1.
Dr Graeme Salter
Blended Learning Advisor &
Director Entrepreneurship, International &
Engagement

2.
Before we start …
The slides and references will be available
for download on SlideShare / LinkedIn

3.
I have a theory …
Those interested in teaching &
learning are more observant than
the general population

4.
Test your observation skills

5.
Test your observation skills
Dr Graeme Salter

6.
I have a theory …
Those interested in teaching &
learning are more observant than
the general population

7.
Make sure you count
It’s important to make an effort to count the
passes – there will be a prize for the first
correct answer

8.
To win a prize
Hands up if you think you know the answer
or even if you don’t

9.
Did you see it?
Hands up if you saw the curtain change
colour and the player leave

10.
Time to
get serious

11.
Task for 24 expert radiologists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdVXco6YDgg
Search for signs of lung cancer in 239 frames of a chest CT Scan

12.
5 frames included something special …

13.
The gorilla was 48x the size of the cancer nodules being searched for

14.
83% of the expert radiologists didn’t see the gorilla …

15.
even though eye tracking showed that
most of them looked straight at it

16.
In the future, this type of research may help us reduce errors
in radiology, baggage screening and more

17.
Attention is also essential
in education

18.
2016 Professor Pulse Survey
> 21,000 university faculty
respondents worldwide
https://tophat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016-Top-Hat-Professor-Pulse-Survey.pdf

19.
2016 Professor Pulse Survey

20.
2016 Professor Pulse Survey

21.
2016 Professor Pulse Survey

22.
Face to Face Lectures
The dream …
the reality?

23.
Face to Face Lectures
and if we’re not
careful
we might end
up with …

24.
Online Lectures
The dream …
the reality?

25.
unfortunately …

26.
Technology can be a distraction

27.
Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World
“This is the first book of its
kind to explore the daily
challenges we face with
the highly engaging, but
extremely distracting high-
tech world we now
inhabit”

28.
Quick Quiz
Who is on their phone right now?

29.
The problem
How can we increase
attention & engagement?
particularly in a distracting, high-tech,
YouTube generation world

30.
‘By Design’
Evidence-based
• Instructional design
• Learning design
• Motivational design
• Interaction design
• Multimedia design
• Gameful design
and more …

31.
References
• Encourage you to check the evidence for yourself
• Dig further to find new strategies

32.
Engagement
Models

33.
The AIDA Model
https://www.ttmginternet.com/sales-process/aida-model-sales/

34.
ARCS Model of
Motivational Design
Attention
Relevance
Confidence
Satisfaction ARCS

35.
The ARCS Model
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ARCS_Model_Components_Table.jpg

36.
For more info …

37.
Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: John Keller
Whose Job Is It?

38.
Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: John Keller
Whose Job Is It?

39.
Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: John Keller
Who’s Job Is It?

40.
Whose Job Is It?
All true!
“But it is also true that an educator or
other person of authority influences the
motivation of others.
You can stimulate your students to
learn, or you can kill their motivation.”

41.
Attention
Part 1 – The hook

42.
7 Ways To Get Attention
1. Set a challenge
2. Use a contrarian approach
3. Arouse curiosity
4. Use quotations differently
5. Make a startling assertion
6. Take them through a "what if" scenario
7. Start with a story

43.
1. Set a Challenge

44.
1. Set a challenge

45.
Your choice …
1. Bottom falls first
2. Top falls first
3. Both ends fall together
4. Ends approach each
other
Let’s see a show of hands

46.
Slinky Drop Answer

47.
Slinky Drop Answer

48.
Moodleposium Results

49.
2. Contrarian Approach
You know the phrase ‘buy low and sell high’
Well, it’s WRONG
Let me show you why …

50.
3. Arouse Curiosity
Dan Pink starts with …
I need to make a confession, at the outset. A little over 20
years ago, I did something that I regret. Something that I
am not particularly proud of, something that in many ways I
wished no one would ever know, but that here I feel kind of
obliged to reveal. In the late 1980s, in a moment of youthful
indiscretion …
I went to law school

51.
3. Arouse Curiosity

52.
4. Modified Quotes
An example from a recent presentation on
presentations …

53.
…
Try this quick quiz
Complete the following quote

54.
Try this quick quiz
Complete the following quote

55.
5. Startling Assertion
Another example from the same
presentation …

56.
Some statistics
from …
https://www.slideshare.net/Salesforce/datacom-connect-presents-tim-wackel-
the-six-worst-presentation-habits-how-you-can-avoid-them

57.
6. What-If Scenario
What if you were
debt-free?

58.
7. Start with a Story
“The human species
thinks in metaphors
and learns through
stories”
Mary Catherine Bateson

59.
Case Study
Toni Salter
The Veggie Lady
Workshops on
• How to grow your own
organic vegetables
• Gardening therapy for the
aged and disabled

60.
An Example

61.
An Example

62.
Uses more than one technique
Arouses curiosity
What does it mean
to ‘teach like a pirate’?
Starts with a Story
Let me tell you a story
about lamb …

63.
Stories can be short
Who remembers why this photo is famous?
1838

64.
Change is happening - rapidly
Less than 200 years ago no human being
had ever been photographed!
The world didn’t know about
‘iPhones’ or ‘apps’ in 2006

65.
Top Tip
Keep a file of interesting anecdotes, images,
statistics etc to draw upon

66.
Maintaining
Attention
Part 2 – Engagement

67.
Quick Quiz
Have you seen a similar graph before?
What does it represent?

68.
Attention span over the course of
a lecture or presentation
Quick Quiz
You are here

69.
10- Minute Attention Span
Rule#4 from ‘Brain Rules’

70.
The ‘Attention Reset’ Button

71.
The ‘Attention Reset’ Button
Nothing magical about 10 minutes
Could be 5, 10 or 15 minutes
The time will vary depending on circumstances –
• audience
• time of day
• weather
and more …
Be perceptive to your audience’s attention levels

72.
F2F Passive Attention Getters
• change something … anything
• the type of visual aid you are using
• your position on the stage
• what audience members are doing (eg. stand up)
• play a short video
• tell a story
• make a transition (eg. in summary …)
• make them laugh
• be conceptually relevant
• doesn’t need to be a joke

73.
“The funny thing about humor is that you
don’t need to tell a joke to get a laugh”
Carmine Gallo

74.
The Grandmother test
Would it be appropriate for a grandmother to read?
(Of course, this depends on the grandmother)

75.
F2F Active Attention Getters
• Ask a question (can prompt with arm in air)
• Tell the person next to you ….
• Write down the key message you learnt so far
• Presentation question (eg. is this alright so far?)

76.
Mix it up

77.
Maintaining Attention Online
A Wise Man Once Said …
“it may be preferable to break material up into
smaller chunks such as ‘courselets’ which can be
completed in 10 – 15 minutes”
Salter, 2004
Doctoral Thesis

78.
Analysis of edX Videos

79.
Online Lectures
• The average engagement time of any
video maxes out at 6 minutes,
regardless of its length
• Engagement times decrease as
videos lengthen
• The optimal video length is 6 minutes
or shorter — students watched most
of the way through these short videos.

80.
Passive vs Active
• The trend line crosses 50% at about 4
minutes (so after about 4 minutes of a
video, half the students have dropped
out
• With passive video content, MOOC
students have an attention span of 4
minutes.
• With interactive personalized lessons,
the trend line doesn’t cross 50% until
about 22 minutes.
• Attention span is 22 minutes, a 450%
increase over passive video.

81.
Other findings include …

82.
Other findings include …

83.
Lecture Pods

84.
In context of
other activities

85.
PlayPosit – Interactive Video

86.
H5P.org
No plug-in for Blackboard yet

87.
ThingLink
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/701477531336835072

88.
Technology isn’t always the answer

89.
Technology isn’t always the answer

90.
Card Sorting Example

91.
Card Sorting Example

92.
Deeper learning - evaluate and justify
Can be done with or without technology –
the important aspect is the learning design

93.
Some slides from …

94.
We can learn a lot from games …

95.
Relevance

96.
What motivation principles valued most?
Bonk – in Smith Motivation (2008)

97.
“finding your hook means
tapping in to what motivates
people. We’ve got to think like
marketing and sales people—
we are essentially selling
content—and convince the
learner that it really is going to
be worth her precious time
and attention”
Cammy Bean
Lessons from other disciplines

98.
Getting Attention
Have you heard
WiiFM?
What’s In It For Me
Highlight benefits NOT
features
Demonstrate relevance

99.
Parents and prospective students

100.
“When I worked
on the movie
the Matrix …”

101.
Sam Brown
Graduated 2015
Civil Engineer
Barangaroo Project

102.
Research Into Using Stories

103.
A Familiar Story

104.
A Strange Story

105.
The least successful
Fak
e
new
s

106.
Lessons Learned
• The story resonated with
personal experience
• The story was true
• The story featured a famous
person or received media
attention
• An emotional response was
evoked
• The story was reinforced

107.
Drawbacks?
• Preparation of effective stories students
will remember is important – but such
preparation takes time
• Generally, the stories don’t add a lot to
lecture time

108.
Motivational Design for Learning and Performance: John Keller
Whose Job Is It?

109.
Which is better?
Present but not engaged Less content but more engaged

110.
Mind dump or engagement
“if educators view lectures as less of a mind dump of
academic information, and more of a storytelling activity,
students will be more likely to remember the information
and talk about it post-class”
Jonah Berger

111.
Example - Maths for Engineers

112.
Who is responsible?
News report - 1 min 45 sec

113.
Who is responsible?
• News report - 1 min 45 sec

114.
Who is responsible?
• News report - 1 min 45 sec
Who did the construction company blame?

115.
Who is responsible?
News report - 27 sec

116.
Who is responsible?
• News report - 27 sec

117.
Who is responsible?
• News report - 27 sec
What penalty does the engineer face?

118.
Maths for Engineers
If you get things wrong there are consequences
–
• It can cost a lot of money to fix
• People can get hurt
• People can die
• You can lose your job
• You can be sent to prison
• You may even be sentenced to death in some
countries
So do you think it is important to get
your maths right as an engineer?

119.
Scenario/Problem based learning
If you really want to get learners
engaged, give them a problem to
solve. Too often, we don't
present problems to learners, we
present content. A focus solely
on content doesn't lead to deep
thinking or learner engagement.
Karl Kapp

120.
Mathalicious Scenarios
(US-centric)

121.
Tap into interests

122.
Prompt Video

123.
Activity 1

124.
Simulation

125.
Locate & use tools (and resources)

126.
Free Class Activities

127.
Free Class Activities

128.
Shot 1 - Predict

129.
Shot 2 - Predict

130.
Shot 1 - Analyse

131.
Analyse and Verify
Shot 1
Shot 2

132.
Compare Results

133.
Before I conclude …
You are invited to keep in touch -
g.salter@westernsydney.edu.au
• Collaborate on research
• Collaborate on development
• Need a speaker
• Share best practice

134.
I have a theory …
Those interested in teaching &
learning are more observant than
the general population

135.
Thank you for your
attention!
Questio

136.
References
2016 Professor Pulse Survey –
https://tophat.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2016-Top-Hat-Professor-Pulse-Survey.pdf
Drew, T., Vo, M. L. H., & Wolfe, J. M. (2013). “The invisible gorilla strikes again:
Sustained inattentional blindness in expert observers.” Psychological Science,
24(9), 1848–1853.
http://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613479386
Gazzaley, A. & Rosen, L. (2016). The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-
Tech World. MIT Press.
Guo, P. (2013). Optimal Video Length for Student Engagement.
https://blog.edx.org/optimal-video-length-student-engagement
Guo, P. (2014). How video production affects student engagement: an empirical
study of MOOC videos. . Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning @
scale conference, 41-50
http://pgbovine.net/publications/edX-MOOC-video-production-and-engagement_LAS-2014.pdf
Keller, J. (2010). Motivational Design for Learning and Performance. Springer

137.
References
Kim, J., Guo, P., Seaton D., Mitros, P., Gajos, K. & Miller R. (2014). Understanding
in-video dropouts and interaction peaks inonline lecture videos. Proceedings of the
first ACM conference on Learning @ scale conference, 31-40.
http://pgbovine.net/publications/edX-MOOC-in-video-dropouts-peaks_LAS-2014.pdf
Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work,
Home, and School, Pear Press
Ophir, E., Nass, C. & Wagner, A. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers.
Proceedings of the National Science Academy of the United States of America. Vol
106 No 37.
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/37/15583.full.pdf?sid=2ababed7-410e-4502-9303-ea057f72f086
Stewart, K. Using Stories in Human Science Lectures: Demonstrating Relevance
https://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-3300/using-stories-in-human-science-lectures-demonstrating-
relevance.pdf

138.
Videos
IPad vs Paper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR4mlLiyjYo
Presentation - Professor James Arvanitakis, UWS: Education & the Participatory Revolution
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_wdDo3fH58
Slinky Drop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGIZKETKKdw
Slinky Drop Answer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCMmmEEyOO0
Test Your Awareness : Whodunnit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA
The Invisible Gorilla Strikes Again: Inattentional Blindness in Expert Observers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdVXco6YDgg
The Monkey Business Illusion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGQmdoK_ZfY