Experiment about the Effect of Using Mobile Phones in the Classroom

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Introduction

Experiments done regarding driving shows the conversational aspect of cell phone usage leads to high risks due to the aspect of divided attention. Prior experiments also dictate that students using cell phones in class have a rate of decreasing their grades. The current study combined experimental and survey methods to determine the student’s expectations about and the actual performance regarding cell phone use conditions. On the survey, students indicated how often they use their phones when texting and not texting. The study also indicated the methodology used and the implication of the results attained.

The study decided to use the aspect and the hypothesis of the alternative statistical hypothesis. This hypothesis tries to explain the relationship between two aspects. This hypothesis tries to explain the inverse proportionality of using mobile phones and its relations to grades. This hypothesis explains that the more usage of phones in class due to the extensive use of social networks, which many students access in class, leads to the decreased and low grades in class (Campbell, 2006). This hypothesis states that in cell phones are regulated in class, then students grades would increase. The methodology applied by this study was quantitative research methodology. This is based on the aspect that we wanted to measure the relationship between phone usage and the performance of students in class.

The study also did a pretest so that we it could effectively ensure that its variables and results were real and presented the right information. The study used the control and experimental groups as a way of identifying how the manipulation of various students and control would help lead to positive results. There were various variables that could be controlled including students usage of mobile phones, so that we could identify how it resulted to reduced grades. There were variables like time, which could not be controlled, and which could have an effect to the results.

Results

Quiz scores were suggestively lower when pupils texted (M = 6.02, SD = 2.224) than if they never texted (M = 8.25, SD = 1.597), t(39) = 5.34, p < .01, effect size (t/ [square root of N]) = .84. The variance in scores signified a 27% decline when texting from the non-texting act. None of the two sides presented different stories.

For a closeness sample of 15 students, we verified the time participants essentially consumed reading or texting with their phone in the texting phase. Contributors expended an average of 2.69 minutes affianced in texting during the demonstration. The variety of texting times was from 1.5 to 4.25 minutes. Time betrothed in texting was negatively, still not considerably, correlated with quiz score during the texting phase, r (13) = -.472, p = .076 (Campbell, 2006).

Implication of the results

The results indicate that students who use their phones in class will lower their grades. This is based on the aspect of the disturbance that mobile phones bring. They lead to lost attention to teachers thus students fail to grasp all what is being taught. This indicates that the more students use their phones in class the more they are bound to fail.

The table below shows the experiments and results got during the study

Verbal and Quantitative Comparison of Self-Described Texting

How Would How Often Do You Text in a Day?

You Describe

Yourself as a 0-25 26-50 51 -75 76-100 100+

Text User? Times times times times times Total

Emergency-only 5 0 0 0 0 5

Minimal 53 7 1 1 1 63

Moderate 84 87 46 23 14 254

Avid 21 54 70 76 139 360

Total 163 148 117 100 154 682

References

Campbell, S. W. (2006) Perceptions of mobile phones in college classrooms: Ringing, cheating, and classroom policies. Communication Education, 55, 280–294. doi:10.1080/0363 4520600748573.