TLC #020: Attention as The Currency of Learning
In this edition of the Learning Chronicle newsletter, we explore the concept of attention as “the currency we pay” to “get learning”, and it’s implications for learners.
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Here is your weekly dose of “The Learning Chronicle Newsletter” weekly curated content that leverages the science of learning, data, and evidence-based research to help K–12 educators, stakeholders, and learners optimize for how learning happens while preparing learners for the future of work.
Welcome to all new subscribers. I am Omotayo Olorunfemi; a learning and development specialist. Check out the archive for previous editions using the first link above. Welcome!!! Once again.
One Learning Quote
“In modern knowledge work, the primary capital resource is human brains; or, more specifically, these brains’ ability to create new value through sustained attention” - Cal Newport
One Article
In the book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal attests that technology companies use Harvard psychologist B.F. Skinner’s well-known study that rewards, especially at variable intervals, increase one’s anticipation. As anticipation increases, such reward-seeking actions that technology companies have capitalized on to capture attention turn to instinct. Eyal argues “When you’re feeling uncertain before you ask why you’re uncertain, you Google. When you’re lonely, before you’re even conscious of feeling it, you go to Facebook. Before you know you’re bored, you’re on YouTube. Nothing tells you to do these things. The users trigger themselves.”
Attention as a Currency
Like money, we all crave and need attention to a certain degree. Money is needed for food, water, and shelter. Similarly, attention can be translated to tangibles necessary for survival. As babies, we cry, laugh, make noises, and want attention on us—otherwise, we are not fed, clothed, or do not survive.
Attention is a scarce resource in the digital age. It refers to the mental focus or engagement that people give to different stimuli, such as a conversation, a learning experience, a book, a video, or a piece of content on social media, and so on.
In Why Attention is the Currency of Achievement, Srinivas Rao asserts that; “Our attention is something we have in limited supply. But we spend it as if our supply is infinite, letting it shift from one stimulus to another, clicking, scrolling, surfing, and responding until we’ve depleted it. We wonder why we can’t get anything done when we’ve thrown away the very currency that makes our accomplishments possible. If we spent our money as frivolously as we spend our attention, it’s likely we’d end up homeless”.
Hence, attention as a currency refers to the idea that attention is a valuable resource that can be traded, earned, or purchased by individuals and organizations in various forms. Just like money, attention can be invested, saved, or wasted, and it can have different rates of return depending on how it is used. Attention can be used to achieve personal, social, or economic goals, such as learning a skill or a particular subject matter, building relationships, gaining influence, generating revenue, or promoting a brand.
Our attention has always been limited, valuable, and scarce. But what distinguishes the present day is that technological advances have made an overwhelming amount of information available, strategically aimed at capturing our attention.
Attention as the Currency of Learning
Attention as the currency of learning means that attention is what we “pay” for learning to happen. Hence, we use the expression “pay attention” to make learners focus on what is being taught at any given time, and this means that if learners don’t “pay attention,” then they won’t “get learning”.
Attention is the gateway to the mind. Focusing the learner on the right stuff, and not distractions are the first step in a practical learning experience. It is a crucial factor in the learning process, as it determines what information is processed and retained. It helps to focus on the task at hand, which is essential for learning new skills and knowledge. Research has shown that attention plays a crucial role in encoding information into memory. When attention is focused on specific information, it enhances the processing of that information, making it more likely to be encoded and stored in long-term memory.
References
Paying Attention: The Attention Economy. Retrieved from the internet at: https://econreview.berkeley.edu/paying-attention-the-attention-economy/ on 09022023
Craik FIM, Govoni R, Naveh-Benjamin M, Anderson ND. The effects of divided attention on encoding and retrieval processes in human memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 1996;125:159–180. [PubMed:8683192]doi:10.1037/0096-3445.125.2.159
https://medium.com/the-mission/why-attention-is-the-currency-of-achievement-851add1ccfba
One Video
This five-minute plus video below by UQx LEARNx on YouTube aptly summarises the critical role of attention in learning.
One Learning Question
How would my daily schedule change if I did a little more of what I'm great at and a little less of what I'm not great at?
What We Are Reading
Srinivas Rao on Why Attention is the Currency of Achievement
The Observatory on The Education We Want | Unlearning
Sahil Bloom on The Difference Between Amateurs & Professionals
That’s a wrap for this week.
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