A teacher notices that one of her students is highly distractible and has…
2024
A teacher notices that one of her students is highly distractible and has trouble paying attention during class. Which of the following would be an effective strategy in helping the student stay focused?
- A.
Giving the student repeated tasks to do during class.
- B.
Strictly telling the student to increase their attention span.
- C.
Giving a timer to student for self-regulation and time-management.
- D.
Calling the parents and taking strict disciplinary action against the student.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Effective strategies for a distractible student build the child's own self-regulation, giving an external tool such as a timer, checklist, or visual schedule that lets the student track time and monitor task completion independently. This targets the root skill gap instead of just demanding compliance or punishing lapses in attention.
Among the options, giving a timer builds exactly this self-regulation and time-management skill: the student can see how much time remains for a task and use that visual cue to redirect their own attention, gradually internalising the habit of monitoring and pacing their own work.
Repeatedly assigning tasks keeps the student occupied with activity but does not teach any method for noticing or managing a wandering attention, so the same distractibility shows up on the next task just as it did on this one.
Telling the student sternly to concentrate more assumes the student can regulate attention purely by choosing to, without giving any concrete tool to do so.
Involving parents and imposing discipline treats the lapse in attention as a rule violation to punish rather than a skill to build, and tends to raise anxiety, which usually makes focusing harder, not easier.