IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 3, Issue 4 Ver. I (Jul-Aug. 2014), PP 01-04 www.iosrjournals.org www.iosrjournals.org 1 | Page Impact of Teaching Time on Attention and Concentration Ms. Sonika Lamba 1 , Ms. Archana Rawat 2 , Ms. Jerry Jacob 3 , Ms. Meena Arya 4 , Mr. Jagbeer Rawat 5 , Mrs. Vandana Chauhan ** , Ms. Sucheta Panchal 6 1,2,3,4,5 (Nursing students, Himalayan College of Nursing, Dehradun, India) 6 (Clinical Instructor, Himalayan College of Nursing, Dehradun, India) **(Corresponding Author, Himalayan College of Nursing, Dehradun, India ) Abstract: Attention is the most powerful asset of human beings, and if correctly used, it can have numerous benefits. At the same time it is very difficult to master. A descriptive survey was conducted to assess the impact of teaching time that is classes for two hour, on attention and concentration of student nurses. The study was conducted in selected College of Nursing, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, INDIA. Ninety one student nurses were selected by simple randomization. Data was collected through self-reported checklist. Majority, 95% of the students, were between the age group of 18 – 22 years. Forty five percent students were from GNM group and 55% students were from B.Sc. group. Result shows that 44% students had good attention and concentration, 46% students had an average attention and concentration and 10% of students had poor attention and concentration score during the teaching - learning activities. Keywords: Attention, Concentration, Teaching Learning Activities and Student Nurses I. Introduction Attention is a complex cognitive process of selecting important issues and ignoring those which are less important. Attention and concentration both are equally important for the physiological and behavioural responses. When an individual is conscious, she/he possesses two types of attention, active and passive. Active attention is a voluntary process of increased alertness, concentration, interest and needs of a person. Curiosity and hunger are the stimulants for active attention. Passive attention can be said to be an involuntary cognitive process which easily gets distracted by any external stimuli. Transient attention is for a short period of time approximately 8 seconds. Selective sustained attention helps the person to concentrate and focus on stimuli for a longer period of time. Attention span is the total time given by an individual to concentrate on any particular activity without getting distracted. According to Hartley and Davis the attention span of an average adult on a particular topic is for 10-20 minutes at a time. Mild change in mental focus helps the individual to regain attention for another few minutes. Further, it depends on the interest of the person. There are many factors which can reduce the attention span of a person, such as, fatigue, hunger, noise, external stimuli, emotional and mental status Middendorf and Kalish did a study to assess the ability of the students to recall content taught during a lecture. Results show that most of the students were able to recall the initial content of the lecture which indicates that they were more attentive during the beginning of class and gradually they become less attentive. This study reveals that to achieve full attention and concentration of the students, lengthy classes should have breaks or some learning activities, to make the class enjoyable. 1.2 Need of the study Attention helps a person in gaining knowledge. A class with pin-drop silence represents a well attentive class and helps the students to pay full attention to the topic. It is important for the students to pay attention and concentrate because it enhances their competency and skill to memorize the content for a longer period of time. There are many factors which can affect attention and concentration of students in the classroom, such as duration and method of teaching, novelty and repetition of topic, surrounding environment, interest, health and emotional status. If students do not pay attention during teaching learning activities, they will be involved in other activities such as private conversations, dropping pen or pencils, excessive movement of body parts, passing notes to others. The environment of a professional college is very challenging. When an individual enters in a professional college as a student she/he has to prepare himself for higher education which demands attention and concentration during classes for future growth. According to Laurilliard each student enters in college with their individual qualities such as, motivation, expectations, knowledge retention capacity, skill, experience, and ability to concentrate and solve problems, and access to student support facilities. These variables influence their capacity to learn and retain the content during teaching learning activities. This applies to student nurses also. They need to gain expertise in theory and practical subjects, to help them maintain professional standards and