Selective attention is when you choose to focus on something specific and ignore everything else around you. It's like tuning your brain to pay attention only to what you find important or interesting. Full definition
Children were administered a test of sustained selective attention. (link.springer.com)
Instead, it's the perfect time to use selective attention strategies. (heligirl.com)
An appropriate early step in developing classroom noticing, then, is developing selective attention — learning what is worth attending to and what is not worth attending to within the classroom environment. (citejournal.org)