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from the was-not-paying-attention-to-begin-with dept.
A small study into electronic device usage during lectures found that there was minimal difference in scores between those who were distracted while listening to the lecture and those who weren't when there was a quiz afterwards.
Results. The sample was comprised of 26 students. Of these, 17 were distracted in some form (either checking email, sending email, checking Facebook, or sending texts). The overall mean score on the test was 9.85 (9.53 for distracted students and 10.44 for non-distracted students). There were no significant differences in test scores between distracted and non-distracted students (p = 0.652). Gender and types of distractions were not significantly associated with test scores (p > 0.05). All students believed that they understood all the important points from the lecture.
Conclusions. Every class member felt that they acquired the important learning points during the lecture. Those who were distracted by electronic devices during the lecture performed similarly to those who were not. However, results should be interpreted with caution as this study was a small quasi-experimental design and further research should examine the influence of different types of distraction on different types of learning.
(Score: 1) by quixote on Wednesday September 17 2014, @10:05PM
Yes, there are all the problems with stats everyone else has already pointed out.
But another huge problem in terms of generalizing the results to less advanced students is that third year med school (dental school, same thing) are very smart and very practiced students. The lecture was on special needs dentistry. In other words, on something that might add a few factoids to what they already know. If anybody could be texting and processing this minimal information, it's this group of students.
Contrast that with a college freshman who isn't sure how long it takes the earth to orbit the sun and imagine him/her in a basic physics class. Can I get anyone to bet that texting while "listening" is going to have no effect on comprehension in that case?