If you’re not the type of person who naturally speaks up in class, now is the time to start. Rather than sitting idly while others chat, making sure you participate in class conversation is a fantastic approach to stay focused because you’ll have to think about the topic at hand, what others are saying, and how you might answer. You could even use some of the questions you came up with before. If you don’t feel confident enough to answer questions yourself, presenting a thought-provoking inquiry of your own can be just as helpful.
That isn’t to mean that you should spend the whole class asking questions. It is sufficient to speak out once or twice during a talk. If you have a specific point you’d like to make, say it first, while the rest of the class is still getting warmed up and before someone else does. You may believe that you don’t need to take notes if you already know the topic or believe that much of what is being said is apparent or mirrored in the textbook. And it’s possible that taking notes won’t help you remember what you learned in class.
If you don’t take notes, you’re just passively listening to what’s being said, which makes it much more difficult to stay focused. You might even start sketching instead of paying attention. Making comprehensive notes forces you to focus on what is being said in class, absorb it, and then write it down in a comprehensible manner. Teachers can learn how to teach online by doing online courses.
It not only shows that you’re paying attention, but it also means that you’re more likely to recall what’s been spoken. Taking notes on something you already know may seem like a waste of time, but you must be in the classroom for a certain amount of time. The classes when you’ve already decided that the class doesn’t matter are some of the most difficult to concentrate in.
Maybe it’s a topic you’re eliminating at the end of the year because it has no bearing on your final grade or because you know it won’t help you get into your dream job. It’s all too simple to slouch into class, wonder why you’re even there, then turn off for an hour. But you (presumably) don’t want to do that, or you wouldn’t be reading this essay in the first place.
Try to discover a source of inspiration for subjects where you don’t see the sense in trying. That could mean trusting that your educational system wouldn’t force you to study this subject if it didn’t have any value, even if it was merely to extend your perspectives. It might also be thinking about your future career plans and considering how the subject could be useful. Teachers can provide students with motivational quotes for students.
Make up a scenario where the subject might be useful if neither of those options works. It doesn’t even have to be credible. You might find geology uninteresting now, but understanding the rocks that form up planets like Mars or the asteroid belt will be crucial if you eventually become an astronaut. As long as it’s sufficient to keep you motivated for the duration of each lesson. If you’ve tried everything and still can’t seem to concentrate, it’s worth thinking about whether there’s a deeper reason.
For example, students who need glasses, or who have glasses but have strong eyesight, may find that the hard task of constantly blinking the blackboard can be tiring and affect their concentration. The same is true for students who have hearing loss and have difficulty understanding what the teacher is saying. If you find that sitting in a good-sounding, well-seen frontal area makes a dramatic difference in your attention, these are the options you want to investigate.
You may know what’s causing you to have trouble concentrating, such as stress, insomnia, or simply too much work, as exam time approaches, but you may not be able to do anything about it. You might wish to explore employing additional aids to enhance your concentration at this point. Eye drops, for example, might aid with weary and sore eyes. You might also discover that chewing gum helps you stay awake if your school allows it. Fidget spinners, for example, can be used as a concentration assist rather than a distraction for some people.
