According to an investigation on multitasking, it was hypothesized that “students experiencing subjective fatigue while completing homework are more likely to engage with off-task distractions in their study environment” (Calderwood, et al., 2014). When students are less motivated they tend to engage in off-task behavior such as listening to music and not solely focus on their homework. Students in this study engaged in 3hr study sessions where college students [were] multitasking while studying. This study tracks students using remote surveillance cameras, a head-mounted point-of-view video camera, and a mobile eye tracker. They found that the “majority of students (59%) listened to music for part or all of the session, with an average amount of time engaged with this source of distraction of 73 min (over 40% of the study session). Subjective fatigue was found to increase across 3 h of independent study, while positive affect and homework task motivation decreased across this time period.” (Calderwood, et al., 2014). This means students who studied continuously for 3 hours were less focused and experienced subjective fatigue. This has a negative effect because “students may perform poorly on their homework due to an inability or unwillingness to disconnect from interruptions when engaging with schoolwork outside of the classroom.” (Calderwood, et al., 2014). On the contrary people who were highly motivated “were associated with less frequent and shorter duration multitasking behaviors” (Calderwood, et al., 2014). Motivation to complete work and tight deadlines are key factors that contribute to students staying on task without listening to music.
Reference:
Calderwood, Charles, Phillip L. Ackerman, and Erin Marie Conklin. "What Else Do College Students “Do” While Studying? An Investigation of Multitasking." Computers & Education 75. (2014): 19-29. ScienceDirect. Web. 2 July 2015.
Learning Significance