On Being with Krista Tippett Adele Diamond — The Science of Attention
Aug 7, 2014
Adele Diamond, a developmental cognitive neuroscientist at UBC who studies executive function, describes why attention is teachable. She explains how play, dance, music, and cultural practices build inhibitory control, working memory, and flexibility. She highlights programs and policies that use full-body learning and reflection to strengthen minds and social connection.
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Use Concrete Cues To Teach Listening
- Cultivate listening concretely with simple tools like a picture of a mouth and an ear to teach role-taking and turn-taking.
- Tools of the Mind uses this concrete reminder so four- and five-year-olds actually listen in pairs.
Executive Function Is The Engine Of Learning
- Executive function comprises inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility — core skills for learning and creativity.
- Diamond links working memory to creativity and inhibition to resisting harmful reactions, tying these to prefrontal cortex development.
Have Children Write Short Plans And Follow Through
- Teach children to commit to short plans and return to them to build self-discipline and persistence.
- In Tools of the Mind children write simple play plans and teachers prompt them to continue for 10–15 minutes to exercise executive function.
