Comparison
The 10-minute attention span claim vs the evidence
What lecture attention research found when it looked closely
A side-by-side comparison of the popular claim that students can only concentrate for 10 to 15 minutes with what the research found. Reviews traced the figure to a few indirect studies, and a clicker study of chemistry lectures found short lapses throughout, with fewer right after demonstrations and questions. Lecturers and course teams can use it when deciding how to structure sessions. Koji can run a short interview after a session asking students where focus dropped and what brought it back.
What's in this comparison
The common claim
- Attention drops after 10 to 15 minutes
- Lectures should be cut into 15-minute blocks
- Students now have an 8-second attention span
What the studies found
- The 10 to 15 minute figure traces back to one 1978 paper
- Lapses of a minute or less happen all through a lecture
- Lapses fell right after a demo or clicker question
- The 8-second figure is about web pages, not lectures
Use this image
Free to use in your docs, decks and posts under CC BY 4.0, as long as you credit Koji with a link to this page. To embed it, paste this into your page:
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<a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/lecture-attention-span-claim-vs-evidence"><img src="https://www.koji.so/visuals/lecture-attention-span-claim-vs-evidence/lecture-attention-span-claim-vs-evidence.png" alt="Comparison of the common 10-minute attention span claim with what lecture attention studies found." width="1200" height="722" /></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.koji.so/visuals/lecture-attention-span-claim-vs-evidence">The 10-minute attention span claim vs the evidence</a>, Koji</p>
