Changing activities during lessons improves student attention during the activity and subsequent lecture segments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Student attention during lectures fluctuates in ever-shortening cycles, and incorporating student-centred activities significantly improves attention during and after those activities. → Lucciarini 2025

Evidence¶

Lucciarini 2025¶

Lucciarini, E., Carr, A., Bressoud, N., Boniwell, I., Audrin, C., Gay, P., & Burel, N. (2025). Evermore Wellbeing for Teens: A Scoping Review of Stand-alone and Brief Positive Psychology Interventions for Potential Use in Educational Settings. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10033-3

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review attribution: the review cites Bunce et al. (2010) on attentional cycles in lectures, reporting that "changing activities throughout a lesson significantly improve student attention" during the activity and in later lecture segments. The review does not print effect sizes for this finding.

"their research shows that incorporating student-centred pedagogical approaches and changing activities throughout a lesson significantly improve student attention both during the activity and in subsequent lecture segments."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Attention — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Questions interpolated between video lecture segments improve subsequent test performance and reduce mind wandering — related
• Students in courses with guided note-taking and other active learning activities reported less difficulty with motivation and engagement after the shift online — related
• Students reported that long recorded lectures impeded focus, and one student appreciated an instructor's choice to break lectures into shorter videos — related
• Learners engage in mind wandering approximately 30% of the time spent in educational activities, and this is associated with deteriorated learning outcomes — related
• Active Learning Improves Exam Performance — related
• Student motivation, enjoyment, and engagement are higher in natural learning settings, including spillover to subsequent indoor lessons — related
• Scoping review identifies 64 brief, stand-alone, evidence-based PPIs potentially adaptable to classroom lesson timeframes — related
• University students' visual engagement in real lectures is higher than practitioners often expect and can remain high despite fluctuations — related