NewsLeader - 2006 Fall

Give Me Five!
by Tommy Johns

This is a first in a series of articles that has a simple premise. The articles will take you less than five minutes to read (that’s when you give ME five!) and each will contain an introduction to a problem or concept pertaining to our work encouraging kids to read. Each article will also include a list of five ideas, reasons, tools, steps or other helpful items (that’s when I give YOU five!) related to the topic of the article. While none of these articles will claim to be the last word on any topic, I promise to make each one fun, well researched and way beyond the obvious. Our first topic will be:

You’ve Got to Listen to Me!

It was our son’s first day at school. We were both in the car as we waited to pick him up, certain that he would be overflowing with wonderful stories of learning and new friendships and excitement over new opportunities. When he got in the car, my wife asked, “Well, how was the first day?” His reply was, “Ms. Marquart is different from Ms. T.” (Ms. Tangeman, his kindergarten teacher, allowed the kids to call her by a shorter and more easily pronounced moniker. Ms. Marquart offered them no such option.) “How so?” I asked. He explained, “When Ms. T wanted us to be quiet, she said, ‘Class, we are making too much noise.’ When we get too loud in Ms. Marquart’s class, she pounds the desk and yells, ‘YOU’VE GOT TO LISTEN TO MEEEEEE!’”

We have all felt the frustration of speaking when it seems no one is listening. But we all see the long term ineffectiveness of shouting to be heard. What you have to offer as media center specialists is central to the academic success of these students. They need to know how to find the right types of resources, locate books for leisure reading and school work, separate the good online sources from the bad and mediocre, and so much more. You can help them, but how do you get and keep their attention?

Following are five proven ways to increase the listening quotient of your students. The first two require advance preparation. The last three are tools to use when you sense that someone’s attention has begun to wander.

  1. Make it relevant. We know that what we are teaching is important. But do your students? Be sure they know that what you are presenting is worth their time and attention. I had a graduate school professor who always told us that every good presentation has to include the answer to two questions: “What?” and, “So What?” If you don’t give your audience the answer to the second question, they are less likely to care about the answer to the first. Always include the benefits of your presentation in your introduction. “This information will make writing your research paper easier.” “Following these steps will reduce the amount of time you have to spend looking for sources.” Marketing people will tell you that you should always stress benefits over features when you want to sell something. The above opening statements are much more appealing to students than saying, “Every book in the media center has a combination of numbers and letters on the spine that tell us on which shelves to find them.” And while this is very important, it doesn’t have the same relevance as, “If you follow these three steps, you will make better grades.”
  2. Reduce distractions. This involves everything from the room setup to the temperature to what you wear. If there is an aspect of your environment that causes students to lose focus, and you can change or eliminate it, then do it! One media center specialist in the Atlanta area had a problem with kids turning around every time the noisy door opened. After several attempts to repair the door, she decided to simply leave it open, eliminating the distraction. You may decide to orient your room so that the chairs face away from the window, hallway, or other attention deficit causes. If you eliminate the competition, you stand a better chance of winning and keeping the focus on the material.
  3. Change the pace or the volume. If you usually speak slowly, speed it up. If you are a fast talker, slow down. Drop the volume as you begin to change subjects, or when you start a list. When the pace or volume changes, the kids know something is about to happen, so they are more likely to listen. The brain is on alert for change and when you alter your rhythm, pace or volume, the learners’ brains takes note. That brings the wandering listener back to you so you can share another bit of information.
  4. Move into the listener’s space. This is what behavior specialist Julian Franklin calls proximity control. There is something about having an authority figure come near that gets the attention of the listener. And it’s more than fear! The learner feels a sense of accountability when the teacher approaches. That’s why the kids most likely to goof off will often sit at the back of the room, and why you and I always sat close to the front!
  5. Engage the learner in the process. Ask questions. Get the students out of their seats. Offer a prize or incentive to the person or group that completes the exercise first. Have a note taking sheet prepared with a fill in the blank outline. Use a PowerPoint © slide presentation to add a visual element. Encourage comments. When the lesson becomes a discussion or a dialogue, or involves more than one of the senses, the learner retains more information and retains it for a longer period of time.

Try one or more of these ideas next time you present a library orientation, a story, or a lesson and see if it makes a difference. If you have additional ideas or want more tools for keeping the attention of your students, a great place to share and ask questions of the state’s BEST experts is on the GLMA discussion board. To become a part of this group, you can subscribe at http://www.georgiamedia.net/mailman/listinfo/georgiamedia.

Tommy Johns has been getting and keeping the attention of children and adults for almost three decades as a school show presenter and educational entertainment specialist. Find out more at www.tommyjohnspresents.com. He welcomes your comments and ideas for future “Give Me Five!” articles. You can contact him at tommy@tommyjohnspresents.com.