3 Simple Ways Teachers (Grades 5 to 10) Can Support Students With Screen Time Digital Overload & Increase Engagement in the Classroom

By Catherine Patterson-Sterling, PhD, RCC

Ask any intermediate, middle or high school teacher their biggest challenge and they may tell you that their number one issue is student engagement in the classroom.

Even with the most engaging classroom lesson, educators can be met with spacy expressions as students question “Huh?”, “Whah?”, or “What were we doing again?”

If they were to inquire further as to what is happening, chances are students may admit they didn’t get much sleep- AKA…. they were up late last night online.

The problem as we know is digital overload as students enter into a state of steady dopamine dosing with blasts of technology that helps them to stimulate this “feel-good” brain chemical with shifts, clicks, and swipes of the fast movement of the tech.

Then when the brain is full with digital overload, then they cannot take anymore in.

Students become like the sponge that is full of water and cannot retain anymore except that in classrooms this information involves their learning. Without taking more information in, they enter into a regression or steady decline whereby the very act of coming to school requires too much effort because it is much easier to steady dopamine-dose at home without the strain of more thinking pressure at school.

If we want to reclaim true learning in the classroom, then we have to address the elephant in the room- DIGITAL OVERLOAD. 

Tip #1: Teach the Brain Science

Students can learn they are not “just on their phones” but that they are dealing with digital overload.

Tip #2: Give Students Tools For How To Manage Screen Time and Digital Overload

Students need to learn about dopamine detoxes, dopamine menus, ways to set themselves up for success to manage technology, future planning and more.

Tip #3: Engage Students and Don’t Lecture Them

Students want to be empowered and succeed, but shame around cell phone and online gaming usage by facing screen time stats is not helpful. The brain wants dopamine and it is that simple so logic does not enter into the equation.

My journey as an educator and clinical supervisor was to try to build back emotional and social learning into the classroom by creating animated characters in urschool life who struggled with the same issues except that as part of lessons, students would then be able to help fix their issues while learning about dopamine, cell phone addictions, online toxic culture impacting self-esteem, and how to stay motivated with future goals.

Now free teacher copies of 80 ready-made lesson plans are available for teachers grades 5 to 12 with a program called “Twenty” ( which represents 20 healthy habits for youth) which you can access for yourself as an educator or for individual account keys for students at your school.  These resources include engaging videos and materials with lesson plans, quizzes, reflection exercises all pre-loaded on to a learning management system that can be projected in class or utilized with individual student account keys for students grades 5 to 12.

Access your free teacher copy today at https://www.softskillstrainingcenter.com 

Educators know all too well that young people need resources and skills for 3 m’s -managing technology, mitigating mental health challenges, and mastering future goal-setting.

About The Writer:

Catherine Patterson-Sterling, PhD, RCC is an educator of 20+ years with diverse experience in all levels of elementary, high school, and post secondary education as a teacher, counsellor, and clinical supervisor. With extensive experience in research and counselling, she understands the impact as well as sources of disengagement as well as chronic absenteeism on learners at all levels. She is also the creator of this new innovative program “Twenty” sponsored by Soft Skills Training Center and Patterson-Sterling Consulting and Counselling Services.