5 Secrets for Getting Learners' Attention

Written by Richard E. Dodge

Does your lesson catch the attention of learners from the start? Most adult learners are perceptive enough to know in the first few minutes of any class session whether the teacher will capture their attention. Teaching for transformation requires cognitive and affective connection with the material. In other words, when we begin teaching, we must engage their minds as well as their feelings. When we do, we’ve crossed the greatest hurdle in teaching adults.

Fortunately, catching learners’ attention is not too difficult if you add a little creativity to your teaching plan. Here are five simple ways to catch learners’ attention when teaching.

Tell a good story. Using storytelling techniques will capture attention, but stories need to be relevant and interesting. Engaging adults in learning can be more immediate when a story that connects with life as well as the biblical content is used to introduce the lesson. Merely telling something you find interesting is not the same as storytelling. 

Play with learners. Teachers of children and preschoolers often give the appearance of playing with children rather than teaching them. However, learning often comes through play. Sometimes a game or “fun activity” at the beginning of class can capture attention and become an effective bridge into learning. Other experiential learning can involve role playing or other serious learner-involvement activities that teach basic ideas on which the entire lesson can be developed.

Build on a solid foundation. One essential for adult learning is integrating new learning into prior knowledge. If learners cannot connect the dots with basics of the Christian life or with other foundational experiences, they may be engaged in the session cognitively, but not as likely to get involved affectively. Sometimes recapping earlier lessons can provide the links adults need to connect lessons and continue learning.

Follow the instruction manual. Whether building a model airplane with your child or assembling a gas grill, there are logical steps that help the project go smoothly. The same is true for adult learners. Logical thinkers want to see the parts and see the whole as it comes together. Using inductive and deductive learning techniques help logical thinkers connect with content more naturally.

Make it appealing. Don’t neglect the aesthetic element of connecting with learners. Pretty colors, pleasant smells and other positive sensory experiences create quick entry into the lesson material for many learners. Persuasion researchers have affirmed the importance of music in setting moods for shoppers. Music not only engages the musical learner, but also can create a positive learning atmosphere.

Notice that all of these approaches to engaging learner attention can be used in any portion of the lesson and used together in a multitude of ways. Each engages learners in ways that are more natural to them and can lead naturally into specific teaching methods that address one of the eight preferred approaches to learning. Each learner has at least one preferred learning approach. Use any of these five techniques to engage learners in effective learning.

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