THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF SMARTPHONE IN CLASSROOM DISCUSSION

CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

INTRODUCTION:

In this new generation with modernized technology and environment, it’s not new for us

that we encounter smart gadgets and methods to much more comfort. As all we know, new

inventions and creations were discovered and brought a big impact on our life. One of those were

smartphones.

Smartphones enable collaboration between learners and teachers anywhere, anytime

(Keengwe & Bhargava, 2013) but are also increasingly causing sleep deprivation and attention

deficits to students among other notable effects (Kuznekoff & Titsworth, 2013). According to

Kuznekoff and Titsworth (2013), "given the many possible ways that digital communication tools

[like smartphones] will continue to influence practices of teaching and learning, scholars should

enact research to understand how these tools impact classroom communication and subsequent

learning outcomes" (Kuznekoff and Titsworth, 2013, p. 234).

The increase in student cell phone use in classrooms has led to a decrease in academic

performance and satisfaction with instruction (Dietz & Henrich, 2014). As of today, it is unknown

as to whether student classroom cell phone usage has any effect on the teacher.
 Currently, education is making a move toward the use of more technology within classrooms

ranging from elementary to the collegiate level. In high schools and colleges, devices being used

most commonly for educational purposes are tablets, smartphones, and laptops (Dietz & Henrich,

2014). These devices are being used in hopes of enhancing students’ overall educational

performance; students are using devices for activities such as answering questions, examining

visualizations, note taking, researching, and communicating (“Integrating Tech in High School,”

2012).

When looking at why students use cell phones for non-educational purposes, it was found

that students find their devices more exciting and stimulating than what is happening in their class

(Sana et al., 2013); students have also been found to continue to use cell phones for non-

educational purposes during class instruction, even when they are aware of the negative side-

effects of cell phone usage in the classroom. Another reason students use their cell phones in class

(e.g., messaging, looking at social media, gaming) is because they believe they can “multitask.” A

study by Sana, Weston and Cepada (2013) found that college undergraduate students were

observed to be “multitasking” 42% of the time during class. A study by Wood et al. (2012) found

that students who used Facebook during a classroom lecture had significantly lower scores on tests

of the lecture material than students who only used notes taken with paper and pencil.

Dietz and Henrich (2014) found that since the increase of technology in the classroom (e.g.,

use of cell phones), there has been an increased report of a decline in overall grades and decrease

in seat work. Using cell phones in the classroom has been connected with lower recall and a
decrease in student satisfaction with instruction (Dietz & Henrich, 2014); comprehension has also

lessened when students use electronic devices for non-educational purposes. Alarmingly, research

shows that even students in proximity to other students using this technology are more likely to

perform poorer in the classroom, even when they were not personally using technology (Sana,

Weston, & Cepeda, 2013).

Everyone uses working memory to work more efficiently and effectively; however, it has a

limited amount of storage in which information can be processed. Working memory is also

important for teachers because it is used for staying focused while performing a complex task,

such as giving a lecture, attempting to block out distractions (e.g., cell phone use), and maintaining

awareness of activities that are going on within the classroom (Eysenck & Keane, 2015).

There has been plenty of research done about “multitasking” and how the view of students

being able to “multitask” is a myth. The ability to truly process two streams of independent

information at the same time is nearly impossible; what most people refer to as multitasking is

actually considered serial tasking, which is the action of shifting back and forth from one task to

another (Fischer & Plessow, 2015)

Knowing the students’ belief of multitasking is important because it needs to be compared

to teachers’ beliefs of multitasking. Students who believe they can multitask may be more likely

to believe they can use their cell phones and pay attention during class (Kuznekoff, Munz, &

Titsworth, 2015). If teachers see that students are using their cell phones during class and do not
believe the students have the ability to multitask, it could then distract the teacher. Becoming

distracted while teaching may then affect other cognitive processes and harm the teacher’s ability

to instruct his or her class.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

General Question:

1. What are the effects of the use of smartphones in classroom discussion?

Specific Question:

1. Do you think anyone can ‘multitask’ between listening to the teacher and using the phone

in class?

2. Does your phone can help you with seat works and school activities?

3. Do you think teachers should allow the use of phones in class?

4. Do you consider that teachers should ban the use of phones in class?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

This study will help teachers, students, parents and the community about the effects of mobile

phone usages.

Teachers: This study might help them prevent issues among the use of smartphones during

classroom discussion.
Students: Help them improve and make them be aware with the impacts of smartphones in the

academic performance.

Parents: Help them be aware about what’s happening to their children.

Community: Will help to educate the society about the new tech and generation. This may also

help the community resolve the issues among the students.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION:

Out of 1,225 students of Richwell Colleges Incorporated, only 116 Grade 11 Humanities and

Social Science students are chosen to take part in the study. The study was conducted on the first

semester of school year 2019-2020.

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE:

RELATED LITERATURE

Relevant literature from various sources of information were used to provide insight as to

why using electronic discusses both negative and positive attributes of using electronic devices,

such as cell phones as an instruction. Dietz and Henrich (2014) found that since the increase of

technology in the classroom (e.g., use of cell phones), there has been an increased report of a

decline in overall grades and decrease in seatwork. Using cell phones in the classroom has been

connected with lower recall and a decrease in student satisfaction with instruction. Comprehension

has also lessened when students use electronic devices for non-education purposes.
 Smartphone addiction could be categorized as a behavioral addiction, such as Internet

addiction. Behavioral and chemical addictions have seven core symptoms in common, that is,

salience, tolerance, mood modification, conflict, withdrawal, problems, and relapse (Grant et al.,

2010; Griffiths, 2005).

Smartphones now find widespread application in the field of education (Kl ımova´,ımova´,

2017) and are received enthusiastically by students (Barchilon Ben-Av & Ben-Av, 2016). In fact,

smartphone apps can be easily adapted for educational purpose in different geographical and

sociocultural environments (Keengwe & Bhargava, 2014). Smartphone apps have lately emerged

as a potent instructional aid for teaching engineering courses. Teaching engineering courses often

involve explaining complex problems that require creative solutions to students who are typically

tech-savvy. This article reviews 10 smartphone apps that have been developed to teach engineering

courses. The apps have been used to teach a wide range of engineering courses at undergraduate

and graduate levels in classroom and laboratory environments. The apps help students to solve

engineering problems by means of simulation and experimentation. They use techniques varying

from algorithm visualization to augmented reality to enrich the courses. This article also provides

suggestions on how to develop and use smartphone apps for teaching engineering courses. It is

recommended that the developers of such apps pay special attention to their content, user interface,

dissemination, and integration with the curriculum to get the best result.

When there is a high amount of cognitive load that is placed on an individual (such as a

teacher who is trying to teach a lesson and deal with a student using a cell phone during class),
research shows that decision making strategies become less effective, and even impaired (Beilock

& Decaro, 2007).

Children using the cell phone displayed more behavioral problems such as nervousness,

temperament, mental distraction, and indolence, and these problems worsened if the children

began using a cell phone at an early age (Divan et al., 2012).