- Title: Attention Contagion Online: Attention Spreads Between Students in a Virtual Classroom
- Authors: Kasli, Forrin et al
- Access the original paper here
- Listen to a deep-dive podcast:
Paper summary
This research article examines the phenomenon of attention contagion in virtual classrooms. The study found that students who see other classmates behaving attentively during an online lecture are more likely to report being attentive themselves, spend less time multitasking, and score higher on a subsequent quiz. The authors suggest that this phenomenon is driven by social contagion mechanisms such as goal contagion (observing classmates’ goals motivates students to pursue their own goals) and conformity (students adjust their behavior to fit in with social norms). The research has significant implications for online teaching practices and suggests that online learning environments may benefit from features that minimize the spread of inattentiveness.
What are the key implications for teachers in the classroom?
- Students are very aware of their classmates’ attentiveness, even through small webcam thumbnails.
- Attention is highly contagious in virtual classrooms. This means that students who see attentive classmates will be more attentive themselves, and those who see inattentive classmates will be less attentive. The effects of this attention contagion are significant, with students in the study who saw attentive classmates performing much better on a quiz than those who saw inattentive classmates.
- Teachers should encourage teaching assistants to be visible and attentive in virtual classrooms. Because attention is contagious, having attentive TAs visible can help spread attentiveness to students.
- Instructors should consider asking students to turn on their webcams. This will make it easier for them to see each other and potentially spread attentiveness.
- Instructors can reduce inattentiveness by hiding the webcam videos of inattentive students. This could be a feature of videoconferencing software.
- Teachers should inform students about attention contagion. This may motivate students to limit their inattentive behaviors to avoid negatively affecting their classmates.
- Future research may explore the differences in the strength of attention contagion between in-person and virtual classrooms. It’s possible that in-person classrooms show weaker attention contagion effects due to less salient attentiveness cues.
The sources suggest that even virtual classrooms are social settings where social dynamics influence attention. By understanding these dynamics, teachers can create online learning environments that support student attention and learning.
