Abstract
The aim of this investigation was to explore student behaviour when students brought their own digital devices into a lecture theatre. A total of 361 undergraduate psychology students from the University of Liverpool who used at least one digital device during lecture time fully completed an online questionnaire (159 first-, 124 second- and 78 third-year psychology students) during the 2018–2019 academic year. Although all the three years of undergraduate students brought laptops and/or smartphones into a lecture theatre, there was no significant difference in academic performance over the years of studies. The findings have linked student multitasking processes in a lecture theatre to Social Cognitive Theory principles (reciprocal interactions between behaviours, learning environment, and individuals). There was a significant difference between the three years regarding the use of applications and student characteristics after controlling for the different types of devices. Students who used only one application during lecture time were more likely to achieve higher academic performance as they were less distracted from their primary tasks of processing and retaining information. Overall, this investigation concluded the importance of reconsidering the teaching delivery process so as to avoid students’ escapism using devices during lecture theatres due to their engagement level and lecture norm pressures.
Highlights
Simple main-effects analysis showed that first-year students had significantly lower grades than third-year student (p = 0.007), but there was no significant difference between first- and second-year (p = 0.07) and secondand third-year psychology students (p = 0.5)
In order to gain a better understanding of the effect of the use of digital devices during lecture time, this study explored the reciprocal interactions of device usage with multitasking, distractions and participation in/learning activities on student academic performance, connecting them to learners’ individual characteristics following Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)
The findings of this study suggest that universities and university departments promote the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) agenda and students are encouraged to use digital devices during lecture time, students are not aware that multitasking, jumping from one task to another, requires high levels of cognitive skills
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Universities have implemented new infrastructure to allow students to bring their own device (BYOD; bring your own device) for education purposes [1]. Universities have proceeded with the relevant technology infrastructure to support campusbased teaching approaches (e.g., blended and hybrid learning) increasing learning flexibilities such as ease of content access, cost effectiveness, time, and student engagement [2,3]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
