A comprehensive educational study involving 16,700 students and 742 instructors across ten colleges in India was conducted by researchers from the United States, India, and Denmark. The student participants were randomly divided into two groups. Between February and May 2024, one group was required to surrender their smartphones before each class and store them in a designated box, while the other group maintained their usual smartphone usage. At the conclusion of the semester, the researchers assessed the average grades of the students, taking into account their prior academic performance. The findings revealed that students in classes with the phone ban achieved slightly higher average grades, a difference that, while modest, was statistically significant. The ban appeared to benefit first-year students and those with lower academic performance the most, showing minimal impact on high-achieving students, postgraduates, or those enrolled in STEM fields. Attendance rates remained unchanged. The lead researcher, Alp Sungu, previously noted that students subject to the ban expressed greater support for such policies. Classes where smartphones were prohibited experienced fewer distractions and off-topic discussions. Interestingly, instructors also reduced their phone usage, despite the ban not applying to them. Observers noted that students without phones seemed more distracted, suggesting their focus may have shifted to other stimuli, such as ambient noise. The debate continues: should smartphones be banned in classrooms?
Informational material. 18+.
