Ask middle and high school STEM teachers what the biggest barrier is to students learning in their classes, and there鈥檚 a good chance the answer will be social media and online gaming.
Teachers ranked online distractions as more problematic than students missing classes or not learning basic concepts in earlier grades, according to a new survey by the EdWeek Research Center.
That鈥檚 not to say that absenteeism or a lack of foundational knowledge in STEM subjects aren鈥檛 huge barriers to learning. But it鈥檚 clear 糖心动漫vlog are struggling to keep students motivated and engaged with the constant distractions from cellphones, social media, and online games.
Many STEM 糖心动漫vlog told the EdWeek Research Center that it鈥檚 simply too hard for them to compete with digital devices and media.
鈥淢otivating students to do any kind of work is difficult. We are competing with social media, etc., and it seems that they would rather do that than work on any assignments,鈥� said a middle school math/computer science/data science teacher in New Mexico in the open-response section of the EdWeek Research Center survey.
鈥淭he worst thing that ever happened to kids was cellphones and social media,鈥� added a math/computer science/data science teacher in California. 鈥淭heir attention spans are shot, and they lost a ton of motivation. They are interested in instantaneous answers and lack perseverance due to instant access to knowledge at their fingertips.鈥�
But while teachers often feel smartphones and social media are hurting K-12 education, students see those technologies as much more benign. Middle and high school students surveyed by the EdWeek Research Center were more likely to cite a lack of interest in subjects, worries about failing, and too few opportunities to get help as barriers鈥攊f they could think of any barrier to their learning in STEM at all.
The EdWeek Research Center asked middle and high school students and English language/arts teachers these same questions regarding motivation in ELA classes. Their responses were not substantially different from students and teachers in STEM. The nationally representative surveys were conducted in March and April and included 1,058 middle and high school students and 605 糖心动漫vlog in K-12.
Teens don鈥檛 think their cellphone use hurts their learning
Students and teachers don鈥檛 see eye to eye on how students鈥� cellphone use affects how well they are learning in math, science, engineering, and technology-related classes. Sixty-three percent of teachers say that the amount of time students spend on their cellphones has a very negative impact on their learning, compared with just 2% of middle and high schoolers who agree.
Cellphones and the distractions they cause can be particularly challenging in STEM-related classes, where many students already struggle as they get older to stay motivated and where concepts become increasingly complex and build upon one another. One study by Common Sense Media found that students can get hundreds of notifications a day, many during school hours.
STEM teachers told the EdWeek Research Center that cellphones are eroding students鈥� motivation and engagement in their classes.
鈥淪tudents are literally addicted to their cellphones. This impacts all areas of learning,鈥� said a high school science teacher in Maryland in the survey.
鈥淚 have observed a gradual but massive change in students鈥� abilities to focus and desires to learn due to distractions with mobile phones, both with social media and video games,鈥� said an Idaho-based high school science teacher.
Teachers have not always held these opinions. In the mid-2010s, many teachers saw cellphones as potentially valuable instructional tools. But their attitudes toward the devices have soured markedly since then.
Teachers in many states are already getting some relief. State lawmakers across the country from both the Democrat and Republican parties have been pushing for cellphone restrictions in schools over the past year. At least 22 states now require school districts to ban or restrict students鈥� use of cellphones in schools, according to an Education Week tally.
A number of states have also created social media restrictions for kids, such as banning social media companies from sending push notifications to students during typical sleep hours.
Many teachers think teens get too much screen time鈥攅ven on school devices
Even when it comes to educational screen time on school-issued devices, many STEM and ELA teachers feel that students are getting too much of it, while students鈥攜ou guessed it鈥攁re less bothered.
A little more than half of middle and high school teachers鈥攚ho teach STEM and English/language arts鈥攕aid they wished students spent less time learning on computers, compared with 12% of students who said the same.
鈥淚 think technology is great, and essential for learning things that exist out in the real world,鈥� said a high school math teacher in California. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 kind of bananas how much time students spend on iPads, computers, and their phones. I would say our students at our school have two hours a day offline or without a screen. Students are constantly distracted.鈥�
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
