Train Attention Switching

Train Attention Switching

Core judgment: expert performance depends on switching between the whole and the parts at the right moment.

Use When

• The user wants to improve diagnosis, debugging, critique, or judgment quality
• Errors come from tunnel vision or scattered attention
• A learner needs help knowing what to focus on and when to zoom out

Define the Two Layers

• focal awareness: the whole task, question, or outcome
• subsidiary awareness: the local cues being relied on underneath

Do not collapse them into one list.

Workflow

1. Reconstruct a Real Episode

Use a real decision, review, diagnosis, or debugging session.

2. Mark the Attention Path

Identify:

• the focal goal at each phase
• the subsidiary cues being used
• the switch trigger that changed attention
• the false lure that stole attention

If you need a format, read references/attention-audit-template.md.

3. Expose the Miss

Ask:

• what signal was present but ignored
• what detail looked important but was misleading
• what would have triggered an earlier zoom-out or zoom-in

4. Design Switching Drills

Create short drills that force the learner to:

• name the focal goal before acting
• list the cues they are relying on
• state what would trigger a switch

Output

Return:

• attention audit
• cue hierarchy
• switch triggers
• common false lures
• practice drill

Do Not

• reduce the problem to "pay more attention"
• review only the final decision without the attention path
• train detail spotting without training when to return to the whole