How to Use Feature Integration Theory in the Classroom Examples

Students can be easily distracted. Remove distractions and student are forced to concentrate.

Feature Integration Theory (FIT) deals with attention and perception. The theory expounds that people relate to objects according to individual features of that object before examining that object as a whole. The context of the object is also important; color, spatial relation, other objects. The more objects or stimuli surrounding an object, the harder it is to grasp the whole concept. For example, if 10 pencil crayons all with varying shades of purple are lumped together, it is hard to tell which one is the lightest shade. Whereas if one of those pencil crayons is lumped with only one other pencil crayon, the lightest shade is easier to distinguish.

Instructions

1. Keep the classroom environment simple. Wild patterns, lots of images, multicolored walls, signs, posters and slogans that make up a classroom may make it pretty and spark creativity, but they are also highly distracting. Students can focus on these distractions instead of their lessons.

2. Organize the items in the class, and keep them simple. An organized classroom is predictable and less likely to steal attention away from the topic(s) at hand.

3. Use very simple assignment sheets. Colorful test papers and graphics may excite the imagination, but they can actually make it harder for students to solve problems. Keep the number of questions on a test or assignment sheet to a minimum, and display only the essential information.

4. Highlight important key points in written material. Have the students highlight keywords in a text. This will help them remember key concepts from that material. Educators can use bold, italics and underlining to highlight key concepts and phrases in tests, material and assignments.

5. Use different colors of chalk for different types of information when writing on the blackboard. For example, write questions on the board in one color and their answers in another. The more dramatic the difference in color, the more pronounced the effect will be.

References

• U Texas: A Feature-Integration Theory of Attention
• Cognitive Psychology: In and Out of the Laboratory; Kathleen M. Galotti; 2009