mental alertness
We all know we can lead a horse to water, but we can't make it drink.
We might try to force the horse to drink, but what is more successful is making the horse THIRSTY, so it WANTS to drink.---quoted by teacher Jamie Sesselman
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Mental Energy Controls have two components:
| mental alertness |
| mental effort |
Mental alertness is the readiness to learn, being awake and alert for learning.
If mental alertness is less than satisfactory, you may observe:
Mental effort is the effort needed to be productive and control behavior; you want to use enough effort, but not more than is needed
If mental effort is weak, you may observe:
Teacher actions
| expectations of small amounts of effort at one time, with breaks |
| private signal for student when he is tuning out |
| incorporation of physical movement in class |
| allowing student to keep hands active if it helps her stay attentive |
| don't make student feel guilty ("If only you would try") |
| signal when important material is coming |
| allow students to investigate content they enjoy/are interested in--give them choices |
Specific Strategies
| give breaks between paragraphs or certain number of math problems |
| use brain breaks and physical breaks |
| tap on the shoulder for private signal |
| have student take notes, write on board, draw picture to help keep focused |
| say "this is important" or "listen carefully" |
| give students choices of reading, projects, etc. so they can do one that interests them |
| use active learning strategies |
| change a student's work site to relieve boredom; write the introduction to the essay here, then the first body paragraph over there...) |
There are five sections of Processing Controls:
| Focal Maintenance |
| Saliency Determination |
| Mental Activation |
| Depth/Detail of Processing |
| Satisfaction Level |
Focal Maintenance--attending to useful information until the entire message is processed; this problem is often associated with other attention problems
If focal maintenance is weak, you may observe:
student cannot regulate length of concentration (does not have it under his control)
student has too short an attention span--cannot stay focused long enough to complete task
student has too long an attention span--concentrates too long on one thing, and does not move on to others when she should
Saliency Determination--selecting what is most important to process in depth and what can be ignored
If saliency determination is weak, you may observe:
a focus on irrelevant trivia, (such as sounds in hallway, missing important information (
noting minor detail, missing critical gist
lack of vigilance--cannot remain on the lookout for important material for long
trouble knowing what to study for tests
trouble finding main idea
Depth or detail or processing--using right amount of intensity to put information into consciousness; often associated with difficulty with short term memory
If depth/detail of processing is weak, you may observe:
information does not register deeply enough to be retained; student leaves out important steps or is vague in repeating information
preference for the big picture rather than fine detail (the further a student progresses in school, the more the need for fine detail)
getting bogged down in the details, unable to see the big picture
Mental activation--activating just the right amount of prior knowledge to accept new information
If mental activation is weak, you may observe:
very passive activation--no connection with new learning; topic rings no bells; therefore, student has limited understanding of concepts and a lack of interest in the material; repeats information by rote on test or when called on
too active processing--new information triggers too many associations--students follow path of associations way out, and miss what the teacher says next (these students are often highly imaginative, like to daydream)
Satisfaction level--feeling that a need is being satisfied; requiring an appropriate level of satisfaction in order to learn
If satisfaction level is weak, you may observe:
need to very high stimulation to learn--appears bored during routine activities
need for intense experiences (like "extreme" activities)
craving for excitement (may cause behavior problems, such as stirring things up)
craving for material things (want, want, want)--may have trouble sharing, taking turns; may be hoarders and collectors
Teacher actions
| have students summarize key points |
| show students how to pick out important material |
| show students how to prioritize |
| do not call on a student who has not been paying attention |
| tell student how long he has to focus or how long homework should take |
| give students choices so they are interested and will process more deeply |
Specific Strategies
| after reading a paragraph or passage, ask student to summarize the key points |
| ask what child expects to be on test--give rewards for answers on target |
| have prioritizing be an assignment that you collect and assess |
| circle most important ideas in reading |
| post it notes for glossing passages |
| ask student to give the main characteristics of a character, plant, geographical region |
| practice summarizing, finding main ideas |
| have students subvocalize (whisper under their breath) |
| ask questions that encourage interrelating of ideas (comparing/contrasting) |
| have a clock or stopwatch to keep track of how long student has to focus before a break |
| interactive learning strategies |
There are five areas of Production Controls:
| Previewing |
| Facilitation and Inhibition |
| Tempo Control |
| Self-Monitoring |
| Reinforcement |
Previewing--estimating the effects of what you are planning to do; recognizing a connection between what you say/do and the consequences
If previewing is weak, you may observe a student:
acting with no idea what the results will be --no "what if" understanding
plunges into activities instantly, no thought for what might happen
saying or doing things without regard for consequences;says and does things quickly without thinking
making unkind remarks to classmates without thinking of results (not being liked, etc.)
having trouble making transitions between activities--can't see what comes next
having a high degree of disorganization
Facilitation and inhibition--facilitating actions that help carry out a plan and inhibiting actions that are contrary to the plan; this is a problem in the planning stages of production
If a student has weak facilitation and inhibition, you may observe:
poor judgment of what to facilitate and what to inhibit
appearance of having too many arms, legs, etc--can't inhibit the ones that he doesn't need for a certain activity (runs with arms all over the place)
writing with tongue or lips moving
impulsive behavior (in conjunction with previewing problems)--acts quickly and does only the first thing that comes to mind
Tempo Control--using the most effective pace to accomplish the goal
If a student is weak in tempo control, you may observe:
student works too fast, making careless errors
student works too slowly, so she doesn't get work done on time
trouble judging the amount of time needed for different parts of an assignment
thinking too fast--jumping to conclusions, doing things too fast without a reason
Self-monitoring--knowing how you are doing as you work on a task
If a student is weak in self-monitoring, you may observe:
dislike of checking work or proofreading--makes careless errors
inability to read social feedback (not seeing that he has annoyed a person)
inability to evaluate work after completion
trouble interpreting feedback from parents.teachers, etc.
Reinforcement--learning from experience (success or failure)
If a student has low reinforceability, you may observe:
insensitivity to rewards and punishments; they may feel regret after an inappropriate act, but the will repeat the act; keeps misbehaving in same way; repeats same mistakes
failure of success to reinforce a strategy; a strategy may work well for them, but they fail to use it the next time
Teacher actions
| model previewing |
| have students hand in work plans before starting |
| have students hand in a log of production for that day/period |
| encourage development of problem solving skills |
| havestudent review what he did wrong (with behavior problem) and come up with solutions |
| give rewards for finding own errors |
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Specific Strategies
| advance organizers |
| previewing activities |
| ask "what if" questions (what if you used _________ for this project--what would happen) |
| give bonus points if self-evaluation is accurate |
| make a work plan that reviews things done well and incorporates those strategies into next assignment |
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Sheila Brock, Lake George High School, May 2001