by Rajiv Jhangiani, KPU

1. Would&You&Please&Stop&Smiling&at&Your&Crotch?&
Predictors&of&Student&Classroom&Smartphone&Use&and&Faculty&Course&Smartphone&Policies&&
Rajiv&Jhangiani,&Ph.D.&
Kwantlen(Polytechnic(University,(Vancouver,(Canada(
Introduc=on&
Eighty&percent&of&young&Americans&and&half&of&young&
Canadians&now&own&smartphones&(Ipsos&Reid,&2012;&Smith,&
2013).&As&this&technology&makes&its&way&into&our&classrooms,&
a&natural&quesKon&concerns&its&impact&on&student&behaviour&
and&performance.&Should&we&ban&smartphones&in&the&
classroom,&legislate&their&use,&or&embrace&them?&Previous&
research&suggests&that&smartphones&can&bring&negaKve&
consequences&into&the&classroom&including&shoddy&noteN
taking,&impaired&recall,&and&poorer&course&performance&
(Duncan&et&al.,&2012;&Kuznekoff&&&Titsworth,&2013).&On&the&
other&hand,&smartphones&are&associated&with&increases&in&
student&achievement,&at&least&when&they&are&used&as&
essenKal&tools&in&the&classroom&(e.g.,&using&subjectNspecific&
apps;&Norris&et&al.,&2013).&The&present&study&seeks&to&beWer&
understand&the&predictors&of&the&classroom&use&of&
smartphones&by&students&as&well&as&faculty&course&
smartphone&policies.&
Method&
• 417&undergraduate&students&taking&Arts&&&Sciences&
courses&completed&selfNreport&measures&of&their&
aZtudes&towards&smartphone&use&in&the&classroom,&their&
use&of&smartphones&in&the&classroom,&and&the&Big&5&
factors&of&personality&(BFIN44).&
• 47&instrucKonal&faculty&completed&selfNreport&measures&
of&their&aZtudes&and&experiences&concerning&
smartphone&use&in&the&classroom,&the&Big&5&factors&of&
personality,&as&well&as&their&classroom&policies.&
Results&
Students:(55%&of&students&reported&being&distracted&by&
other&students&using&smartphones&during&class&and&25%&of&
students&reported&that&their&own&smartphones&were&more&
distracKng&than&helpful&in&the&classroom.&Smartphone&use&
was&posiKvely&predicted&by&extraversion&and&the&belief&that&
they&are&helpful&for&learning&and&negaKvely&predicted&by&the&
beliefs&that&they&are&distracKng&to&themselves&and&other&
students.&ConscienKousness&was&posiKvely&related&to&the&
belief&that&smartphones&are&distracKng&to&oneself&whereas&
agreeableness&was&posiKvely&related&to&the&belief&that&they&
are&distracKng&to&others.&SancKoned&(e.g.,&accessing&the&
LMS)&and&unsancKoned&(e.g.,&texKng,&browsing&Facebook,&
etc.)&use&of&smartphones&in&the&classroom&correlated&
moderately&(0.26N0.38).&
&
Faculty:(Believing&that&smartphones&are&distracKng&to&other&
students&as&well&as&the&instructor,&witnessing&misuse,&
agreeableness,&and&not&owning&a&smartphone&all&predicted&
more&severe&course&smartphone&policies&(e.g.,&a&ban).&
Discussion&
Students&appear&to&be&aware&of&the&potenKal&for&distracKon&
that&smartphones&carry,&and&their&beliefs&predict&their&use&of&
these&devices&in&the&classroom.&Although&personality&factors&
play&a&role,&opportunity&can&trump&moKvaKon&as&students&
who&bring&out&their&phones&for&a&courseNrelevant&task&begin&
to&check&their&email,&text&a&friend,&or&access&Facebook.&
Faculty&should&reflect&on&their&personal&teaching&philosophy&
when&developing&a&classroom&policy&and&consider:&1)&the&
impact&of&students&surrepKKously&using&smartphones&on&
their&teaching,&2)&whether&it&is&possible&to&uKlize&
smartphones&to&serve&their&pedagogical&goals,&and&3)&the&
discussion&and&possible&coNconstrucKon&of&a&course&policy.&
Students:&Intercorrela=ons&
Faculty:&Intercorrela=ons&
Acknowledgements:&This&research&was&supported&by&a&Teaching&&&Learning&grant&from&Capilano&
University.&My&thanks&to&Cameron&Foss&and&Belinda&Aikenhead&for&their&assistance&with&the&
literature&review&and&poster&preparaKon.&
References&
Duncan,&D.&K.,&Hoekstra,&A.&R.,&&&Wilcox,&B.&R.&(2012)&Digital&devices,&distracKon,&and&student&performance:&Does&inN
class&cell&phone&use&reduce&learning?&Astronomy(Educa>on(Review,(11,&010108N1,&10.3847.&
Ipsos&Reid.&(2012).&The(Ipsos(Canadian(inter@c>ve(Reid(report:(2012(fact(guide.&Retrieved&from&hWp://www.ipsos.ca/
common/dl/pdf/Ipsos_InteracKveReidReport_FactGuide_2012.pdf&
Kuznekoff,&J.&H.,&&&Titsworth,&S.&(2013).&The&impact&of&mobile&phone&usage&on&student&learning.&Communica>on(
Educa>on,(62(3),&233N252.&
Norris,&C.&A.,&Soloway,&E.,&Tan,&C.&M.,&&&Looi,&C.&K.&(2013).&Inquiring&pedagogy&and&smartphones:&Enabling&a&change&in&
school&culture.&Educa>onal(Technology,(53(4),&33N40.&
Smith,&A.&(2013).&Smartphone(ownership(–(2013(update.&PewResearchCenter.&Retrieved&from&hWp://
pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/SmartphoneNOwnershipN2013.aspx&
Witnessed&
misuse&
Distracts&
others&
Distracts&
me&
&
Banned&
use&
.47& .35&
Own&a&
smartphone&
N.47&
Agreeableness&
.27&
.48& .27&
.48&
&
Distracts&
others&
Use&
smartphone&&&
in&class&
Helpful&for&
learning&
Distracts&
me&
N.30& .39&
.41& N.24&
N.29&
ConscienN
Kousness&
.13&
AgreeableN
ness&
.11&
ExtraN
version&.34&
LMS& Tex=ng& Email& Facebook&
LMS& N&
Tex=ng& 0.34**& N&
Email& 0.38**& 0.55**& N&
Facebook& 0.26**& 0.49**& 0.53**& N&
rajiv.jhangiani@kpu.ca