“Put your phones in the phone pocket,” the dreaded words most students at Skyline have heard while walking into class. Many outside sources claim that putting the phones away is beneficial for the student’s focus, productivity, and learning.
Ms. Willson, an IB environmental systems and societies teacher at Skyline, stated that “I don’t like having students’ personal property in my possession. Also, I feel like students would say they don’t own a phone or left it at home.” She has been teaching at Skyline for 8 years and says that she would love to use phone pockets in her classroom if there was a way that it would actually work. Many students say that they don’t like having to put their phones in phone pockets in class because they don’t like the idea of someone else keeping their property even if it’s only for a 50-minute period.
However, some students in classes with phone pockets argue that putting their phones away during class allows them to focus on the material and leads to a more productive session. A study from the Journal of Educational Psychology with upper-level college students found that students using computers and cellphones for non-classroom purposes in class scored less than their peers that put the phones away. The study also showed that the usage of phones during class didn’t have much effect on short term retention, but it had a more significant impact on long term retention of the content taught in the class, measured through the unit and final exams.
While many students cringe at the thought of having to put their phones away in class, we can’t ignore the positive impact of these phone pockets. Ultimately, the final decision lies to the teacher and their preferences about classroom technology use.
