Texting and Reading Comprehension - Case Study Example

Texts From Last Lecture: How Texting During Lecture Affects College Students’ Hypothesis: Based on results in published literature, interruption by text-messaging is expected to reduce individual performance quality upon cognitive assessments, such as multiple choice questions. Individuals that can complete cognitive tasks without interruption are expected to perform at significantly higher quality. Introduction In the last two decades, the use of communications technology for education, work, and recreation has dramatically increased. Analogous to the invention and adoption of the telephone in the early twentieth century, text messaging has become a staple form of communication in today’s society. In the preceding four years, the percentage of teens that have used text messages has risen from 27% to 54%, with moderate increases in use appearing in other age ranges as well (Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2010). The effects of text messages upon completion of cognitive tasks has been widely debated, and the results of studies in these fields have been pertinent to the implementation of policies and procedures governing use of text messages in a variety of industrial and academic settings. A common inquiry involving computer-mediated communication (CMC) involves the effect that these real-time communication capabilities, such as text messaging and other forms of digital instant messaging (IM) from mobile devices, have on student performance and learning. In 2009, the researchers Fox, Rosen, and Crawford conducted a study that subjected subject to various CMC based interruptions during an academic lecture, which led to the assessment that CMC does in fact negatively impact performance quality, generally resulting in students taking longer to finish multiple choice assignments. Interestingly, free recall questions were not impacted to as high a degree. The overall effects of CMC on long-learning and recall have not been established, and are widely debated. This study serves the purpose of providing additional insight into the effects of CMC on immediate recall, such as required for cognitive processing of multiple choice questions. Method Participants Participants will be seven students from a Human Development course at the UCSD. The students will have the choice to participate in the experiment for class credit. All participants will be female and age range will be 20-25. This is a within-subjects design and all participants will be tested at the same time. The students will be randomly assigned to receiving interruption during the first or second passage based on last name, every other last name assigned to every other condition. Procedure The participants will all be tested at the same time and receive verbal instructions before the test. They will be told that they will be performing a listening comprehension test and will be hearing two different passages and asked questions relating to the passages at the end of each one. The participants will also be told that at some point during listening to the passage they will be interrupted by a text message on their cell phone and they are required to answer the text question with 15 seconds to do so.  They will be told that participation is voluntary and that they can drop out of the experiment at any time.  After verbal instructions a quiz booklet will be passed out and the participants will be asked to place it face down.  The first passage will be played from previously recorded track and half of the participants will be interrupted by three text messages.  At the end of the first passage all participants will be asked to flip over their test booklet to the first page and answer the 16 quiz questions that relates to the first passage. The participants will then hand in the first page of their packet and leave the remaining page face down on their desk. The participants will be told to prepare to listen to the second passage. The second passage will play and during this time half of the participants will be interrupted by the same three text messages. At the end of the second passage all participants will be asked to flip over the remaining test sheet and answer 16 quiz questions relating to the second passage. At the end of the second quiz all papers will be collected and the participants will be debriefed. They will be told that the study is looking at the affects of texting on listening comprehension and how this might apply to texting during lecture in at college settings. Materials The test will be administered using a Macintosh computer, which has two Garage Band recorded passages, both approximately five and a half minutes long. Both passages were recorded at the same time by the same experimenter. Both passages are the same difficulty level, one pertaining to the history of corn (http://www.agron.iastate.edu/courses/agron212/readings/corn_history.htm) the other recounting the history of silk (http://www.silk.org.uk/history.htm). Both passages were sparingly edited in order to be the same length, approximately 800 words. The quiz will consist of two sheets of paper. The quiz was constructed to test the listening comprehension of the two passages consisting of both multiple choice and true/false questions using the Nelson Denny reading comprehension test as a model for scoring.  Each participant will use her own cell phone to receive text messages, and text messages will be sent out in a group blast at the same set times by an experimenter’s phone. All participants will use their own pencils or pens to fill out the quiz. Results The experimentally produced results of the test scores for Group A and Group B subjects have been recorded and analyzed by the author to indicate a correlation with decreased quality of performance on multiple choice questions, supporting the hypothesis that interruption decreases the quality at which individuals complete these assessments. A two-tailed t-test was used to demonstrate the relationship between correlated samples. The calculated standard deviation for the groups that do not experience interruption (Non-I) is 1.14, whereas the calculated standard deviation for the groups that do experience interruption is 1.64. A trend exists that indicates a significant difference between the number of questions answered correctly in the interrupt and non-interrupt conditions, t(6) = -1.59, p= .08, according to the experimental data presented in this study. Consistently, subjects from both Group A and Group B performed higher on a multiple choice test, as seen by the plot of the mean average scores for the two groups shown in Figure 1 located at the top of the proceeding page. Figure 1: Bar Graph demonstrating the increased performance of the Non-Interrupt (Non-I) group in both Group A and Group B by meant test score The ages of participants ranged from 20-24 with a mean age of 20.9 years, with all subjects of the study self-reporting some degree of CMC use during academic lectures, normally in the form of digital text messaging. The amount of time spent texting is shown to be higher with younger students, and decrease with age. Figure 2 represents this trend, with red gradient indicating predicted regions of the longest text messaging activity. Figure 2: Gradient scale representing trends of predicted highest texting time by age. Experimental data points are shown and red gradient areas represent the areas of predicted highest usage. Discussion This study provides only information to confirm the hypothesis that text messages affect individual performance on multiple choice questions, and does not analyze the results of other CMC, such as email, picture messaging, or other forms of digital communication, that may or may not follow these trends. Other question formats, such as short answer or essay questions might be explored and analyzed in order to make a more broad assessment of the effect text messaging has on cognitive processes in general. Additionally, the effect of CMC on long-term learning and retaining of knowledge has not been determined, and would be an excellent inspiration for future study in the field. References Fox, A.B., Rosen, J., & Crawford, M. (2009). Distractions, distractions: Does instant messaging affect college students' performance on a concurrent reading comprehension task? Cyber Psychology & Behavior, 12(1), 51-53. Pew Internet & American Life Project (2010). Teen and Mobile Phones. Retrieved August 23, 2010, from http://www.slideshare.net/PewInternet/teens-and-mobile-phones. Appendix Passages Passage 1 Origin, History, and Uses of Corn (Zea mays) For western civilization, the story of corn began in 1492 when Columbus's men discovered this new grain in Cuba. An American native, it was exported to Europe rather than being imported, as were other major grains. Like most early history, there is some uncertainty as to when corn first went to Europe. Some say it went back with Columbus to Spain, while others report that it was not returned to Spain until the second visit of Columbus. The word "corn" has many different meanings depending on what country you are in. Corn in the United States is also called maize or Indian corn. In some countries, corn means the leading crop grown in a certain district. Corn in England means wheat; in Scotland and Ireland, it refers to oats. Corn mentioned in the Bible probably refers to wheat or barley. At first, corn was only a garden curiosity in Europe, but it soon began to be recognized as a valuable food crop. Within a few years, it spread throughout France, Italy, and all of southeastern Europe and northern Africa. By 1575, it was making its way into western China, and had become important in the Philippines and the East Indies. Although corn is indigenous to the western hemisphere, its exact birthplace is far less certain. Archeological evidence of corn's early presence in the western hemisphere was identified from corn pollen grain considered to be 80,000 years old obtained from drill cores 200 feet below Mexico City. Another archeological study of the bat caves in New Mexico revealed corncobs that were 5,600 years old by radiocarbon determination. Most historians believe corn was domesticated in the Tehuacan Valley of Mexico. The original wild form has long been extinct. Corn is often classified as dent corn, flint corn, flour corn, popcorn, sweet corn, waxy corn, and pod corn. The remainder of this discussion will be concerned only with dent corn, which is the major type cultivated in the United States. Corn was the most important cultivated plant in ancient times in America. Early North American expeditions show that the corn‑growing area ex­tended from southern North Dakota and both sides of the lower St. Lawrence Valley southward to northern Argentina and Chile. It extended west­ward to the middle of Kansas and Nebraska, and an important lobe of the Mexican area extended northward to Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado. It was also an important crop in the high valleys of the Andes in South America. The great variability of the corn plant led to the selection of numerous widely adapted varieties which hardly resembled one another. The plant may have ranged from no more than a couple of feet tall to over 20 feet. It was not like the uniform sized plant that most people know today. For the Aztecs, Mayas, Incas and various Pueblo dwellers of the southwestern United States, corn growing took precedence over all other activities. The principal role of the corn plant during the 19th century was closely tied to the development of the Midwest. In the movement westward, corn found its major home in the woodland clearings and grasslands of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and adjacent states. These were places where it had not been grown widely in prehistoric times. As early as 1880, the United States grew over 62 million acres of corn. By 1900, this figure had reached approximately 95 million acres; by 1910, it was over 100 million acres. The highest acreage ever recorded in the United States was 111 million acres in 1917. From the beginning of records in the 1880s, through the mid 1930s, there was no significant increase in the national average corn yield. Yields during the 1920s and 1930s were no higher than those produced as a national average in the late 1800S. It was not until the vast technological advances in the early 1940s that corn yields started to show significant yield increases. Prior to this time, the highest U.S. average yield was recorded in 1906 at 31.7 bushels per acre. Following moderate yield increases in the 1940s and 1950s, yields shot up in the 1960s and early 1970s to a national average of 109.5 bushels per acre in 1979. In 2000, US farmers planted over 79 million acres of corn. More than 40% of the world's corn is produced in the United States. Total acreage is now less than in earlier years, but planting has increased in the more favorable areas of the Corn Belt. Iowa is normally the leading corn producing state, followed closely by Illinois. The highest all time record corn acreage in Iowa was 14.4 million acres in 1980. Corn forms a major base of the Iowa economy. The combination of favorable soils, and weather for this crop is rivaled by few other places in the world. Passage 2 Silk Trade Histories According to Confucius, it was in 2640 B.C. that the Chinese princess Xi Ling Shi was the first to reel a cocoon of silk which, legend also has it, had dropped into her cup of tea. From that historic moment, the Chinese discovered the life cycle of the silk worm and for the next 3000 years were to keep their monopoly of silk. In the 3rd Century B.C., Chinese silk fabrics were beginning to find their way throughout the whole of Asia, and were transported overland to the west, and by sea to Japan, in those long itineraries known as the silk roads. It was in Asia that the Romans discovered these wondrous fabrics but they knew nothing of their origin. In 552 A.D., the Emperor Justinian sent two monks on a mission to Asia, and they came back to Byzantium with silkworm eggs hidden inside their bamboo walking sticks. (The earliest known example of industrial espionage!). From then on, sericulture spread throughout Asia Minor and Greece. In the 7th Century, the Arabs conquered the Persians, capturing their magnificent silks in the process, and helped to spread sericulture and silk weaving as they swept victoriously through Africa, Sicily and Spain. In the 10th Century, Andalusia was Europe's main silk-producing centre. Then the Crusaders, the formation of the Mongol Empire, Marco Polo's journeys in China led to the development of commercial exchanges between East and West, and to an ever-increasing use of silk. In this way, Italy started a silk industry as early as the 12th Century. In the period 1450-1466, Lyon became a major warehouse for foreign silks, but these imports caused a harmful outflow of capital, and in 1466 Louis XI declared his intention to "introduce the art and craft of making gold and silk fabrics in our city of Lyon". Later, in 1536, François I gave Lyon the monopoly of silk imports and trade, thus effectively creating the Lyon silk industry. The next significant event in the development of the silk industry was the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. The French Huguenots, again subject to religious persecution, fled the country in large numbers. Many Huguenots were expert throwsters and weavers, and they contributed in a very large degree to the development of the silk industry in Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Switzerland.  Throughout the 18th Century, silk continued to prosper in Europe, Japan and above all in China. European missionaries to China reported, "Even the simplest soldiers are dressed in silk". In 1804, Jacquard perfected the method of producing figured fabrics, by the use of perforated cards. This was a revolution in weaving techniques and gave a tremendous impetus to the creating of silk industry in Lyon and then in other European countries. The 19th Century is characterized by two contradictory trends: increased mechanization and the consequent increase in productivity in the silk industry, on the one hand, and on the other, the beginning of the decline of European sericulture in the last quarter of the century. From 1872, and the opening of the Suez Canal, raw silk imported from Japan became more competitive, thanks also to Japan's progress in reeling techniques. The rapid industrialization of European silk-producing countries, notably France, led to transfer of agricultural labor to the cities and towns. Diseases that affected the silkworm, although overcome by Pasteur, made silk-rearing a less reliable source of income. And the first man-made fibers were beginning to make inroads into the markets traditionally reserved for silk. The early part of the 20th Century, whereas European sericulture continued its slow decline, the silk industry succeeded in maintaining a strong position through its technical innovations and the development of silk blended with other fibers. The next major turning point was to be the Second World War. Raw-silk supplies from Japan were cut off, and the new synthetic fibers captured many of silk's markets, such as stockings and parachutes. This interruption in silk activity in Europe and the United States sounded the death-knell of European sericulture.   After the war, Japan restored her silk production, with vastly improved reeling, inspection and classification of her raw silk. Japan was to remain the world's biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970's. Then China, thanks to a remarkable effort of organization and planning, gradually re-captured her historic position as the world's biggest producer and exporter of raw silk. In 1985, world production of raw silk was about 56000 tonnes (the same as in 1938) of which over 50% were produced in China. The other major producers are Japan, India, the USSR, the Republic of Korea and Brazil. Silk is still produced in smaller quantities in many other countries, and several developing countries are studying new sericulture projects. Participant Age ___________ Score____________ On average how much time do you spend sending and receiving text messages per day? _______ Origin, History, and Uses of Corn Reading Assessment Answer Place your answer on the space provided by each number. 1. ____B___ Which American native was exported to Europe rather than being imported? A. Columbus’s Men B. Corn C. Other Grains 2. ____C___ How many years before corn spread throughout France, Italy, and all of southeastern Europe and northern Africa? A. 8 B. 5 C. A Few 3. ___A____ Archeological study of the ­­­­­­­­­ in New Mexico revealed corncobs that were 5,600 years old? A. Bat Caves B. Plain C. Tehuacan Valley 4. Match the following names of corn to their definitions: A. Oats B. Maize / Indian Corn C. Wheat ____B___ Name for corn in the United States. ____C___ Name for corn in England. ____A___ Name for corn in Ireland and Scotland. 5. ___A____ The original wild form has long been extinct. A. True B. False 6. ___B____ Early North American expeditions show that the corn‑growing areas stopped before reaching southern North Dakota. A. True B. False 7. ___A____ The oldest known grain of corn pollen is 80,000 years old. A. True B. False 8. ____B___ Although corn is not indigenous to the western hemisphere, and its exact birthplace is definitive. A. True B. False 9. __A_____ The word "corn" has many different meanings depending on what country you are in. A. True B. False 10. ____C___ In 1492 where did Columbus's men discover corn? A. Mexico City B. America C. Cuba 11. ___C____ The processing of corn helped to develop the Midwest significantly during which time frame? A. 14th century B. 18th century C. 19th century 12. ____A___ As early as 1880, the United States grew over 62 million acres of corn but one period of time showed no significant corn growth. A. 1880 - 1930 B. 1920 - 1930 C. 1910 - 1917 13. Match the following to their definitions: A. Iowa B. Acreage C. Dent Corn _____A__ Forms the major base of the Iowa economy. _____C__ Classification given to corn in the United States. ____B___ Since corn has increased this has decreased. 14. ____A___ More than 40% of the world's corn is produced in the United States. . A. True B. False 15. ____B___ Which area makes up the corn belt? A. Kansas and Nebraska B. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa C. Arizona, New Mexico and southern Colorado 16. ___A____ Corn plants can grow to upwards of 20 feet A. True B. False Participant Age ___________ Score____________ On average how much time do you spend sending and receiving text messages per day? _______ Silk Trade Reading Assessment Answer Place your answer on the space provided by each number. ____B___ Which merchant’s travels led to the development of the silk exchange between the East and the West? Justinian Marco Polo Confucius ____C___ In which Century B.C., Chinese silk fabrics were beginning to find their way throughout the whole of Asia? 8 5 3rd ___A____ In the 7th Century, the conquered the capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Arabs / Persians Chinese / Africans The Crusaders / Mongols Match the following names of corn to their definitions: Silk Roads Lyon Andalusia ____B___ A European city that monopolized the silk industry in the 1500’s. ____C___ Europe's main silk-producing centre. ____A___ Land and Sea itineraries used to transport silk from China ___A____ European missionaries to China reported that even the simplest soldiers dressed in silk. True False ___B____ Confucius was the 1st person was the first to reel a cocoon of silk. True False ___A____ The Chinese were able to monopolize the silk industry for 3000 years. True False ____B___ The Second World War was not a major turning point in the silk industry. True False __A_____ Two monks committed the earliest known example of industrial espionage under the direction of the Emperor Justinian. True False ____C___ In 1804 perfected the method of producing figured fabrics, by the use of perforated cards? The United States Brazil Jacquard ___C____ Italy started a silk industry as early as the Century? 10th century 7th century 12th century ____A___ In the period silk imports caused a harmful outflow of capital causing King Louis XI to declare Lyon a city for making silk. 1450-1466 1920 - 1930 1910 – 1917 Match the following to their definitions: Weaving Sericulture Silk Reeling _____A__ Creating fabric from silk or synthetic materials _____C__ The process of unwinding silk from cocoons ____B___ The process of silk farming ____A___ Diseases that affected the silkworm made silk-rearing a less reliable source of income. . . True False ____B___ Due to religious persecution the fled their country contributing to the development of the silk industry in Europe. Germans French Huguenots Persians ___A____ China re-captured her historic position as the world's biggest producer and exporter of raw silk In 1985 True False Read More