Teaching biology in the age of distraction: attention as scientific competency in laboratory education

ABSTRACT Biology laboratories increasingly operate within digitally saturated learning environments characterized by fragmented attention and habitual multitasking. This conceptual study argues that attentional discipline should be reframed not merely as classroom compliance but as a core scientific competency linked to laboratory safety, observational reasoning, and professional identity formation. Drawing on literature from cognitive psychology, higher education pedagogy, and laboratory education, the study examines how digitally mediated distraction reshapes scientific observation, procedural integrity, and reflective documentation practices. Thus, proposing attention-aware laboratory pedagogy as a framework for designing learning environments that support sustained engagement without outright rejecting technology. Rather than advocating technological prohibition, the study argues for intentional integration, mentorship, and pedagogical structures that cultivate attentional responsibility as part of scientific training.