Multitasking and the Effect on Learning / Infographic and Reflection

Multitasking and the Effect on Learning

Analysis and Reflection of Infographic

The Information:

Multitasking is a pertinent topic for me as a high school teacher. Almost every student has a cell phone, and multitasking with technology is pervasive. I wanted to see if student learning was affected by multitasking.

I found numerous articles on multitasking, and as I started reading them, I became curious to see what my own students would say about their multitasking behaviors. I decided to create a survey to find out. Even though I only surveyed one class, my seniors, I included the results in my infographic. (Due to SBA testing, computer labs and laptop carts were unavailable for other classes.) I asked several other classes the questions, and by a show of hands, the results were similar. Although the sample size may be too small to be scientifically valid, I believe the results are indicative of the behaviors of many high school students. The bottom line is that almost all students multitask while doing schoolwork. Many think that their understanding and task efficiency are unaffected by their multitasking. However, the question remained, is their learning affected.

The majority of research suggests that learning is affected by multitasking, mostly negatively. The article,"You'll Never Learn" by Annie Paul was especially helpful. She included the results of a study by Larry Rosen of the University of California. Rosen studied the behavior of 263 middle, high school, and university students. Rosen found that the average time on the primary task before switching was less than 6 minutes. He did find, however,  that students who were accustomed to high media use were more likely to stay on task. This finding coincides with a study described in The Wall Street Journal. Two high school students from Oregon studied the multitasking behaviors of 400 high school students. The study took two years to complete and won second place at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May 2014. The young women found that while 85% of students did not perform as well when multitasking, 15% actually performed better. The individuals who performed better were considered “high media multitaskers.” The authors of the study hypothesize, “What our research is suggesting is that maybe our brains as adolescents and digital natives have adapted to this media influence” (Reddy).

While it is unclear if the ability to multitask will prove beneficial in the future, the research shows that for the most people it is is detrimental to learning. David Meyer, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan notes, “Under most conditions, the brain simply cannot do two complex tasks at the same time. It can happen only when the two tasks are both very simple and when they don’t compete with each other for the same mental resources” (Paul). He goes on to say, “Young people think they can perform two challenging tasks at once, but they are deluded” (Paul). Many students believe they are working efficiently when they are multitasking, but for most of them that is simply not true. Meyers also found that the brain stores information differently when distracted. Brain scans show different memory patterns which may make it harder to apply new knowledge (Paul).

A study by Song et al, "Analysis of Youngsters Media Multitasking Behaviors and Effect on Learning", supports the findings of Rosen and Meyer. In a 2011 study of 866 university students, the authors found that multitasking had harmful effects on learning. Frequent task switching led to fewer correct answers. The negative effects of multitasking were somewhat mitigated when task motivation was high, but mostly they found that learning suffered (Song).

Since multitasking is so prevalent and since effects for most students are negative, it is important to offer students strategies to become more efficient learners. Rosen proposed the idea of encouraging to take “tech breaks.” Based on the principle of delayed gratification, students can treat themselves to a “tech break” only after working for a fixed amount of time (Paul). When I explained this strategy to my students, several of them said that they do that. It’s also important to make students aware of the negative effects of multitasking so that they can become more productive. Finally, mindfulness is gaining popularity as a means to increase focus on learning. In the article, "How Meditating Helps With Multitasking", Tina Barseghian describes David Levy’s work. Levy, a professor at the University of Washington,  proposed that schools need to “teach the tools that will teach kids to focus, avoid distraction, and judge what to pay attention to as they’re exposed to a slew of diversions. It’s a matter of training the brain” (Barseghian).

What we do know is that people multitask all the time. We know that for the majority of people, it compromises learning. Whether the brain will actually “rewire” itself over time remains to be seen. The Pew Research Center conducted a survey of technology experts asking them whether “the younger generation’s always-on connection to people and information will turn out to be a net positive or a net negative by 2020”(Pew). 42% believe that future looks “baleful.” They worry that deep thinking capabilities and face-to-face social skills will suffer. Overall, they believe the changes in behavior and cognition will lead to negative outcomes (Pew). On the other hand, 53% believe that the younger generation will benefit from the amount of information available to them. They will learn more, rather than less. They will be able to use multitasking to their benefit as they learn to search more efficiently and access collective intelligence via the internet. They see positive a positive outcome (Pew).

One thing that is clear to me after doing the research is that we really don’t know the long term effects of our technological age on the brain and learning. It seems important, however, to make students aware of the need to focus. While multitasking is likely here to stay, students need to learn how to use the information available to them to their advantage so that they can work efficiently and productively to maximize learning.

The Process:

Before starting my infographic I researched articles about multitasking. I wasn’t surprised to learn that its effects on learning are more negative than positive. I also wasn’t surprised that my own students all multitask. I was a little surprised at how quickly they are distracted.

The creation of the infographic was challenging at first. I used Piktochart, and although it wasn’t difficult, it took me a while to get the hang of it. The suggestions of my colleagues helped me to organize my information. They also gave me ideas about  information to include in the survey I gave to my students. I thought it was important to give some statistics about the prevalence of multitasking. I also wanted to show what kids thought the effect of multitasking had on their learning. That’s where my survey came in. So the first part of the infographic was a student self-analysis.

I included information from the research I did in the second part. I didn’t have as many statistics here, but I was able to include the effects of multitasking based on several studies.

Finally, I wanted to end with suggestions on how to deal with multitasking. Hence, I included some ideas for strategies that students could use to become more efficient learners.
Creating an infographic would be an excellent learning activity in my classroom. It forces students to identify the critical information on a topic and organize it in a logical way. The nature of the medium encourages creativity and allows students to showcase what they have discovered on a given topic.

Citations:

Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2012, February 28). Millennials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/02/29/millennials-will-benefit-and-suffer-due-to-their-hyperconnected-lives/

Barseghian, T. (2011, October 26). How Meditating Helps with Multitasking. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/10/26/how-meditating-helps-with-multitasking/

Paul, A. (2013, May 3). You'll Never Learn: Students Can't Resist Multitasking and It's Impairing Their Memory. Retrieved May 5, 2015, from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/multitasking_while_studying_divided_attention_and_technological_gadgets.html

Reddi, S. (2014, October 13). Teen Researchers Defend Media Multitasking. Retrieved May 4, 2015, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/teen-researchers-defend-media-multitasking-1413220118

Song, K., Nam, S., Lim, H., & Kim, J. (2013). Analysis of Youngsters' Media Multitasking Behaviors and Effect on Learning. International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Engineering, 8(4), 191-198.Retrieved May 4, 2015 from http://www.sersc.org/journals/IJMUE/vol8_no4_2013/19.pdf

Multitasking Survey