Attention Span

I hear frequently from Bible teachers frustrated that their students can't tolerate more than a few minutes of class without fidgeting (including the adults!), and can't seem to absorb more details than what bullet points provide.

I'd first look at how the teacher is teaching. Make sure your teaching is dynamic, interesting, and relevant. Engage your class with questions! This is NOT a sermon. See my books here and here if you need help.)

Also keep in mind that most cultures today are pushing NOISE and "multi-tasking," and though we're seemingly addicted to it (especially teens), it's bad for us. Our brains aren't built for it.

We can do more than one thing at a time, so long as only one of them requires conscious thought and monitoring. If we've practiced a task so much that it doesn't require cognitive planning (e.g., walking), then we can do something else at the same time. But no matter what people say or think, the data is clear -- you can't really multi-task well. In fact, some studies suggest that frequent multi-tasking makes you stupider!

So what does this have to do with teaching the Bible?

Have some empathy for your students -- they probably haven't been trained to study well by focusing on one thing at a time. Challenge them, but make some accommodations.

And for you? Stop trying to multitask. If you're praying, then just pray. Don't do four other things. If you're studying the Bible, get rid of every other distraction you can. Focus. If you are preparing your lesson, put away everything irrelevant to your task. Chunk your time and work at it. Ask the Lord to help you.

As you develop more capacity for focused, single-minded work, then you'll be a much better teacher -- and can help your students grow in this direction, too!