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Using Electronic Devices During Lectures Led To Lower Grades, Study Finds (upi.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the school-daze dept.

schwit1 quotes UPI: For the study, researchers followed 118 cognitive psychology students at Rutgers University in New Jersey. For one term, electronic devices were banned in half of the lectures and permitted in the other half. When the devices were allowed, students reported whether they had used them for non-learning purposes during the lecture.

Having an electronic device wasn't associated with lower students' scores in comprehension tests within lectures, but was associated with at least a 5 percent (half-a-grade) lower score in end-of-term exams.

The study was published July 27 in the journal Educational Psychology.

3 of 39 comments (clear)

  1. Yep by Artem+S.+Tashkinov · · Score: 4, Interesting

    People are generally bad multitaskers? Electronic devices might cause ADHD? News at 11.

  2. Repetition Is the Key to Learning by bobstreo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Repetition Is the Key to Learning

    Repetition Is the Key to Learning

    And the best way to learn (for me) was to write down notes, and when an exam was coming up, I'd write anything important down.

    If the brain couldn't directly remember during an exam, my fingers and pen or pencil actually would...

    1. Re:Repetition Is the Key to Learning by timholman · · Score: 4, Interesting

      And the best way to learn (for me) was to write down notes, and when an exam was coming up, I'd write anything important down.

      My 25 years of teaching experience has repeatedly demonstrated to me that handing out Powerpoint slides, or distributing the instructor's lecture notes in PDF form, is a recipe for underperformance with students.

      Requiring students to take their own handwritten notes (forcing them to organize and follow the material in their own minds) significantly improves their comprehension of the material. If someone else's notes are right in front of them, students tend to "zone out". That is especially true in today's classroom environment where cellphones and laptop computers compete for their attention.

      For most students, electronic devices of any type are a distraction in the classroom. Paper and pen/pencil (or a really good tablet with pen entry) will beat them every time.