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April
2008
Homework and TV – A No No
It’s homework time and the TV is going in one room and music pounding in another. Are the kids able to do homework under these conditions? No.
A Washington Post Staff Writer, Jeffrey Ghassemi, writes that a new study is quite impressive showing that kids can’t possibly do their homework effectively with MSN on the computer screen and an iPod in their ear. While multi-tasking may be a great asset in the workplace, it is not a good thing while doing homework. A study done by researchers at the University of California in Los Angeles shows that multi-tasking with homework and media may actually make students learn less and target wrong parts of the brain.
How Many Multi-Task?
A Kaiser study completed in 2005, shows that 60% of middle school and high school students are involved in other things while studying. What are they doing?
- chatting online
- visiting sites like MySpace
- surfing the net for information
- iPod tunes
- listening to CD music
- watching TV
- talking on the telephone
And, how often do they do the above? Most of the time, unfortunately. Students go to their room and parents think they are doing homework for three hours.
David E. Meyer, a professor of psychology at the University of Michigan states, “When learning has distractions, students’ brains are trying to wing it by using a region that is not the best suited for long-term memory and understanding.” Meyer’s own research on this topic shows that it takes students longer to learn while multi-tasking and they make more mistakes.
Students may insist that listening to music or watching television helps them learn but it does not. What it does do is increase pleasure so they “think” it helps them learn. It makes it less painful and boring. But, it does not help them actually learn.
Soft Background Music?
The jury is still out on the effect of soft background music. Some studies show that soft, background music like Mozart may actually enhance learning and test-taking in right-brain learners. However, Mozart is not the most popular music that students have downloaded on their iPods.
Mrs. Barb Pytel
K-8 Counselor
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