College students say their professors would be “shocked” to know just how often they send text messages during lectures, and one researcher has offered a simple and stringent solution: Give failing grades to text-happy students.
Nine in 10 students said in a Wilkes University [1] study released this month that they have sent and received texts during class, although a much smaller portion of students believe educators should allow unlimited texting in class as long as it doesn’t disturb others.
Wilkes psychology professors Deborah Tindell [2] and Robert Bohlander [3] created a 32-question survey gauging texting habits that was answered by 269 students on the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., campus.
Their research showed the ubiquity of cell phones on college campuses—95 percent of respondents said they take their phone to class—and the prevalence of easy-to-use “QUERTY” keyboards [4] on mobile devices, Tindell said.