Is cell phone use in your classroom driving you crazy? You are definitely not alone. But, it truly does not have to be this way.
I can honestly (and I should really knock on wood as I say this) say that cell phones are not a problem in my classroom, even though I teach sophomores in a public high school in NYC - Not exactly a group known for voluntarily powering down their devices before class.
Now, I am going to say something that many teachers and administrators might hate, but please, bear with me: I allow students to keep their devices out and on hand during class unless completing assessments.
My approach to cell phone use in class has been the area in which I deviate most frequently from my colleagues, but, I will repeat: I do not have a cell phone problem in my classroom. In this particular situation, I believe that the proof really is in the pudding, as they say.
Why do I allow cell phones in my classroom?
Not to be the annoying millennial in the room, but cell phones and other devices are here to stay. I strongly believe that we need to teach students how to use them.
I don't mean, literally, how to use them - They could probably teach all of us a thing or two in that regard. I mean, how to responsibly use them as functioning adults, which they will all be within just a few short years when they leave high school.
I spend time each year explicitly teaching what I call "work skills," and one of the most important ones is how to be productive while owning a cell phone.
Consider your own life and experiences: As functional adults, most of us do not lock our phones away while we complete daily tasks or go about our lives. My own phone is sitting about five inches away from my left hand right now as I type this.
The ability to remain on task, despite the consistent distraction that is your cell phone, can be taught, and really - it must be taught.
The Cell Phone Policy
In September, I explicitly teach my cell phone policy to the class.
After the expected joyful responses that you can imagine follow the announcement that cell phones are allowed to be out during class, we review the rules. Because, of course, with a policy like this, there must be clear and consistent rules for students to follow.
Rule #1: "Screen Side Down"
Rule #1 states that if your cell phone is out on your desk, it must be turned screen side down, with all flashing light notifications turned off.
This strategy teaches students how to control the level of distraction that their cell phone brings them. Yes, it is out on their desk. But, they need to make a conscious choice to flip it over and check it.
This situation stops students from being distracted by not knowing if they are missing important notifications - something that can keep the average 15-year-old off-task all period - and reduces the anxiety that many of them face from keeping their phones locked away.
I have had at least ten students reach out to me to tell me that "screen side down" has helped them in their futures, as they use it during independent work in upper-level high school courses, college courses, and even in the workplace. This is why we teach.
There are a few great benefits of this policy for me, as the teacher.
First and foremost, I can see their phones. I never need to wonder if they are using their phones under their desks or behind their books, or sneaking pictures of one another (or me) for Snapchat, or anything else. I look up, and at a glance, I know which students are using their phones and which students are not.
Secondly, I never stop instruction to ask a student to put their phones away. If I see a phone screen side up or being used inappropriately, I simply make eye contact with the student, hold my hand out flat, and rotate it from palm-up to palm-down. 9 times out of 10, the student simply flips their phone over, and we all move on without real interruption.
Rule #2: No scrolling
On day one of class, we discuss the appropriate use of a cell phone in a professional environment, such as our classroom.
We explicitly discuss the difference between briefly checking your phone and becoming deeply distracted by it. As I like to say to the students: "There is a difference between checking a text and scrolling through Instagram." In our classroom, checking a text is acceptable, while scrolling through Instagram is obviously not.
Students respond well to this rule because it feels reasonable to them. You might be wondering how this could possibly work, and perhaps even getting ready to quote: "if you give a mouse a cookie..." or "give them an inch, they'll take a mile..." Believe me, I have heard it all before. And my response is always the same: For whatever reason, this works.
The overwhelming majority of students follow the rule, and as a result, I have far fewer problems with cell phones than many who take a more traditional approach. My personal theory is that high schoolers are young adults who like to feel that the rules they follow make sense and are fair.
Rule #3: No phones or devices during assessments.
Because, well, obviously.
While I do believe in allowing visible devices during class, I absolutely do not believe in allowing them during assessments, for obvious reasons that I do not think I really need to detail here.
The rule in my classroom is that if I see or suspect device use of any kind during an assessment, I will let them finish their assessment, but when they check their grade later on, they will have a zero. They will know why, and I will know why, but we will not discuss it unless they approach me afterwards, in which case the dean will also be involved.
This might sound a little harsh or unreasonable, but it is the same policy employed by the state on standardized testing, and, go figure - I actually think it is a great one.
By allowing them to finish their exam, I still get the data that I need for instructional purposes, and we avoid any kind of scene that could distract the other 33 students in the class from their assessments.
Rule #4: There is a time and a place for music, and that is during independent work, until it becomes a distraction.
This rule is often met with great enthusiasm at the start of the year, but students usually refrain from continuing to listen to music while they work after the early part of the fall.
I allow students to listen to their headphones during independent work periods, as long as it is quiet enough that I cannot hear it and it does not become a distraction for them.
I do not allow music during assessments, partially because of the risk of cheating, and partially to better simulate the standardized testing environment of their end-of-year exams.
The reason that I like this rule is similar to the earlier examples in this post - Some people simply focus better with music on and should be allowed to listen if that helps them.
We work on strategies to help them listen without becoming distracted, such as choosing songs without lyrics, or choosing a lineup of songs in advance, so they will not waste time selecting their next track during the work period.
I've also found that allowing students to listen during their independent work time stops them from listening when they are not supposed to. Again, I do not know why this is, but I believe that it could be because high school students are more likely to follow rules that they find to be reasonable and fair.
The Benefits of this Policy
I do not have a cell phone problem in my classroom. This is clearly the most important benefit of this policy. The overwhelming majority of students follow the rules laid out above, and in doing so, they ensure that devices will not deter or take away from our learning.
Students learn important life and work skills. Yes, I teach history, but I also teach life skills - We all do. I would even go so far as to say that teaching students to be productive and functional in different areas of their lives can be even more important than the content we teach (gasp).
Class does not stop because I see a cell phone. In my opinion, nothing is more frustrating than a back-and-forth with one student that derails the class for the other 33 in the room. Using this cell phone policy ensures that this will not happen.
Partially because of my own teacher-training and partially because I work in a district where 34+ students are the norm in a class, I have always been of the opinion that if you are the teacher involved in a back-and-forth with a student, you have already lost.
It goes a long way towards building positive relationships with students. Students love this policy, and they follow it because they like it. It will help them see you as someone who is fair and who views them as young adults, instead of treating them like children. High school students are not yet adults, but they are old enough to appreciate being trusted with a little bit more responsibility.
We can use cell phones for instructional purposes, without issue. Finally, this policy allows the use of cell phones for instructional purposes, from prompting students to google an obscure fact or definition, to playing Kahoot on review day.
This can also help teach life skills, as students encounter words or phrases that they do not know in difficult readings or become interested in a topic that a reading glosses over.
You can show them that their phone is a tool as much as it is a vehicle for social interaction.
Some Final Tips
I want to leave you with a few final words of advice about employing this type of policy in your classroom.
Check your assumptions about personal devices in a classroom before you start. If you are someone who has been using a zero-tolerance cell phone policy and you genuinely believe there should not be devices in the room, you might want to skip this policy.
However, if you are open to change and want to try it anyway, the first step is to really evaluate your own beliefs about cell phone use in the classroom.
Is it realistic to ask your young adult students to never access a device that they have likely been carrying since elementary school? Do YOU lock your phone away? Why not?
People are capable of functioning with their devices on their person if they are taught how to do so. It's important to self-reflect here because if you do not believe in this policy, it can result in frustration for all.
This policy is best for teachers who are fed-up with the no-tolerance approach to cell phones and are looking for something better.
Start this at the beginning of the year. It's not impossible to implement this mid-year, but it will save you a headache to start at the beginning of the year. It is much easier to teach good habits before the year starts, rather than trying to break bad routines already established in your classroom.
Additionally, starting it up only after having serious cell phone issues in the room might send the message to the students that if they break your rules, you will change them, which is not ideal for your overall classroom management strategy.
Be open and upfront with your admin. Do not try to hide your cell phone policy from your administration. Instead, explain the reasoning behind what you are doing, and try to get them on board.
After our administration announced a zero-tolerance policy, and even distributed locking cases for students to use every day, I knew I had to address the issue. I calmly explained my perspective to my AP and showed her a student's phone that had been cracked by the locking case he was expected to use.
She very reasonably agreed that unless cell phones became a problem in my classroom, I could continue using the policy that was working for my classes. Shoutout to the best admin I've ever had - She's the principal now (for obvious reasons).
Handle any problems individually, away from other students. This is good advice when considering any type of rule-breaking, but I felt it important to mention it here. If you have a student who is unable to learn effectively when employing this policy, determine the best course of action individually with that student.
This might look like a conversation in which you suggest further strategies for remaining on task, or one where you decide together the best location for that student's phone.
One suggestion for students who cannot work efficiently with their phone on their desk is to arrange for them to plug it into a charger near the front of the room. Not only does this allow them to charge their phone and for you to keep an eye on it, but it also stops the student from feeling alienated as the only one who is not permitted to have their phone on their desk.
Try to see this policy as part of adapting your classroom to a new age. This is not a policy that I could have used ten years ago. But, today, it is not only effective, but it is also necessary.
We are preparing students for a world in which they will use their devices for most of their day, and the 21st-century classroom needs this type of instruction.
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