The Lakeshore School Division is expecting to see a rise in academic achievement among its students over time as a result of fewer cellphone distractions in the classroom.
Donald Nikkel, who is LSD’s superintendent of HR and policy and alternative program director, said the implementation of the province’s school cellphone directive has been positive overall for LSD schools.
Prior to the implementation of the directive last September, however, the division’s schools had their own specific cellphone guidelines to help mitigate against distractions.
“Prior to the provincial mandate, our individual schools set their own specific guidelines for students so there has been a range of benefits we’ve seen depending on the building and how large of a change in practice there was. In general, when cellphone use has decreased in schools, we have also seen a decrease in distractions and the negative consequences associated with that,” said Nikkel. “Over the past few years, a growing body of evidence has also shown that access to cellphones in schools leads to decreases in academic achievement. With increased restrictions on cellphone usage in schools, we anticipate that over time we will start to see corresponding increases in academic achievement as well.”
The Lakeshore School Division has 12 schools in communities such as Fisher Branch, Broad Valley, Inwood, Ashern, Eriksdale and Lundar.
The province announced on Aug. 15 that it would ban cellphone use by students in kindergarten to Grade 8, including during their lunches and breaks. Students in grades 9 to 12 cannot use their devices in the classroom but can access them on breaks and lunch. There are exceptions for students who need their phones for medical reasons, and teachers can have students use their phones for educational purposes. Students can still use cellphones on school buses.
Activities such as texting, watching short video clips, looking at trending searches, paying attention to pop-up ads and being pulled in by the bells and pings associated with calls and texts can disrupt attention span and lead to reduced productivity.
And excessive social media use via cellphones is becoming increasingly recognized by researchers as being harmful to mental health and wellbeing, especially among youth. Children can become addicted to social media apps, experience cyberbullying and cyber-stalking, develop low self-esteem, be unable to concentrate at school, spend hours alone with their phones, spend hours online with strangers, develop anxiety over missing out on what’s happening online, and engage in harmful behaviours encouraged by other social media users or influencers, among other harms.
Nikkel said LSD’s high school and middle school students have adapted well to reduced/banned cellphone use in school and have come to recognize how cellphones can affect their ability to concentrate.
“Overall, the transition towards the new model has been very smooth, with many students acknowledging the reduction in distractions during the course of the day,” he said.
And feedback about the restrictions from teachers has also been positive as they don’t have to spend as much time addressing unwanted cellphone use.
“Reduced access to cellphones has equated to fewer classroom distractions and fewer moments where teachers are having to spend time managing student usage of technology,” said Nikkel.
Nikkel said that the province’s standard, which is applicable to all public schools, has helped LSD schools, students and their parents/caregivers and members of the community easily understand what’s required of students regarding cellphone use.
“One of the things that has really helped has been a provincial standard. With consistency across the province, we have found implementation to be fairly seamless. The provincial directive ensured that there was consistent communication across divisions which helps for students, staff, parents and community members,” he said. “For example, we have found that at the high-school level, employers are more aware that students are not available on their phones during certain times and are less likely to try to contact them until breaks.”
LSD will be providing updates to its board and its communities regarding the impacts of the provincial cellphone directive.
