Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by n1 on Monday May 18 2015, @03:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the carrier-pigeon dept.

Jamie Doward reports at The Guardian that according to a recent study in the UK, the effect of banning mobile phones from school premises adds up to the equivalent of an extra week’s schooling over a pupil’s academic year with the test scores of students aged 16 improved by 6.4% after schools banned mobile phones, “We found that not only did student achievement improve, but also that low-achieving and low-income students gained the most. We found the impact of banning phones for these students was equivalent to an additional hour a week in school, or to increasing the school year by five days." In the UK, more than 90% of teenagers own a mobile phone; in the US, just under three quarters have one. In a survey conducted in 2001, no school banned mobiles. By 2007, this had risen to 50%, and by 2012 some 98% of schools either did not allow phones on school premises or required them to be handed in at the beginning of the day. But some schools are starting to allow limited use of the devices. New York mayor Bill de Blasio has lifted a 10-year ban on phones on school premises, with the city’s chancellor of schools stating that it would reduce inequality.

The research was carried out at Birmingham, London, Leicester and Manchester schools before and after bans were introduced (PDF). It factored in characteristics such as gender, eligibility for free school meals, special educational needs status and prior educational attainment. “Technological advancements are commonly viewed as increasing productivity,” write Louis-Philippe Beland and Richard Murphy. “Modern technology is used in the classroom to engage students and improve performance. There are, however, potential drawbacks as well, as they could lead to distractions.”

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Kell on Tuesday May 19 2015, @07:35AM

    by Kell (292) on Tuesday May 19 2015, @07:35AM (#184962)

    Yes, but you'll recall from my first comment "I found that I had the best success at uni when... " and from your own reply "In lectures at university...". TFS notwithstanding, I was given to think we were discussing these issues in the context of university education in this sub-thread.

    --
    Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday May 20 2015, @09:08AM

    by isostatic (365) on Wednesday May 20 2015, @09:08AM (#185358) Journal

    I was approaching it from a "what works in uni (for some people), can't work in high school" pov.

    • (Score: 2) by Kell on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:17AM

      by Kell (292) on Wednesday May 20 2015, @11:17AM (#185390)

      Ok, no worries. :)
       
      I think we are seeing both sides of the issue here. Clearly at university some teaching approaches can be used that would not be appropriate for high schools (and vice versa). As it is, I don't have experience teaching outside of a university, so I couldn't say exactly where that dividing line is.

      --
      Scientists ask questions. Engineers solve problems.