A recent study explored whether permitting students brief, structured phone breaks during college classes could positively impact their focus, reduce non-academic phone use, and enhance test performance.
Mobile phones, often seen as distractions, are nonetheless useful tools that can serve to communicate important reminders and deadlines. Despite these benefits, frequent phone use in class is a common issue.
The research, conducted at a large Midwestern University in the United States, aimed to see if short, controlled “technology breaks” could satisfy students’ urge to check their phones, ultimately reducing in-class distraction and improving academic outcomes.
The research team, led by Professor Ryan Redner, conducted their study over a full term with students enrolled in a lower-division critical thinking course, with an average of 21 students attending each class session.
“To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of technology breaks in a college classroom,” said Redner, highlighting the novelty of the study.
By systematically testing the effects of different break types and lengths, the study sought to understand how short phone breaks might influence overall classroom behavior and performance.
Understanding Technology Breaks: Design and Setup
The study introduced technology breaks of varying lengths: one, two, and four minutes. These breaks allowed students to use their phones, whereas control breaks, known as “question breaks,” allowed only time to ask questions without phone use.
Both types of breaks occurred 15 minutes into each lecture period, and phone use was simply defined as any physical interaction with the phone. This approach enabled the researchers to measure differences in classroom phone use when students were given structured opportunities to engage with their phones.
The control group setup was a critical part of the study. By using question breaks, where students were encouraged to ask questions rather than use phones, the researchers could observe whether structured technology breaks specifically impacted student phone use or if simply pausing the lecture made a difference.
This design ensured a more precise understanding of how these short breaks, dedicated specifically to phone use, affected in-class attention.
Findings: Reduced In-Class Phone Use
The study results were published in Frontiers in Education and demonstrated that allowing students short, one-minute technology breaks significantly reduced the overall time spent on phones during class.
Notably, sessions with only one-minute phone breaks saw the lowest levels of in-class phone use. The researchers observed that shorter breaks may have been more effective because students could quickly check essential notifications or send brief replies within the allotted time.
Redner suggested that the reduced distraction may be due to the nature of brief phone breaks, commenting, “If they have more time to send many messages, they may be more likely to receive messages and respond again during class.”
This insight points to the possibility that students’ need to check their phones for essential communication is satisfied with shorter, less disruptive breaks, ultimately helping them to stay focused during lecture time.
Academic Performance Boost: Higher Test Scores
Perhaps most encouraging, the researchers observed a consistent link between one-minute technology breaks and higher test scores. In sessions with brief phone breaks, over 80% of students achieved higher average test scores compared to their performance in sessions without such breaks.
The study team believes this could be due to reduced distractions, as students’ engagement with the lecture material seemed to improve when they could satisfy their phone-checking urges briefly and promptly.
Redner reflected on these promising findings, saying, “Our hope is that it means students were less distracted during lecture, which leads to better performance.” If true, this approach offers an effective way to enhance academic outcomes without banning phones entirely.
Reactivity and Classroom Behavior: Did Monitoring Affect the Results?
A common concern in behavioral studies is “reactivity,” where participants alter their behavior due to awareness of being observed. However, the researchers believe that reactivity had minimal impact on this study.
Redner explained, “Typically, reactivity occurs early in a study and its effects are reduced over time. We may see some in early sessions, but I am not convinced that we had much reactivity.”
He noted that students are accustomed to being in a classroom setting where both the instructor and peers can see their behavior, which may make them less likely to change their actions due to observation.
Moving Forward: Implications and Future Research
The study’s findings suggest that brief technology breaks can be a valuable, non-punitive way to help students manage their phone use in the classroom. The researchers emphasized that their approach avoids penalties and restrictions, focusing instead on meeting students’ needs for connectivity in a controlled manner.
“We are trying to find ways to reduce cell phone use and doing so without penalties,” explained the research team. They hope that their work will encourage other educators and researchers to investigate reinforcement-based strategies, which might offer new solutions for the ongoing challenge of phone use in educational settings.
While these results are promising, the researchers noted the importance of further studies to explore the full potential of technology breaks. Different classroom environments, class sizes, and student demographics could yield different results.
Future research could help determine the ideal break length and frequency, as well as examine whether technology breaks are effective across a range of academic disciplines.
Recommended For You
