Can we talk about the perils of media multitasking
enough? I don’t think so, and that belief was confirmed by a clearly organized
and well-written review of the research on multitasking with various electronic
devices (May & Elder, 2018). I try to be measured in my response to
articles on teaching and learning, saving claims of greatness for only the best—and
this is one of the best. Even better, it appears in an open-access source.
Most (maybe it’s close to all) of us are well-aware that multitasking in and out of class compromises students’ efforts to learn. We don’t need to be persuaded, but students do, and we need facts to convince them. This article includes many that should. Here are some of its evidence-based conclusions.
Students are media multitasking in class and
when they study. In a 2012 survey (Junco), 69 percent of
students said they texted during class, and 88 percent reported using Facebook
and email. Analysis of time logs completed in 3,372 self-directed computer
sessions by 1,249 students revealed that 99 percent of the sessions involved
some multitasking (Judd, 2014).
Media multitasking lowers GPA. Fifteen
studies cited in the article report that result. The more that media are used,
the larger the negative effect on GPA, and gender is a nonsignificant variable.
It doesn’t matter whether multitasking occurs during class or while studying;
the effect is the same: lower GPAs.
Media multitasking in class results in lower
test scores. Use of phones has been studied here. For
example, in a study where students listened to a videotaped lecture, those not multitasking
with media had 62 percent more information in their notes and scored a full
grade and a half higher on a posttest (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013). Texting
lowers quiz scores as well. In one study (Froese et al., 2010), texting
students “lost roughly 30% of accuracy on a quiz when texting.” Students who
use laptops are frequently distracted by them. Kraushaar and Novak (2010)
report that students opened 65 windows per lecture, and 62 percent of them contained
irrelevant content. Distractive laptop window use also lowers exam scores. Here,
as well, 15 studies document that using media while listening to lectures
compromises exam performance as well as note-taking and content comprehension.
Laptop multitasking hinders the learning of
nearby peers. Students who could directly view the laptop
of a multitasking peer scored 17 percent lower on a multiple-choice
comprehension test than students unable to see a multitasking peer (Sana et
al., 2013).
Media multitasking reduces efficiency while
studying. In one study (Subrahmanyam et al., 2013) students read
two passages (one hard, one easy) while either multitasking or not. Reading
comprehension was not affected, but “multitaskers demonstrated markedly reduced
efficiency.” Students who said they texted while studying reported spending
more time studying than those who didn’t text (Bellur et al., 2015).
Students underestimate the negative impact of
multitasking with media. Multiple studies report this finding. In
one (Clayson & Haley, 2012), 68 percent of the students believed they could
pay attention to a lecture and text at the same time. In another study students
reported that multitasking increased their productivity (Lin et al., 2015).
In some of the work reviewed, students were aware of multitasking’s
harmful effects. For example, when asked to predict performance on a quiz,
those who texted expected lower quiz scores and were less confident about their
predictions (Gingerich & Lineweaver, 2014). But despite recognizing that
multitasking divides attention, students do it anyway.
So what can teachers do? Tell students to stop and
enforce it with a strict policy? Maybe that will decrease the amount of media
multitasking in the course, but forced compliance doesn’t teach self-regulation
skills or stop the multitasking outside of class. How media multitasking affects
learning is something students need to discover for themselves. But teachers
can confront students with the kind of evidence contained in this review and
then challenge them to find out for themselves. Many of the activities used in
these studies could be replicated in a classroom.
Rather than reference all the studies cited in the column,
I again recommend consulting the article. The citations are there, plus many
more nuggets that you can share shared with students—in class, on the syllabus,
on course materials, in the office, on the course website, in an email, or in
any creative way that gets their attention.
Reference
May, K. E., & Elder, A. D. (2018). Efficient, helpful, or distracting? A literature review of media multitasking in relation to academic performance. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-018-0096-z (open access)
