Instructional Strategies to Maintain Students’ Attention: A National Teacher Survey on Classroom-Based Breaks

Abstract

Teachers report difficulties sustaining students’ attention during instruction, a challenge exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Teachers are seeking instructional strategies that help regulate students’ attention while simultaneously facing added pressure to facilitate recovery from pandemic-related learning loss. This study represents a unique effort to survey a large (n=796), nationally representative sample of K-2 teachers. We investigate trends in students’ attention regulation patterns, utilization of classroom-based breaks as an instructional strategy, and the perceived benefits/drawbacks of breaks. Four major findings emerged: (1) teachers frequently use breaks, although the extent differs depending on the subject area, (2) teachers are administering more breaks post-pandemic, (3) the most common breaks were physical activities, videos, and dancing, and (4) breaks were perceived as beneficial for both students and teachers; however, implementation obstacles were also identified. This work underscores the importance of designing instructional strategies that take teachers’ perspectives and classroom constraints into account.