going to
(12:59):
teach them in the lesson.
Maybe that's memorization,perhaps it's technique- whatever
Whatever the most challengingthing is for your student, you
want to save that for wheneverthey're the most .
We also have to ensure that thestudent is prepared.
(13:22):
I was talking earlier aboutstudents who may become
disinterested due to overwhelm,and this is really easily
avoidable.
You just need to make sure yourstudents are technically
prepared, like their pianotechnique, make sure they're
mentally prepared for the newthing or the challenging thing
you're going to do that day.
This is going to help them feelmore confident and it will help
(13:45):
them hyper-focus on this thing.
Watch for their cues as well,because students are very, very
good at communicating to us whenthey're ready to enter into a
state of hyper-focus byrepeating something a bunch of
times, or if they need a breakfrom it, it's always okay to
(14:06):
come back to it later.
It's actually great to do that,because then you can say "oh, I
wonder if you still rememberhow to play" whatever.
It might beSomething we really, really want
to do in our teaching forstudents with short attention
spans and you have heard me saythis before, so this is going to
be a repeat- but be veryconcise in your explanations of
(14:29):
whatever that challenging aspectof the lesson is.
Have your instructions down tothe minimum amount of words you
need to use.
Be very direct, telling themwhat to do, so they can just
quickly go on and do it.
Don't save that moment for along lecture to berate
(14:50):
historical literature andperformance practice.
Teach them the thing and thenyou can, you know, kind of
organically evolve into thoseother things.
There are a few things that alesson should always have if
you're teaching a student with ashort attention span.
So I want to share these thingswith you.
This is what I do in my lessonsfor students age three all the
(15:13):
way up through adult, and it'svery successful.
It's kind of like a perfectformula for teaching students
with a short attention span.
So here we go.
I always include a brainactivity.
This could be a game, thiscould be something to kind of
stimulate their memory, and whatI often do to help encourage
long-term memory and I'llusually do it with a " I don't
(15:35):
know if you remember this piecewe played a couple of weeks ago
and it's something I want themto remember before we go on to
something new today, or whateverit might be.
This could also be a timedactivity.
This is something usuallypretty short.
I don't spend a lot of time onit, but I include something to
stimulate their brain and theirmemory.
I do what I like to call acircle back, and this is a way
(15:59):
to review things in lesson thatI want my student to continually
reinforce, and I want this tobe something that they're
actually quite good at.
This is going to build theirconfidence, it's going to
encourage them in their progressand it's a great way to
reinforce skills and help themremember things in kind of a
(16:20):
beautifully sneaky way.
So I always have something thatwe review and I usually let the
student choose- "you want toplay an old p"o p"oh Should we
choose an old favorite game"?
And it's always something thatI think we should do.
I just allow them to help mechoose it for that day.
Something else my lessons alwayshave is an appropriate
challenge, and we already talkedabout this how to use
(16:43):
challenges in lessons a littlebit, but students need something
to stimulate their brain andmake them feel like, oh, I need
to stay focused so I can work onthis and notice I use the words
'appropriate challenge,' notjust challenge, because we don't
want it to be so far advancedthat the student is not prepared
to do whatever it is.
(17:03):
So an appropriate challenge isvery important for students with
short attention spans, helpskeep them motivated, eliminates
needs for distraction and needsfor losing interest.
I also always include somethingto help their body and brain
work together, something tobuild coordination, like a
(17:24):
rhythm activity or somethinglike that- always a body and
brain movement.
And then I always alwaysinclude something to challenge
their ear, because students havesuch highly gifted ears,
especially neurodivergentlearners, and so it's just a
perfect way to again challengethem, but through something that
(17:46):
they're good at, and just keepbuilding up those skills.
The last thing I always have ina lesson is autonomy and choices
.
I know that my students aregoing to have varied levels of
energy and even varied levels ofhyper- focus from week to week,
(18:07):
but I need to make sure Iinclude time for them to make
choices.
Do they want to repeat or dothey need to go on?
So I very carefully learn mystudents and I would encourage
you to really become an experton your student as well.
That little term, 'become anexpert on your student,' is from
Dr Scott Price, who is a geniusin the world of piano pedagogy
(18:29):
and autism.
If you have not checked out hisbook, I really encourage you to
do so.
But really become an expert onyour student and learn.
Does your student need to enterthe lesson with a calm and
centering, sensory free activity, something like a puzzle or a
(18:49):
musical coloring page whileyou're listening to music or a
matching game, or do they needsomething that's going to be
kind of high energy to reallyengage their body?
So learn what works best.
I always have an option foreither one when my students
arrive and I kind of see howthey're doing that day and we
just go from there.
Another thing I want toencourage you is to teach at the
(19:13):
pace at which your student islearning, not at the pace at
which you're comfortableteaching.
Sometimes students who haveshort attention span can be very
brilliant.
Most of the time they are, andI don't want to hold them back
because I'm so used to teachingin this typical way that I can't
(19:34):
alter what I'm doing, and Ialso don't want you, as teachers
, to be afraid to teach beyondwhere your student is right now.
So if your student has a verygifted ear but they have a short
attention span and maybe musicreading isn't their favorite
thing, teach music that is abovetheir reading level by rote.
(19:55):
It's a great way to engagetheir mental stimulation.
Basically a musical puzzle forthem to figure out in little
pieces, and it will really keepthem hyper-focused and it's a
great way to encourage progressand give giving them appropriate
challenges.
I also don't want my students tostruggle because I'm unable to
(20:17):
be concise.
So if your students arestruggling in this area and you
notice that they have shortattention spans, really hone
your communication.
Be very, very concise.
I know it's also difficultbecause being concise in a
lesson is not the mostsatisfying way to teach.
It's a lot more fun to useflowery analogies and beautiful
(20:42):
examples, but the most fun thingis when students get it.
So that's what you have to hangon to, not the feeling of
satisfaction that comes from abeautifully timed analogy.
There are fun things you can usein lessons, like bubble timers,
stuffed animals, teachingmanipulatives, and I have a ton
(21:03):
of those.
But here's the caveat (21:03):
they do and can help support good
teaching and help a student stayengaged or get engaged in the
learning process, but they'renot a substitute for good
teaching.
Ouch.
So you can have all the stuffedanimals and all of the games
(21:24):
you want and the lessons stillnot be a good fit for your
student who has a shortattention span.
The same goes for method books.
I see questions from teachersall the time- "What are good
method books for students with(and fill in the blank here)
dyslexia, ADHD, autism?
That is the wrong approach forthis question.
(21:45):
The best question is "how doesmy student with ADHD, with
autism, with dyslexia, learn,and how can I teach them using
these resources?
Right?
Kind of flip the question onits end.
Learn your student.
This is probably the mostimportant thing I will say in
(22:08):
this episode today.
Learn your student.
Become an expert in how theirenergy ebbs and flows, how their
concentration ebbs and flows.
Take note of the things thatreally engage them.
You might be surprised.
It might be actually the trickythings that you're teaching and
reviewing that they are reallylatching onto because it's
(22:28):
exciting, so take note of that.
Become very comfortable withdifferentiated instruction in
your lessons.
This is teaching things inmultiple ways, allowing multiple
different opportunities foryour student to learn by moving
their body, involving theirwhole mind and really engaging
(22:48):
their musicianship andcreativity.
The other thing I want to leaveyou with is- don't be afraid to
allow your lessons to havemoments of intentional
randomness.
And that sounds completelyridiculous, but, coming from a
person with a short attentionspan, all of my students who
(23:12):
have short attention spans mighthave random thoughts that are
very creative when it pertainsto their music, and it's kind of
hilarious.
And if my schedule is so rigidin the lesson that I cannot
allow them to share thatcreative, random idea, it might
eliminate a possibility or anopportunity for them to
(23:35):
personalize learning in thatmoment.
And I want to encourage theircreativity, even if it's
different than my own.
So if your students randomlystop during the lesson and say,
"wouldn't it be so funny if ahippopotamus played a duet on
the piano with a crocodile?
" Yes, it would.
Oh, I can just imagine it.
(23:56):
So kind of go along with someof their silly ideas and then
get back on track.
But don't miss out on anopportunity for your student to
personalize something thatthey're learning in their lesson
.
Just because kids have shortattention spans does not mean
that they can't focus.
We just have to tweak things alittle differently and save the
(24:18):
hard stuff for when they're themost focused, and then it'll
work beautifully.
You'll leave the lesson feelinglike you actually taught a lot
and the student will leave thelesson learning a lot; not
because you rushed through andyou talked very quickly, but
because you timed the pacing soperfectly.
If you're interested inlearning more about lesson
(24:45):
pacing or just kind ofrefreshing on that topic,
episode two of the podcast wascompletely devoted to lesson
pacing and it's a good one, sogo back and take a listen to
that.
That is all we have for today onshort attention spans.
What a wonderful question thiswas! This was submitted by
several different teachers, sowe had a teacher from Australia
submit this question and ateacher from South Carolina as
(25:07):
well as a few others, so lots offolks were wondering about
short attention spans.
I hope this gave you a fewideas and a few things to kind
of think about as you areplanning your fall lessons, so
you can keep this very specialpopulation of students in mind
as you hone their lessons to begreat fits for them.
(25:27):
Thanks very much for tuning inand I will look forward to
sharing with you again very soon!
Hello and welcome to Episode 7 of the
Creative Piano Pedagogy Podcast.
It's great to be back withanother episode in our summer
series, and this one is a reallyfun episode.
I want to thank everyone whovoted in Instagram and Facebook
stories this week to help medecide which episode to do,
(00:22):
because we had a couple ofreally good options and the
votes are in, so today's episodeis on teaching students with
short attention spans.
I think this will be reallyinteresting.
I had a lot of fun preparingfor this one and I hope you have
a lot of fun listening.
As always, if you have a topicor question you would like
(00:46):
covered in the summer series,please send me a message on
Instagram or Facebook atCreative Piano Pedagogy.
You're also welcome to send mean email anytime as well
creativepianopedagogy@ gmailcom,and I would love to add your
question or topic to the queue.
All right, so digging in rightaway: Short attention spans.
(01:09):
I looked this up online becauseI was curious what the actual
definition of a short attentionspan is, and it is defined as "a
limited amount of time anindividual can focus on a task
without becoming distracted orlosing interest.
" So that is our officialdefinition, and you might be
(01:32):
wondering what population ofstudents can be affected by
short attention spans.
The first population Iimmediately think of are the
very young learners.
These are kiddos aged three tosix we'll define it as that age
range and they are very easilydistracted and they have to be
(01:54):
moving quite quickly throughactivities to keep their
interest and they don't have alot of time where they're able
to be focused on a singularactivity before they lose
interest.
Another thing that's veryapplicable for this podcast, of
course, is our neurodivergentlearners.
These are going to be thestudents with ADHD, autism.
(02:16):
Even things like dyslexia canimpact a student's ability to
focus on a task.
So those are another few thingswe can think of.
Students who suffer fromanxiety or mental health
struggles can also have troubleconcentrating and really have a
difficulty staying focused ontask as well.
(02:39):
This can really impact ourteenage students, and this is
not just for piano lessons, butteenagers in classes, in music
classes, band, orchestra, otherprivate lessons or tutoring.
Their ability to stay focusedmight be a bit minimal due to
all of the stressors they havegoing on, but also all of the
(03:02):
hormonal changes as well.
They can really impact theirfocus.
Something that might kind ofsurprise you is the number of
adult students that have troublewith short attention spans, not
just our adults that arediagnosed ADHD.
But if you have taught adultstudents in the past or
(03:23):
currently, you know that theycan kind of easily lose their
momentum.
They might get very excitedabout something and kind of
hyper- fixate and want to learnall of the music by, you know,
friedrich Chopin- and thenhalfway through the first piece,
"I' I'm not so interestedanymore.
So their interest in attentionspan might kind of wane.
You know, and that's sort of aninteresting thing to think of,
(03:48):
Since our definition says thatstudents can become distracted
or lose interest, let's hortfirst talk about things that
could be a distraction in yourlessons.
These are going to be yourenvironmental factors, so things
in your physical studio space,like clutter.
(04:08):
I have a rule for myselfbecause I can easily clutter up
things just with little stacksof books or stacks of papers or
things like that.
They don't really bother me perse, but I kind of have a rule
for myself that if a studentcannot touch that item or we're
(04:30):
not going to use it during thelesson, it has to be put away
when my students are here.
That eliminates those visualdistractions.
That's something you couldthink about doing.
It doesn't mean you have tototally take away all of your
personal aesthetic in yourstudio, but just making sure
that you don't have a lot ofother things around that are not
(04:50):
pertaining to the lesson thatcan be distracting.
Also, interruptions in thelesson like needing to go to the
bathroom or "oh, I forgot abook, let me go get that.
Or a student forgetting thingsAll of those kind of disruptors
in our routines can just bedistracting and help us really
really easily lose focus.
Another thing that can bedistraction is any sounds in the
(05:16):
environment, like tickingclocks or anything that you have
that might make a constantnoise, or a random noise can be
very distracting.
That you have that might make aconstant noise or a random
noise can be very distracting.
we're talking about losinginterest, that's different from
a distraction.
When people lose interest,it's often due to a couple
different reasons, and one ofthose is boredom.
(05:38):
And when we are bored, it'susually due to a lack of
engagement, a lack of mentalstimulation.
Maybe the pace of learning isjust too slow.
This is how it is for me when Ilisten to podcasts or watch
YouTube videos.
Often I have to bump it up tolike 1.5 times or two times the
(06:02):
speed, because I can absorbinformation much more quickly
than the person talking.
So I have to be very mindful ofat the speed at which I talk on
my podcast, on things like that,because if I talk at the speed
that I think or that iscomfortable for me, it might be
really, really really quickly.
(06:22):
But the pace of learning canvary for teachers and students,
so losing interest could be theresult of a mismatch of pacing.
We can also lose interest due tooverwhelm.
I don't know about you, butwhen I approach some projects,
(06:43):
even in just my own life, liketaxes- if I feel overwhelmed at
the process, I'm going to loseinterest.
And let's be honest, I reallydidn't have a lot of interest in
my taxes to begin with, butit's something I know needs done
.
However, if I'm veryoverwhelmed at the aspect or
even just at the thought ofdoing that, it's going to really
(07:04):
decrease my motivation and I'mgoing to be very easily
distracted and look fordistractions.
So, students who areoverwhelmed at a certain aspect
of music maybe technique orscales or theory they could show
signs of being very disengaged,of being not interested, of
(07:26):
very distracted and losinginterest because they are
overwhelmed.
So we have to really keep inmind that aspect.
That's really unique makingsure that our teaching is very
sequential so we're not skippingover steps that would be
important for our students tocover, making sure they don't
get overwhelmed as easily.
(07:49):
An interesting kind of sideeffect of folks with short
attention spans is, because ofthe different reasons for short
attention spans, they canactually result in some kind of
defensive behaviors and that isbecause of the sensory aspect of
(08:10):
a short attention span.
So even if you as an individual, perhaps you as an adult, you
feel like you have a very shortattention span but you're not
ADHD or you're not on the autismspectrum, that's perfectly
normal to feel like you mighthave a short attention span and
you certainly don't need to fitinto one of those neurodiverse
(08:30):
categories to do that.
But all of us are very aware ofsensory things.
Sensory input are things thatwe're touching, we're seeing,
we're hearing, and all of thatcan result in overwhelm due to
sensory input.
This is something probably Ineed to discuss on its own
(08:52):
episode, but a lot of studentsare going to be either sensory-
avoidant or sensory- seeking, sothey might want to tap their
feet a lot and might want toconstantly be moving their
fingers, constantly playing yourpiano, constantly chatting with
you clicking a pen, or theymight want to be touching things
.
Those are sensory- seekingfolks.
(09:14):
They kind of need to be doingthat in order to think or while
they're learning, perhaps theyneed to have some kind of
sensory input.
The other folks might need tocompletely be silent and not
have any distractions, becausethey're sensory- avoidant and
they get easily overwhelmed.
So I will discuss that onanother episode because I think
(09:35):
that's something reallyimportant we should talk about.
But that's something else thatcan be at play here with these
short attention spans.
I want to share a quick mythwith you.
There's this really interestingconcept that students with a
short attention span needeverything to be taught to them
in a very fast paced, gamifiedway and everything needs to move
(09:57):
very quickly.
That is very, very false.
I am someone who has a shortattention span.
I am ADHD and I do not learnwell when I am rushed.
So that myth of everythingneeds to be very fast paced, we
need to talk quickly and gothrough things quickly- that
does not work well for me.
(10:18):
Moving quickly through a lessonfor our students does not equate
an efficient lesson with morelearning.
Talking quickly will not get astudent's attention and keep it.
It's not a way to gain theirinterest or their engagement.
Playing 18 games in one lessoncan still be classified as
(10:39):
boring, and if we keep thingstoo loosey-goosey, with no
routine at all, or vacillate tothe other side and have too
strict of a schedule, that canalso be highly ineffective.
Folks with short attentionspans are a bit, admittedly-
self-contradictory.
We can have extreme oppositesof being completely and totally
(11:04):
disinterested and disengaged, orI can repeat the same phrase in
a piece 12 times withoutgetting bored.
So let's talk about those veryinteresting dichotomies and how
we can build a lesson forstudents with short attention
spans and make it a verysuccessful lesson, hopefully
(11:26):
every time.
I don't know if you've heard ofthe term hyper-focus before.
This is a term that's oftentalked about in disability
research and special education,but this is when someone is
locked in on a learning processor is very actively focused on
something.
For adults, it could be yournewest fixation on sourdough
(11:51):
bread or gardening or whateveryour hobby is that you're really
obsessed with right now.
For a student with a shortattention span, hyper-focused is
going to be that part in thelesson when they are totally
engaged in what is happening-mentally, physically, they are
there with you; joint attentionis achieved and they are way,
(12:15):
way excited about doing thisthing.
So you will want to verycarefully assess your students'
energy levels throughout thelesson.
If this is a new studentyou're working with, make a
mental note to watch out forthis, and if it's a student
you've been working with for awhile, pay attention to where
their hyper- focus peaks duringthe lesson.
(12:38):
Is it right at the beginning?
Do they walk in and they'rejust ready to go?
Perhaps it's in the middle ofthe lesson- lesson that's pretty
typical for a lot of students,students and then maybe it's at
the end, who knows?
But we want to find that momentof hyper-focus and use it.
We want to save the mostchallenging thing we're going to
(12:59):
teach them in the lesson.
Maybe that's memorization,perhaps it's technique- whatever
Whatever the most challengingthing is for your student, you
want to save that for wheneverthey're the most .
We also have to ensure that thestudent is prepared.
(13:22):
I was talking earlier aboutstudents who may become
disinterested due to overwhelm,and this is really easily
avoidable.
You just need to make sure yourstudents are technically
prepared, like their pianotechnique, make sure they're
mentally prepared for the newthing or the challenging thing
you're going to do that day.
This is going to help them feelmore confident and it will help
(13:45):
them hyper-focus on this thing.
Watch for their cues as well,because students are very, very
good at communicating to us whenthey're ready to enter into a
state of hyper-focus byrepeating something a bunch of
times, or if they need a breakfrom it, it's always okay to
(14:06):
come back to it later.
It's actually great to do that,because then you can say "oh, I
wonder if you still rememberhow to play" whatever.
It might beSomething we really, really want
to do in our teaching forstudents with short attention
spans and you have heard me saythis before, so this is going to
be a repeat- but be veryconcise in your explanations of
(14:29):
whatever that challenging aspectof the lesson is.
Have your instructions down tothe minimum amount of words you
need to use.
Be very direct, telling themwhat to do, so they can just
quickly go on and do it.
Don't save that moment for along lecture to berate
(14:50):
historical literature andperformance practice.
Teach them the thing and thenyou can, you know, kind of
organically evolve into thoseother things.
There are a few things that alesson should always have if
you're teaching a student with ashort attention span.
So I want to share these thingswith you.
This is what I do in my lessonsfor students age three all the
(15:13):
way up through adult, and it'svery successful.
It's kind of like a perfectformula for teaching students
with a short attention span.
So here we go.
I always include a brainactivity.
This could be a game, thiscould be something to kind of
stimulate their memory, and whatI often do to help encourage
long-term memory and I'llusually do it with a " I don't
(15:35):
know if you remember this piecewe played a couple of weeks ago
and it's something I want themto remember before we go on to
something new today, or whateverit might be.
This could also be a timedactivity.
This is something usuallypretty short.
I don't spend a lot of time onit, but I include something to
stimulate their brain and theirmemory.
I do what I like to call acircle back, and this is a way
(15:59):
to review things in lesson thatI want my student to continually
reinforce, and I want this tobe something that they're
actually quite good at.
This is going to build theirconfidence, it's going to
encourage them in their progressand it's a great way to
reinforce skills and help themremember things in kind of a
(16:20):
beautifully sneaky way.
So I always have something thatwe review and I usually let the
student choose- "you want toplay an old p"o p"oh Should we
choose an old favorite game"?
And it's always something thatI think we should do.
I just allow them to help mechoose it for that day.
Something else my lessons alwayshave is an appropriate
challenge, and we already talkedabout this how to use
(16:43):
challenges in lessons a littlebit, but students need something
to stimulate their brain andmake them feel like, oh, I need
to stay focused so I can work onthis and notice I use the words
'appropriate challenge,' notjust challenge, because we don't
want it to be so far advancedthat the student is not prepared
to do whatever it is.
(17:03):
So an appropriate challenge isvery important for students with
short attention spans, helpskeep them motivated, eliminates
needs for distraction and needsfor losing interest.
I also always include somethingto help their body and brain
work together, something tobuild coordination, like a
(17:24):
rhythm activity or somethinglike that- always a body and
brain movement.
And then I always alwaysinclude something to challenge
their ear, because students havesuch highly gifted ears,
especially neurodivergentlearners, and so it's just a
perfect way to again challengethem, but through something that
(17:46):
they're good at, and just keepbuilding up those skills.
The last thing I always have ina lesson is autonomy and choices
.
I know that my students aregoing to have varied levels of
energy and even varied levels ofhyper- focus from week to week,
(18:07):
but I need to make sure Iinclude time for them to make
choices.
Do they want to repeat or dothey need to go on?
So I very carefully learn mystudents and I would encourage
you to really become an experton your student as well.
That little term, 'become anexpert on your student,' is from
Dr Scott Price, who is a geniusin the world of piano pedagogy
(18:29):
and autism.
If you have not checked out hisbook, I really encourage you to
do so.
But really become an expert onyour student and learn.
Does your student need to enterthe lesson with a calm and
centering, sensory free activity, something like a puzzle or a
(18:49):
musical coloring page whileyou're listening to music or a
matching game, or do they needsomething that's going to be
kind of high energy to reallyengage their body?
So learn what works best.
I always have an option foreither one when my students
arrive and I kind of see howthey're doing that day and we
just go from there.
Another thing I want toencourage you is to teach at the
(19:13):
pace at which your student islearning, not at the pace at
which you're comfortableteaching.
Sometimes students who haveshort attention span can be very
brilliant.
Most of the time they are, andI don't want to hold them back
because I'm so used to teachingin this typical way that I can't
(19:34):
alter what I'm doing, and Ialso don't want you, as teachers
, to be afraid to teach beyondwhere your student is right now.
So if your student has a verygifted ear but they have a short
attention span and maybe musicreading isn't their favorite
thing, teach music that is abovetheir reading level by rote.
(19:55):
It's a great way to engagetheir mental stimulation.
Basically a musical puzzle forthem to figure out in little
pieces, and it will really keepthem hyper-focused and it's a
great way to encourage progressand give giving them appropriate
challenges.
I also don't want my students tostruggle because I'm unable to
(20:17):
be concise.
So if your students arestruggling in this area and you
notice that they have shortattention spans, really hone
your communication.
Be very, very concise.
I know it's also difficultbecause being concise in a
lesson is not the mostsatisfying way to teach.
It's a lot more fun to useflowery analogies and beautiful
(20:42):
examples, but the most fun thingis when students get it.
So that's what you have to hangon to, not the feeling of
satisfaction that comes from abeautifully timed analogy.
There are fun things you can usein lessons, like bubble timers,
stuffed animals, teachingmanipulatives, and I have a ton
(21:03):
of those.
But here's the caveat (21:03):
they do and can help support good
teaching and help a student stayengaged or get engaged in the
learning process, but they'renot a substitute for good
teaching.
Ouch.
So you can have all the stuffedanimals and all of the games
(21:24):
you want and the lessons stillnot be a good fit for your
student who has a shortattention span.
The same goes for method books.
I see questions from teachersall the time- "What are good
method books for students with(and fill in the blank here)
dyslexia, ADHD, autism?
That is the wrong approach forthis question.
(21:45):
The best question is "how doesmy student with ADHD, with
autism, with dyslexia, learn,and how can I teach them using
these resources?
Right?
Kind of flip the question onits end.
Learn your student.
This is probably the mostimportant thing I will say in
(22:08):
this episode today.
Learn your student.
Become an expert in how theirenergy ebbs and flows, how their
concentration ebbs and flows.
Take note of the things thatreally engage them.
You might be surprised.
It might be actually the trickythings that you're teaching and
reviewing that they are reallylatching onto because it's
(22:28):
exciting, so take note of that.
Become very comfortable withdifferentiated instruction in
your lessons.
This is teaching things inmultiple ways, allowing multiple
different opportunities foryour student to learn by moving
their body, involving theirwhole mind and really engaging
(22:48):
their musicianship andcreativity.
The other thing I want to leaveyou with is- don't be afraid to
allow your lessons to havemoments of intentional
randomness.
And that sounds completelyridiculous, but, coming from a
person with a short attentionspan, all of my students who
(23:12):
have short attention spans mighthave random thoughts that are
very creative when it pertainsto their music, and it's kind of
hilarious.
And if my schedule is so rigidin the lesson that I cannot
allow them to share thatcreative, random idea, it might
eliminate a possibility or anopportunity for them to
(23:35):
personalize learning in thatmoment.
And I want to encourage theircreativity, even if it's
different than my own.
So if your students randomlystop during the lesson and say,
"wouldn't it be so funny if ahippopotamus played a duet on
the piano with a crocodile?
" Yes, it would.
Oh, I can just imagine it.
(23:56):
So kind of go along with someof their silly ideas and then
get back on track.
But don't miss out on anopportunity for your student to
personalize something thatthey're learning in their lesson
.
Just because kids have shortattention spans does not mean
that they can't focus.
We just have to tweak things alittle differently and save the
(24:18):
hard stuff for when they're themost focused, and then it'll
work beautifully.
You'll leave the lesson feelinglike you actually taught a lot
and the student will leave thelesson learning a lot; not
because you rushed through andyou talked very quickly, but
because you timed the pacing soperfectly.
If you're interested inlearning more about lesson
(24:45):
pacing or just kind ofrefreshing on that topic,
episode two of the podcast wascompletely devoted to lesson
pacing and it's a good one, sogo back and take a listen to
that.
That is all we have for today onshort attention spans.
What a wonderful question thiswas! This was submitted by
several different teachers, sowe had a teacher from Australia
submit this question and ateacher from South Carolina as
(25:07):
well as a few others, so lots offolks were wondering about
short attention spans.
I hope this gave you a fewideas and a few things to kind
of think about as you areplanning your fall lessons, so
you can keep this very specialpopulation of students in mind
as you hone their lessons to begreat fits for them.
(25:27):
Thanks very much for tuning inand I will look forward to
sharing with you again very soon!
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