The Costs of Texting in the Classroom Dakota Lawson & Bruce B. Henderson Presented by Amy Stonger October 20, 2016

In the past Distractions included: Reading Completing assignments from other classes Talking amongst themselves Occasional ringing of phones Technological advancements make these distractions more common and accessible to students Laptops, tablets, smartphones Internet access for social media, web surfing and email Much more powerful source of distractions

Teacher’s perspective Informal poll of university faculty by the Chronicle of Higher Education Cell phones are the most hated distraction Followed by tardiness and laptop use Most teachers give up trying to control phone usage

Student’s perspective Students text in class whether it’s allowed or not Students value their texting privileges 95% admit to bringing smartphones to class 92% admit to using phones during class Students believe that they are capable and even good at multitasking Consider themselves more productive Supported by popular culture “Checking habit” The urge to check phone constantly Hard to resist even if phone use is prohibited

Does texting actually interfere with learning? Evidence shows that we can only process so much information at one time difficulty focusing on more than one thread of information at one time Can switch attention from one stimuli to another but adds to overall cognitive load Immediate memory has a capacity of 4 or 5 or 8 or 9 units of information depends on task complexity and individual differences Research on texting/talking while driving shows reduced reaction times, attentiveness to surroundings, and overall decision making

Threaded Cognition Theory Salvucci and Taatgen 2008 Tasks = cognitive threads Must learn to perform task individually before combining Interruptions do arise 2 stages : interruption lag and resumption lag Research into memory capacity and attention shows that mult- tasking isn’t possible

Studies of interest Kraushaar and Novak 2010 Fried 2008 Marketing classes in which computers are mandatory Data collected from spyware installed on students’ computers 42% of class time is spent off task Fried 2008 Self reported data 81% checked email 68% instant messaging 43% surfing web 25% playing games

Studies continued Hembrooke and Gay 2003 & Sana, Weston, and Cepeda 2013 Found a 10 to 20% reduction in learning for both laptop users and nearby distracted peers Simulation of class relatively simple material under controlled conditions 120 participants, first year students Shown a 10 minute video on memory 3 groups: control, receiving only, receive and respond Administered a 12 question quiz following video Scores 9.93 for control group 9.03 for receive only group 9.25 for receive and respond group

Studies continued Wood and colleagues 2012 Dietz and Henrich 2014 Based on self reporting of technology use by students 15 item multiple choice test 57% vs 67% Dietz and Henrich 2014 100 students-half without phone access and half sending and receiving texts until asked to stop 17 item multiple choice test 58% vs 71%

Studies continued Gingerich and Lineweaver 2014 Two studies 60% vs 80% 73% vs 83% From all of this evidence Texting and the use of technology has a negative impact on performance Associated with a 10% to 20% reduction in learning

What should teachers do? Ignore and Compete Students responsible for own learning Makes students happy Not educationally appropriate Must provide consistently engaging instruction Teacher must not get distracted by phone use Prohibit Upsets students Consistent enforcement is difficult Energy spent on banning cell phones is often greater than the benefits

Educate 4. Incorporate 5. Take breaks At beginning of semester provide evidence of how texting affects performance and educate students on how distractions interfere with learning 4. Incorporate Adapt to new technology and incorporate it into the classroom 5. Take breaks “technology breaks”: 2 to 3 minute break Establish a contract with students to allow a break for phone use as long as they are kept out of sight during class time Reduces the habit to check phone

Questions???