When teaching college classes, I run a zero-tech classroom with computers allowed only during specific assignments and no cellphones. Students absorb more by writing down notes old-school and by avoiding the distraction of a cellphone.
I tell them, if my cellphone were on the desk, I would be checking social media, too. While students still peek surreptitiously at their devices below the desk, I find the ban is mostly respected. Going without cellphones in class vastly increases engagement and learning.
What is true for college students is doubly applicable to younger students. Cellphones disrupt class and distract students from engaging face-to-face with teachers, other students, and the academic material. Achievement suffers, particularly for students who are already struggling academically.
Sadly, heavy usage of smartphones and social media is also associated with poor mental health outcomes such as depression, poor self-image, and anxiety, as well as reduced time studying or sleeping outside of school.
There鈥檚 no way to stop parents from allowing their children to stare listlessly at a screen, but state lawmakers, school board members, administrators and teachers can impact what goes on during the school day. Last year, the General Assembly set a deadline for public school districts to adopt policies by next month to address cellphone use in schools, leaving it up to districts to determine the details.
The Denver Public Schools board did the right thing by unanimously passing a policy that prevents the use of smartphones and smartwatches with or without earbuds from the time they set foot into the school building until the moment they leave. Denver charter schools like Rocky Mountain Prep and STRIVE Prep already have such a 鈥渂ell-to-bell鈥� policy in place, but the ban will be new for some charter and traditional public schools.
Other school districts, such as Boulder Valley, Cherry Creek, Douglas County and Colorado Springs District 11, have classroom bans but vary on whether students may use phones during passing periods or lunch. For example, the Douglas County School District maintains a bell-to-bell ban for elementary and middle school students. Still, it allows high school students to access their smartphones during lunch and passing periods. While more flexible policies preserve the environment in the classroom, they could allow students to isolate themselves during lunch and recess or allow cyberbullying to take place on campus.
How hard will it be to enforce classroom or school-wide cellphone limits? A research paper published last year by the National Bureau of Economic Research examining the impact of a bell-to-bell cellphone ban on schools in one of the ten largest school districts in the country offers some insight. Researchers found that disciplinary infractions rose during the first year, but the rate returned to average in the second year. More significantly, while test scores remained the same in the first year, they increased substantially in the second year.
While Colorado teachers and administrators can expect some rebellion after implementation, as students break themselves of social media addiction, by the second year, turning off the phone at the beginning of the school day and keeping it off will become a habit. As attention and engagement increase, achievement will go up.
Krista Kafer is a Sunday Denver Post columnist.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
