Time-related changes in attention within activities occurred only during independent work, not across the other activities¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r1 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Alpha power was significantly lower in the starting 2 minutes than the ending 2 minutes of activities (MStart = 2.08, MEnd = 2.20), with a significant interaction with activity type. → Jennie K. Grammer 2021 q2 i2 The start-versus-end alpha difference was significant only for independent work, r = 0.21. → Jennie K. Grammer 2021 (2)

Evidence¶

Jennie K. Grammer 2021¶

Jennie K. Grammer, Keye Xu and Agatha Lenartowicz. (2021). Effects of context on the neural correlates of attention in a college classroom. npj Science of Learning 6:15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00094-8

q2 · i? · causal · r1

EEG analysis comparing the first versus last 2 minutes of each 10-minute activity, testing the widely cited 10–15 minute attention-span claim. A "significant interaction effect with activity type" qualified the main effect; no effect size is printed for this omnibus test.

"Alpha power was significantly lower during the starting period ( MStart = 2.08) of the activity then the ending period of each activity ( Mend = 2.20), χ2(1) = 7.81, p = 0.005, and showed a significant interaction effect with activity type, χ2(3) = 14.93, p = 0.002."

Jennie K. Grammer 2021 (2)¶

Jennie K. Grammer, Keye Xu and Agatha Lenartowicz. (2021). Effects of context on the neural correlates of attention in a college classroom. npj Science of Learning 6:15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-021-00094-8

q2 · i2 · causal · r1

Follow-up contrasts on the activity-type-by-time interaction from the same EEG analysis: "alpha was significantly lower in the starting 2 min than the ending 2 min during the independent work only", r = 0.21.

"Further comparisons indicated that alpha was significantly lower in the starting 2 min than the ending 2 min during the independent work only, b = −0.43, t = −3.72, p < 0.001, r = 0.21, suggesting that time-related differences in student attention only occurred when students finished work independently."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Student attention, indexed by occipital alpha power, is lower during teacher-initiated activities (lecture, video) than student-initiated activities (group work, independent work) in a college classroom — related
• No difference in alpha power between student-driven group work and independent work — related
• Students were less attentive during video watching than during lecture, with video showing the greatest alpha power of the four activities — related
• Teacher-initiated activities also increased theta power and decreased beta and gamma power, converging with the alpha-based inference of lower wakefulness and attention — related