should laptops be banned? providing a robust classroom ... · robust classroom learning experience...
TRANSCRIPT
SCHOOL
OF LAW
LEGAL STUDIES RESEARCH PAPER SERIES
PAPER 12-0001
JANUARY 5 2012
Should Laptops Be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learning Experience Within
Limits
Robin A Boyle
EMAIL COMMENTS TO
boylerstjohnsedu
ST JOHNrsquoS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW
8000 UTOPIA PARKWAY
QUEENS NY 11439
This paper can be downloaded without charge at
The Social Science Research Network Electronic Paper Collection
httpssrncomAbstractID=1980317
Technology1aboundstodayrsquos law students Laptops iPods iPads and BlackBerrys are just a
few of the newly developed modes of communication note-taking and music-storing devices
that creep into our vocabulary ndash and studentsrsquo backpacks Given the competitive nature of law
school students understandably bring laptops to class hoping to maximize their performance
Unfortunately for all involved students use their laptops beyond the task of note-taking The
distractions that present themselves in class have led law professors to complain on various fora
about the frequency of laptop use in the classroom Some posit that studentsrsquo inappropriate use of
laptops in the classroom has exceeded acceptable limits 4
As a result some law professors have banned laptop use in their classes 5while others have
allowed laptop use with restraint Research reveals that laptops are beneficial for those whose
learning style complements their use laptop use may also slightly benefit all students regardless
of learning style Because laptops appeal to both tactual-8and visual-oriented learners9and may
additionally benefit the whole class regardless of learning-style preferences I advocate a
moderate position Professors should permit laptops in the classroom but subject to controls that
can channel benefits and minimize distractions Particularly for a skills class such as Legal
Research and Writing it would be crippling to ban laptops For casebook courses some students
if not all would benefit from continued use of laptops - within limits
8
1advocate
a ~moEie rale
position
Professors should
peltlnit lapt ops
in the classroom
butsuIDjett to
controls tbat can
channel benefits
and minimize
distractions
Perspect ives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I NO 1 Fall 2011
Cite as Robin A Boyle Should Laptops be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learn ing Experience With in Limits 20 Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writin g 8 (2011)
Should Laptops Be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learning Experience Within Limits By Robin A Boyle
Robin A Boyle is Assistant Dean for Academic Success and Professor of Legal Writing St Johns University
School of Law
Introduction
Technology abounds todays law students Laptops
iPods iPads and BlackBerrys are just a few of the
newly developed modes of communication note shy
taking and music-storin g devices tha t creep into
our vocabulary - and students backpacks Given
the competitive nature oflaw school students
understandably bring laptops to class hoping to
maximize their performance Unfortunately for
all involved students use their laptops beyond
the task of note-taking The distract ions that
present themselve s in class have led law professors
to complain on various fora about the frequency
of laptop use in the classroom Some posit that
students inappropriate use of laptops in the
classroom has exceeded acceptable limits
bull Special than ks to Prof james Levy Profs Kathr yn Stanchi and Richard Neumann leaders of the ALWD Writers Workshup held at Hofstr a Law School Prof Amy Stein chair of the Hofstrawritcrs Workshop Paul Skip Laisure Esq Research Assistants Christopher
Linden Joel Acevedo and Alison Weintraub and the late Dr
Rita Dunn Comments questions and suggestions are welcome shyboylerstjohn sedu
1 See generally M H Sam Jacobson Paving Atte ntion or Patally Dis tmaedeLmun rat ion -Iema and Alulti-Tasking in II Multi-Media Worltl 16 Legal Wr itin g) Legal Writing In 1419 (2010) (describing problems associated with fast-paced techn ology
and students developin g mind s)
2 Eg 2008 AALS Annual Meeting by the Section on Teaching
Meth ods called Attractions and Distractions Student Use of Laptop
Comp uters in the Classroo m which was held in NY NY
3 See IeftS overn Law Student Laptop Use During Class for Non-C lass Purp oses Temptation v Incen tives draft posted http
paper sssrn comsoI3paperscfm abstraet id =1805107 (last
visited july 2 20 ( 1) (Thi s study has found that many stude nts
are significantly distracted in law school classes) Carri e BFried In-Class Lap top Use and Its Effects on Stude nt Learning 50(3)
Computers amp Educ 906 910 (2008) (reporting that laptop users ad mitted to spending an average of 17 min utes of a 75-minute class
on something other than note-taking)
As a result some law professor s have banned laptop
use in their classes while others have allowed
laptop use with restraint Research reveals that
laptops are beneficial for tho se whose learn ing
style complements their use laptop use may also
slightly benefit all students regard less oflearning
style Because laptops appeal to both tactu al-and
visual-oriented learners and may additionally
benefit the whole class regard less oflearningshy
style preferences I advoca te a moderate position
Professors should permit laptops in the classroom
but subject to controls that can channel benefits
and minimize distractions Particularly for a
skills class such as Legal Research and Writing it
would be cripp ling to ban laptops For casebook
courses some students if not all would benefit
from continued use oflaptops - within limits
Learning-Style Model
Learn ing style is the way in which each person
begins to concentrate on process and retain new
4 See Kevin Yamamoto) Bannilg [apfops ill the Classroom Is it Vorth the Hassles 57 JLegal Edu 477 (2007) (describin g his reasons
and experience banning laptops in his tax class) Nancy G Maxwell
From [acebook to Folsom Prisoll Rlues How Ballning 1lIplOps in the CtlS om Made Me A Better Law School Teacher 14 Rich JL amp Tech 4 (2007)
5 See egbull Kristen M urray Let Them UseLaptopsDebunking lhe Awmplions Underlying the Debate oa laptops in ti le Classroom 36
OlJa City U I Rev 185 (2011)
6 See Maur een Martin i An Analysis of the Relationship(s) Between
and Among Computer-Assisted Instru ction Learni ng Style Perceptu al Preferences Attitudes and the Science Achievemen t of Seventh Grade
Students in a Suburban New York Schoo l District 15-16 (1986) (Ed D
dissertation SI Johns University) Dissertat ion Abstracts Int I 47 877A (on file with au thor)
7 See id at 15-16 (explaining that to study students ability to
absorb tactu ally she provid ed a lesson through computer-assisted
instruction) Robin Boyle amp James BLevyThe Blind Leadin g the
Blind What If Theyre ~ot All Visual or Tactile Learners 22(2) The Second Draft 6 (2008)
8 See Martini supra note 6 at 15- 16 (explainin g how visual
learners prefer to learn thr ough use of pictures d iagrams books and resources that require reading and seeing)
9 See generally [ana R McC reary 1111Iplop-Fr(cZ Olle 43 Val
U L Rev 989 1016 (2009) (concluding that both global and analytic learners can benefit from using a laptop in a classroom )
9 Perspectiv es Teaching Legal Research and Writ ing Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
and difficul t information A learning-style
mode l develope d by Drs Rita and Kenn eth Dunn
(Dunn and Dunn Model) is based upo n more
than three decades of research spanning 135
institutions of higher education throughout the
world Cur rently the Model includes 26 learn ingshy
style elemen tsI I These 26 variables are subdivided
into six stimulus strands Perceptua l Psychological
Physiological Emotional Environmental and
Sociological Researchers have verified and
offered independent empirical support of the
efficacy of the Dunn and Dun n methodology
The tactual elemen t is included within the larger
category of Perceptual Strengths Taetual learne rs
need to handle and ma nipulate instruc tional
ma terials in order to best absorb new and
difficult information During lectures tactual
learn ers retain the information best if they
engage in small motor skills Tactual learn ers
10 Rita Dunn amp Shirley A Griggs Multi cu lturalism and Learning
Style Teaching an d Co unse ling Adolescents 14-15 (1998 ) See Rita
Dunn amp Kenneth Dunn Teaching Secondary Students Thr o ugh Thei r
Ind ividual lea rni ng Styles A Pract ical Approach for Grades 7- 12 2
(1993) (applicable 10ad ults as well as yo ung learners)
II See the learning-sty les website at wwlea rni ngstvlesnel (last
accessed o n July 2 20 11) Susa n Rundle amp Andrea Honi gsfeld with
Rita D unn Buildin g Excellence An Ed ucators Guide to th e Lea rning
Individ ual (2007)
12 See Rundle Honigsfeld with Dunn supra note I I at 8-9
Percept ua l Streng ths includes audi to ry visua l tactu al and kines theti c
preferences Psych ological Strengt hs includes global v ana lyt ic
pro cessing impulsive v reflective PhyslologlcalStrengths include
lime-of-day energy levels food or liq uid intake and mob ility whil e learning Emotional Strengths include motivation persistence
(completing oue task at a tim e or mu lti-taskin g) respon sibili ty
(confo rmity v nonco nform ity) and structure Enviro nme nta l
Strengths inclu de sound ligh t temperature an d furn itureseating
design Socio log ical Streng ths include learn ing in alo ne pairs
grou ps with out au expert and variety of ways v consis tent patter ns
fERobin A Boyle amp Rita Dunn Tea ching taw Students Through
Indi iduill teltmling Slrl 62 Alb I lk V 213 224 -25 (1998) (after assessing the learn ing styles of first-yea r students at St Johns
Un iversity School of Law concluded that law stude nts were d iverse
in their learning style s )
I J Ralp h A Terregro ssa Fred Eng lander and Zhaobo Wang
Wh y Learn ing Styles Matte r For Student Achievem en t in Co llege
Eco nomic s9(1) J Econo mic Ed ucators 16 30 (Sum mer 2009)
14 See Patr icia Mur phy Raupers Researc h on Perceptual
Streng ths I See What You Mean I Hear Wh at You Say Are You
Stayi ng in Touch Are You Moving My Way in Synthesis o f the
D un n and D unn Learning-Style Model Resea rch Wh o W hat W hen
Whe re and So Wh at 23 23 (Rita Dun n amp Shirley A Gri ggs eds bull3d
ed 2oo7)
learn best by taking notes trad itionally such
as with pen and paper or on chart paper
The visual element is also included within the
category of Perceptual Strengths The Dunn and
Dunn Mode l along with Building Excellence
an onlin e assessment tool distinguish
between visual-picture learners and visual-text
learnersIS Visual-picture learners learn best
if they create or refer to pictures flowchar ts
or graphs Visual-text learn ers prefer text in
hand outs overheads or casebooks to help them
retain an auditory presentation or lecture Not all
adults are visual learners but those who are can
remember 75 perce nt of the academic information
they have read during a 30-40 minu te interval
Is Ther e Validity to the Theo ry that Matching Instructional Strategies to Indiv idua l Learn ing Style Improves Learni ng
Numerous stud ies have found that students learn
best when taught with complementary rather than
dissonant instructional strategies Although
[ijndividuals differ in how they absorb and
process new and difficult information the
mater ial is best absorbed and processed according
to their primary learning-style strengths Study
after study indicates patterns between academ ic
ach ievement and learning style giving researchers
15 See Rundle amp Honigsfeld w ith Dunn supra note II at 23
16 For more information go to wwwlearningstvlesnd (last accesse d July 2 20 11)
17 See Rundle amp Honi gsfeld with Dunn supra note 11 al 18-19
IS ampe iltlaI 20 -2 L
19 See iii at 19
20 See id at 2 L
21 Rita Dun n Ar min RIhies And rea Honl gsfeld Syn thesis o f
the Dunn and D unn Learn ing-Style Mod el Resear ch Analysis from a
Ne uropsychological Perspective 8 (200 1) (St John s Universtty School
o f Educ amp Hum Serv)
22 Id a19 Dunn amp Griggs sup ra note 10 at 20 (W hen
adolescents were introduce d to new material through th eir per ceptual
pr eferences they remembered significantly more than when they
were in troduced to sim ilar materia l th rou gh th eir least -preferred
mod ality )
2J Dunn Thies amp Honi gsfeld supra notc 2 1 at 9 Dunn amp
Griggs supra note10 at 7
Numerous
stud ies nave
found that
stude nts learn
best when
taught with
complementary
rather than
dissonant
inst ruetionaI
strategies
10 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I No1 I Fall 2011
[C]Orflputer use
is both ta ctuali amd visual It is
tactua l Deca use o~
the use rshea~
reliance upon
I4sing Gnestllmds
and itisv isual
because of the
imag~s proJecte(Ji
onthe screen
fur ther cause to believe that learning style
and brain functions are connected
For example Ralph Terregrossa and othe rs
recently found that lear ning style characteristics
of students (in a college economics cour se] do
appear to have a sign ificant relation ship to the
students achievement Th ese researchers
inferred that student performance can be positively
influenced by conveying the subject material in
a congruent manner to the learning style of th e
students Similarly in a study involving adults
Joanne Ingham found that when truck drivers
mechan ics and managers were taught using an
instructional style that matched their learn ing-style
preferences they learn ed Significantly moreF
Research ers had similar finding s for college
students Rachelle Maltzman found pos itive
result s when she taught developm ental
college students reading and writing using
instructional str ategies that compl emented
their learn ing style Regina Rochford also
taught developm ental college students with
instructional materials that complem ented
their learning-style preferences Rochford
found statistically higher wr iting-test scores in
her study result s when the students materials
complemented their learning style
Thus if students understanding of course
content improves when the method for
24 See genera lly Du nn amp Grigg s supra note 10 at IS
2 Terregrossa et al sllpra not e 13 at 29
26 1d
27 Joanne M Ingham Matching Instructio n with Empl oyee
Percept ual Prefere nce Significantly Increases Train ing Effectiveness
2(1) Human Resource Development Q 53 62-63 (Spri ng 1991)
28 Rachelle Maltzrnan Effects of trad itional versus learni ngshy
style st rategies on commun ity college stud ent s ach ieveme nt in and
atti tudes toward developm ental read ing and writing 153(2008) (Ed
D dissertation on file with St Joh ns University)
29 Reg ina Rochfo rd Effects of learning-style responsive
materials on underachieving remedial-writing studentsat an urban community college (2004) (Ed D disser tation St Johns Universi ty)
Disserta tio n Abstrac ts lntI A64 (12) (on file with St John s
Un iversity)
30 ld
learning complements their learning style one
can dedu ce that laptop use in the classroom
would provide a ben efit to tho se studen ts who
pr efer tactile and visual learn ing Researcher
Maureen Martini proved just that
Is Computer Use both Tactua l and Visual
According to Maureen Mar tinis study computer
use is both tactual and visual It is tactual
because of the users heavy reliance upon
using ones hands and it is visual because
of the im ages projected on the screen
Martinis study focused on computer usage
and the matching and mismatching of students
with instruction al strategies She studied the
relationshipts) between perc eptual learning style
characteristics and computer-assisted instru ction
and the effects of matched and mismatched
condition s on student achievement in science
and attitudes toward each strategY32 Specifically
after assessing the learning styles of seventh
grade subjects she ascertained which ones were
auditory tactu al or visual among other learni ngshy
style elements In one part of the study Martini
provided the same science con tent to students in
ways that complemented their learni ng styles For
instance auditory-preferenced students received
the subject matt er by means of a cassette and
tape recorder The tactual students received
comp uter-assisted instruction by drill and
practice tutorial s simulation probl em solving
games testing and evaluation diag nosis and
prescnption gt Th e visual students received the
same science content as the other two but through
31 Mar tini sopra note 6
32 d at 11 Stud ent s atti tud es in co njun ction with their
learn ing styles were explored in th is study
33 See ~ The Learning Style Inventory was the assessment tool
osed in th is study wh ich is bas ed upon th e Dunn and Dunn Model Id at 15-18 69-7 1
31 See id at 16
35 d
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
Technology1aboundstodayrsquos law students Laptops iPods iPads and BlackBerrys are just a
few of the newly developed modes of communication note-taking and music-storing devices
that creep into our vocabulary ndash and studentsrsquo backpacks Given the competitive nature of law
school students understandably bring laptops to class hoping to maximize their performance
Unfortunately for all involved students use their laptops beyond the task of note-taking The
distractions that present themselves in class have led law professors to complain on various fora
about the frequency of laptop use in the classroom Some posit that studentsrsquo inappropriate use of
laptops in the classroom has exceeded acceptable limits 4
As a result some law professors have banned laptop use in their classes 5while others have
allowed laptop use with restraint Research reveals that laptops are beneficial for those whose
learning style complements their use laptop use may also slightly benefit all students regardless
of learning style Because laptops appeal to both tactual-8and visual-oriented learners9and may
additionally benefit the whole class regardless of learning-style preferences I advocate a
moderate position Professors should permit laptops in the classroom but subject to controls that
can channel benefits and minimize distractions Particularly for a skills class such as Legal
Research and Writing it would be crippling to ban laptops For casebook courses some students
if not all would benefit from continued use of laptops - within limits
8
1advocate
a ~moEie rale
position
Professors should
peltlnit lapt ops
in the classroom
butsuIDjett to
controls tbat can
channel benefits
and minimize
distractions
Perspect ives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I NO 1 Fall 2011
Cite as Robin A Boyle Should Laptops be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learn ing Experience With in Limits 20 Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writin g 8 (2011)
Should Laptops Be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learning Experience Within Limits By Robin A Boyle
Robin A Boyle is Assistant Dean for Academic Success and Professor of Legal Writing St Johns University
School of Law
Introduction
Technology abounds todays law students Laptops
iPods iPads and BlackBerrys are just a few of the
newly developed modes of communication note shy
taking and music-storin g devices tha t creep into
our vocabulary - and students backpacks Given
the competitive nature oflaw school students
understandably bring laptops to class hoping to
maximize their performance Unfortunately for
all involved students use their laptops beyond
the task of note-taking The distract ions that
present themselve s in class have led law professors
to complain on various fora about the frequency
of laptop use in the classroom Some posit that
students inappropriate use of laptops in the
classroom has exceeded acceptable limits
bull Special than ks to Prof james Levy Profs Kathr yn Stanchi and Richard Neumann leaders of the ALWD Writers Workshup held at Hofstr a Law School Prof Amy Stein chair of the Hofstrawritcrs Workshop Paul Skip Laisure Esq Research Assistants Christopher
Linden Joel Acevedo and Alison Weintraub and the late Dr
Rita Dunn Comments questions and suggestions are welcome shyboylerstjohn sedu
1 See generally M H Sam Jacobson Paving Atte ntion or Patally Dis tmaedeLmun rat ion -Iema and Alulti-Tasking in II Multi-Media Worltl 16 Legal Wr itin g) Legal Writing In 1419 (2010) (describing problems associated with fast-paced techn ology
and students developin g mind s)
2 Eg 2008 AALS Annual Meeting by the Section on Teaching
Meth ods called Attractions and Distractions Student Use of Laptop
Comp uters in the Classroo m which was held in NY NY
3 See IeftS overn Law Student Laptop Use During Class for Non-C lass Purp oses Temptation v Incen tives draft posted http
paper sssrn comsoI3paperscfm abstraet id =1805107 (last
visited july 2 20 ( 1) (Thi s study has found that many stude nts
are significantly distracted in law school classes) Carri e BFried In-Class Lap top Use and Its Effects on Stude nt Learning 50(3)
Computers amp Educ 906 910 (2008) (reporting that laptop users ad mitted to spending an average of 17 min utes of a 75-minute class
on something other than note-taking)
As a result some law professor s have banned laptop
use in their classes while others have allowed
laptop use with restraint Research reveals that
laptops are beneficial for tho se whose learn ing
style complements their use laptop use may also
slightly benefit all students regard less oflearning
style Because laptops appeal to both tactu al-and
visual-oriented learners and may additionally
benefit the whole class regard less oflearningshy
style preferences I advoca te a moderate position
Professors should permit laptops in the classroom
but subject to controls that can channel benefits
and minimize distractions Particularly for a
skills class such as Legal Research and Writing it
would be cripp ling to ban laptops For casebook
courses some students if not all would benefit
from continued use oflaptops - within limits
Learning-Style Model
Learn ing style is the way in which each person
begins to concentrate on process and retain new
4 See Kevin Yamamoto) Bannilg [apfops ill the Classroom Is it Vorth the Hassles 57 JLegal Edu 477 (2007) (describin g his reasons
and experience banning laptops in his tax class) Nancy G Maxwell
From [acebook to Folsom Prisoll Rlues How Ballning 1lIplOps in the CtlS om Made Me A Better Law School Teacher 14 Rich JL amp Tech 4 (2007)
5 See egbull Kristen M urray Let Them UseLaptopsDebunking lhe Awmplions Underlying the Debate oa laptops in ti le Classroom 36
OlJa City U I Rev 185 (2011)
6 See Maur een Martin i An Analysis of the Relationship(s) Between
and Among Computer-Assisted Instru ction Learni ng Style Perceptu al Preferences Attitudes and the Science Achievemen t of Seventh Grade
Students in a Suburban New York Schoo l District 15-16 (1986) (Ed D
dissertation SI Johns University) Dissertat ion Abstracts Int I 47 877A (on file with au thor)
7 See id at 15-16 (explaining that to study students ability to
absorb tactu ally she provid ed a lesson through computer-assisted
instruction) Robin Boyle amp James BLevyThe Blind Leadin g the
Blind What If Theyre ~ot All Visual or Tactile Learners 22(2) The Second Draft 6 (2008)
8 See Martini supra note 6 at 15- 16 (explainin g how visual
learners prefer to learn thr ough use of pictures d iagrams books and resources that require reading and seeing)
9 See generally [ana R McC reary 1111Iplop-Fr(cZ Olle 43 Val
U L Rev 989 1016 (2009) (concluding that both global and analytic learners can benefit from using a laptop in a classroom )
9 Perspectiv es Teaching Legal Research and Writ ing Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
and difficul t information A learning-style
mode l develope d by Drs Rita and Kenn eth Dunn
(Dunn and Dunn Model) is based upo n more
than three decades of research spanning 135
institutions of higher education throughout the
world Cur rently the Model includes 26 learn ingshy
style elemen tsI I These 26 variables are subdivided
into six stimulus strands Perceptua l Psychological
Physiological Emotional Environmental and
Sociological Researchers have verified and
offered independent empirical support of the
efficacy of the Dunn and Dun n methodology
The tactual elemen t is included within the larger
category of Perceptual Strengths Taetual learne rs
need to handle and ma nipulate instruc tional
ma terials in order to best absorb new and
difficult information During lectures tactual
learn ers retain the information best if they
engage in small motor skills Tactual learn ers
10 Rita Dunn amp Shirley A Griggs Multi cu lturalism and Learning
Style Teaching an d Co unse ling Adolescents 14-15 (1998 ) See Rita
Dunn amp Kenneth Dunn Teaching Secondary Students Thr o ugh Thei r
Ind ividual lea rni ng Styles A Pract ical Approach for Grades 7- 12 2
(1993) (applicable 10ad ults as well as yo ung learners)
II See the learning-sty les website at wwlea rni ngstvlesnel (last
accessed o n July 2 20 11) Susa n Rundle amp Andrea Honi gsfeld with
Rita D unn Buildin g Excellence An Ed ucators Guide to th e Lea rning
Individ ual (2007)
12 See Rundle Honigsfeld with Dunn supra note I I at 8-9
Percept ua l Streng ths includes audi to ry visua l tactu al and kines theti c
preferences Psych ological Strengt hs includes global v ana lyt ic
pro cessing impulsive v reflective PhyslologlcalStrengths include
lime-of-day energy levels food or liq uid intake and mob ility whil e learning Emotional Strengths include motivation persistence
(completing oue task at a tim e or mu lti-taskin g) respon sibili ty
(confo rmity v nonco nform ity) and structure Enviro nme nta l
Strengths inclu de sound ligh t temperature an d furn itureseating
design Socio log ical Streng ths include learn ing in alo ne pairs
grou ps with out au expert and variety of ways v consis tent patter ns
fERobin A Boyle amp Rita Dunn Tea ching taw Students Through
Indi iduill teltmling Slrl 62 Alb I lk V 213 224 -25 (1998) (after assessing the learn ing styles of first-yea r students at St Johns
Un iversity School of Law concluded that law stude nts were d iverse
in their learning style s )
I J Ralp h A Terregro ssa Fred Eng lander and Zhaobo Wang
Wh y Learn ing Styles Matte r For Student Achievem en t in Co llege
Eco nomic s9(1) J Econo mic Ed ucators 16 30 (Sum mer 2009)
14 See Patr icia Mur phy Raupers Researc h on Perceptual
Streng ths I See What You Mean I Hear Wh at You Say Are You
Stayi ng in Touch Are You Moving My Way in Synthesis o f the
D un n and D unn Learning-Style Model Resea rch Wh o W hat W hen
Whe re and So Wh at 23 23 (Rita Dun n amp Shirley A Gri ggs eds bull3d
ed 2oo7)
learn best by taking notes trad itionally such
as with pen and paper or on chart paper
The visual element is also included within the
category of Perceptual Strengths The Dunn and
Dunn Mode l along with Building Excellence
an onlin e assessment tool distinguish
between visual-picture learners and visual-text
learnersIS Visual-picture learners learn best
if they create or refer to pictures flowchar ts
or graphs Visual-text learn ers prefer text in
hand outs overheads or casebooks to help them
retain an auditory presentation or lecture Not all
adults are visual learners but those who are can
remember 75 perce nt of the academic information
they have read during a 30-40 minu te interval
Is Ther e Validity to the Theo ry that Matching Instructional Strategies to Indiv idua l Learn ing Style Improves Learni ng
Numerous stud ies have found that students learn
best when taught with complementary rather than
dissonant instructional strategies Although
[ijndividuals differ in how they absorb and
process new and difficult information the
mater ial is best absorbed and processed according
to their primary learning-style strengths Study
after study indicates patterns between academ ic
ach ievement and learning style giving researchers
15 See Rundle amp Honigsfeld w ith Dunn supra note II at 23
16 For more information go to wwwlearningstvlesnd (last accesse d July 2 20 11)
17 See Rundle amp Honi gsfeld with Dunn supra note 11 al 18-19
IS ampe iltlaI 20 -2 L
19 See iii at 19
20 See id at 2 L
21 Rita Dun n Ar min RIhies And rea Honl gsfeld Syn thesis o f
the Dunn and D unn Learn ing-Style Mod el Resear ch Analysis from a
Ne uropsychological Perspective 8 (200 1) (St John s Universtty School
o f Educ amp Hum Serv)
22 Id a19 Dunn amp Griggs sup ra note 10 at 20 (W hen
adolescents were introduce d to new material through th eir per ceptual
pr eferences they remembered significantly more than when they
were in troduced to sim ilar materia l th rou gh th eir least -preferred
mod ality )
2J Dunn Thies amp Honi gsfeld supra notc 2 1 at 9 Dunn amp
Griggs supra note10 at 7
Numerous
stud ies nave
found that
stude nts learn
best when
taught with
complementary
rather than
dissonant
inst ruetionaI
strategies
10 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I No1 I Fall 2011
[C]Orflputer use
is both ta ctuali amd visual It is
tactua l Deca use o~
the use rshea~
reliance upon
I4sing Gnestllmds
and itisv isual
because of the
imag~s proJecte(Ji
onthe screen
fur ther cause to believe that learning style
and brain functions are connected
For example Ralph Terregrossa and othe rs
recently found that lear ning style characteristics
of students (in a college economics cour se] do
appear to have a sign ificant relation ship to the
students achievement Th ese researchers
inferred that student performance can be positively
influenced by conveying the subject material in
a congruent manner to the learning style of th e
students Similarly in a study involving adults
Joanne Ingham found that when truck drivers
mechan ics and managers were taught using an
instructional style that matched their learn ing-style
preferences they learn ed Significantly moreF
Research ers had similar finding s for college
students Rachelle Maltzman found pos itive
result s when she taught developm ental
college students reading and writing using
instructional str ategies that compl emented
their learn ing style Regina Rochford also
taught developm ental college students with
instructional materials that complem ented
their learning-style preferences Rochford
found statistically higher wr iting-test scores in
her study result s when the students materials
complemented their learning style
Thus if students understanding of course
content improves when the method for
24 See genera lly Du nn amp Grigg s supra note 10 at IS
2 Terregrossa et al sllpra not e 13 at 29
26 1d
27 Joanne M Ingham Matching Instructio n with Empl oyee
Percept ual Prefere nce Significantly Increases Train ing Effectiveness
2(1) Human Resource Development Q 53 62-63 (Spri ng 1991)
28 Rachelle Maltzrnan Effects of trad itional versus learni ngshy
style st rategies on commun ity college stud ent s ach ieveme nt in and
atti tudes toward developm ental read ing and writing 153(2008) (Ed
D dissertation on file with St Joh ns University)
29 Reg ina Rochfo rd Effects of learning-style responsive
materials on underachieving remedial-writing studentsat an urban community college (2004) (Ed D disser tation St Johns Universi ty)
Disserta tio n Abstrac ts lntI A64 (12) (on file with St John s
Un iversity)
30 ld
learning complements their learning style one
can dedu ce that laptop use in the classroom
would provide a ben efit to tho se studen ts who
pr efer tactile and visual learn ing Researcher
Maureen Martini proved just that
Is Computer Use both Tactua l and Visual
According to Maureen Mar tinis study computer
use is both tactual and visual It is tactual
because of the users heavy reliance upon
using ones hands and it is visual because
of the im ages projected on the screen
Martinis study focused on computer usage
and the matching and mismatching of students
with instruction al strategies She studied the
relationshipts) between perc eptual learning style
characteristics and computer-assisted instru ction
and the effects of matched and mismatched
condition s on student achievement in science
and attitudes toward each strategY32 Specifically
after assessing the learning styles of seventh
grade subjects she ascertained which ones were
auditory tactu al or visual among other learni ngshy
style elements In one part of the study Martini
provided the same science con tent to students in
ways that complemented their learni ng styles For
instance auditory-preferenced students received
the subject matt er by means of a cassette and
tape recorder The tactual students received
comp uter-assisted instruction by drill and
practice tutorial s simulation probl em solving
games testing and evaluation diag nosis and
prescnption gt Th e visual students received the
same science content as the other two but through
31 Mar tini sopra note 6
32 d at 11 Stud ent s atti tud es in co njun ction with their
learn ing styles were explored in th is study
33 See ~ The Learning Style Inventory was the assessment tool
osed in th is study wh ich is bas ed upon th e Dunn and Dunn Model Id at 15-18 69-7 1
31 See id at 16
35 d
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
8
1advocate
a ~moEie rale
position
Professors should
peltlnit lapt ops
in the classroom
butsuIDjett to
controls tbat can
channel benefits
and minimize
distractions
Perspect ives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I NO 1 Fall 2011
Cite as Robin A Boyle Should Laptops be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learn ing Experience With in Limits 20 Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writin g 8 (2011)
Should Laptops Be Banned Providing a Robust Classroom Learning Experience Within Limits By Robin A Boyle
Robin A Boyle is Assistant Dean for Academic Success and Professor of Legal Writing St Johns University
School of Law
Introduction
Technology abounds todays law students Laptops
iPods iPads and BlackBerrys are just a few of the
newly developed modes of communication note shy
taking and music-storin g devices tha t creep into
our vocabulary - and students backpacks Given
the competitive nature oflaw school students
understandably bring laptops to class hoping to
maximize their performance Unfortunately for
all involved students use their laptops beyond
the task of note-taking The distract ions that
present themselve s in class have led law professors
to complain on various fora about the frequency
of laptop use in the classroom Some posit that
students inappropriate use of laptops in the
classroom has exceeded acceptable limits
bull Special than ks to Prof james Levy Profs Kathr yn Stanchi and Richard Neumann leaders of the ALWD Writers Workshup held at Hofstr a Law School Prof Amy Stein chair of the Hofstrawritcrs Workshop Paul Skip Laisure Esq Research Assistants Christopher
Linden Joel Acevedo and Alison Weintraub and the late Dr
Rita Dunn Comments questions and suggestions are welcome shyboylerstjohn sedu
1 See generally M H Sam Jacobson Paving Atte ntion or Patally Dis tmaedeLmun rat ion -Iema and Alulti-Tasking in II Multi-Media Worltl 16 Legal Wr itin g) Legal Writing In 1419 (2010) (describing problems associated with fast-paced techn ology
and students developin g mind s)
2 Eg 2008 AALS Annual Meeting by the Section on Teaching
Meth ods called Attractions and Distractions Student Use of Laptop
Comp uters in the Classroo m which was held in NY NY
3 See IeftS overn Law Student Laptop Use During Class for Non-C lass Purp oses Temptation v Incen tives draft posted http
paper sssrn comsoI3paperscfm abstraet id =1805107 (last
visited july 2 20 ( 1) (Thi s study has found that many stude nts
are significantly distracted in law school classes) Carri e BFried In-Class Lap top Use and Its Effects on Stude nt Learning 50(3)
Computers amp Educ 906 910 (2008) (reporting that laptop users ad mitted to spending an average of 17 min utes of a 75-minute class
on something other than note-taking)
As a result some law professor s have banned laptop
use in their classes while others have allowed
laptop use with restraint Research reveals that
laptops are beneficial for tho se whose learn ing
style complements their use laptop use may also
slightly benefit all students regard less oflearning
style Because laptops appeal to both tactu al-and
visual-oriented learners and may additionally
benefit the whole class regard less oflearningshy
style preferences I advoca te a moderate position
Professors should permit laptops in the classroom
but subject to controls that can channel benefits
and minimize distractions Particularly for a
skills class such as Legal Research and Writing it
would be cripp ling to ban laptops For casebook
courses some students if not all would benefit
from continued use oflaptops - within limits
Learning-Style Model
Learn ing style is the way in which each person
begins to concentrate on process and retain new
4 See Kevin Yamamoto) Bannilg [apfops ill the Classroom Is it Vorth the Hassles 57 JLegal Edu 477 (2007) (describin g his reasons
and experience banning laptops in his tax class) Nancy G Maxwell
From [acebook to Folsom Prisoll Rlues How Ballning 1lIplOps in the CtlS om Made Me A Better Law School Teacher 14 Rich JL amp Tech 4 (2007)
5 See egbull Kristen M urray Let Them UseLaptopsDebunking lhe Awmplions Underlying the Debate oa laptops in ti le Classroom 36
OlJa City U I Rev 185 (2011)
6 See Maur een Martin i An Analysis of the Relationship(s) Between
and Among Computer-Assisted Instru ction Learni ng Style Perceptu al Preferences Attitudes and the Science Achievemen t of Seventh Grade
Students in a Suburban New York Schoo l District 15-16 (1986) (Ed D
dissertation SI Johns University) Dissertat ion Abstracts Int I 47 877A (on file with au thor)
7 See id at 15-16 (explaining that to study students ability to
absorb tactu ally she provid ed a lesson through computer-assisted
instruction) Robin Boyle amp James BLevyThe Blind Leadin g the
Blind What If Theyre ~ot All Visual or Tactile Learners 22(2) The Second Draft 6 (2008)
8 See Martini supra note 6 at 15- 16 (explainin g how visual
learners prefer to learn thr ough use of pictures d iagrams books and resources that require reading and seeing)
9 See generally [ana R McC reary 1111Iplop-Fr(cZ Olle 43 Val
U L Rev 989 1016 (2009) (concluding that both global and analytic learners can benefit from using a laptop in a classroom )
9 Perspectiv es Teaching Legal Research and Writ ing Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
and difficul t information A learning-style
mode l develope d by Drs Rita and Kenn eth Dunn
(Dunn and Dunn Model) is based upo n more
than three decades of research spanning 135
institutions of higher education throughout the
world Cur rently the Model includes 26 learn ingshy
style elemen tsI I These 26 variables are subdivided
into six stimulus strands Perceptua l Psychological
Physiological Emotional Environmental and
Sociological Researchers have verified and
offered independent empirical support of the
efficacy of the Dunn and Dun n methodology
The tactual elemen t is included within the larger
category of Perceptual Strengths Taetual learne rs
need to handle and ma nipulate instruc tional
ma terials in order to best absorb new and
difficult information During lectures tactual
learn ers retain the information best if they
engage in small motor skills Tactual learn ers
10 Rita Dunn amp Shirley A Griggs Multi cu lturalism and Learning
Style Teaching an d Co unse ling Adolescents 14-15 (1998 ) See Rita
Dunn amp Kenneth Dunn Teaching Secondary Students Thr o ugh Thei r
Ind ividual lea rni ng Styles A Pract ical Approach for Grades 7- 12 2
(1993) (applicable 10ad ults as well as yo ung learners)
II See the learning-sty les website at wwlea rni ngstvlesnel (last
accessed o n July 2 20 11) Susa n Rundle amp Andrea Honi gsfeld with
Rita D unn Buildin g Excellence An Ed ucators Guide to th e Lea rning
Individ ual (2007)
12 See Rundle Honigsfeld with Dunn supra note I I at 8-9
Percept ua l Streng ths includes audi to ry visua l tactu al and kines theti c
preferences Psych ological Strengt hs includes global v ana lyt ic
pro cessing impulsive v reflective PhyslologlcalStrengths include
lime-of-day energy levels food or liq uid intake and mob ility whil e learning Emotional Strengths include motivation persistence
(completing oue task at a tim e or mu lti-taskin g) respon sibili ty
(confo rmity v nonco nform ity) and structure Enviro nme nta l
Strengths inclu de sound ligh t temperature an d furn itureseating
design Socio log ical Streng ths include learn ing in alo ne pairs
grou ps with out au expert and variety of ways v consis tent patter ns
fERobin A Boyle amp Rita Dunn Tea ching taw Students Through
Indi iduill teltmling Slrl 62 Alb I lk V 213 224 -25 (1998) (after assessing the learn ing styles of first-yea r students at St Johns
Un iversity School of Law concluded that law stude nts were d iverse
in their learning style s )
I J Ralp h A Terregro ssa Fred Eng lander and Zhaobo Wang
Wh y Learn ing Styles Matte r For Student Achievem en t in Co llege
Eco nomic s9(1) J Econo mic Ed ucators 16 30 (Sum mer 2009)
14 See Patr icia Mur phy Raupers Researc h on Perceptual
Streng ths I See What You Mean I Hear Wh at You Say Are You
Stayi ng in Touch Are You Moving My Way in Synthesis o f the
D un n and D unn Learning-Style Model Resea rch Wh o W hat W hen
Whe re and So Wh at 23 23 (Rita Dun n amp Shirley A Gri ggs eds bull3d
ed 2oo7)
learn best by taking notes trad itionally such
as with pen and paper or on chart paper
The visual element is also included within the
category of Perceptual Strengths The Dunn and
Dunn Mode l along with Building Excellence
an onlin e assessment tool distinguish
between visual-picture learners and visual-text
learnersIS Visual-picture learners learn best
if they create or refer to pictures flowchar ts
or graphs Visual-text learn ers prefer text in
hand outs overheads or casebooks to help them
retain an auditory presentation or lecture Not all
adults are visual learners but those who are can
remember 75 perce nt of the academic information
they have read during a 30-40 minu te interval
Is Ther e Validity to the Theo ry that Matching Instructional Strategies to Indiv idua l Learn ing Style Improves Learni ng
Numerous stud ies have found that students learn
best when taught with complementary rather than
dissonant instructional strategies Although
[ijndividuals differ in how they absorb and
process new and difficult information the
mater ial is best absorbed and processed according
to their primary learning-style strengths Study
after study indicates patterns between academ ic
ach ievement and learning style giving researchers
15 See Rundle amp Honigsfeld w ith Dunn supra note II at 23
16 For more information go to wwwlearningstvlesnd (last accesse d July 2 20 11)
17 See Rundle amp Honi gsfeld with Dunn supra note 11 al 18-19
IS ampe iltlaI 20 -2 L
19 See iii at 19
20 See id at 2 L
21 Rita Dun n Ar min RIhies And rea Honl gsfeld Syn thesis o f
the Dunn and D unn Learn ing-Style Mod el Resear ch Analysis from a
Ne uropsychological Perspective 8 (200 1) (St John s Universtty School
o f Educ amp Hum Serv)
22 Id a19 Dunn amp Griggs sup ra note 10 at 20 (W hen
adolescents were introduce d to new material through th eir per ceptual
pr eferences they remembered significantly more than when they
were in troduced to sim ilar materia l th rou gh th eir least -preferred
mod ality )
2J Dunn Thies amp Honi gsfeld supra notc 2 1 at 9 Dunn amp
Griggs supra note10 at 7
Numerous
stud ies nave
found that
stude nts learn
best when
taught with
complementary
rather than
dissonant
inst ruetionaI
strategies
10 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I No1 I Fall 2011
[C]Orflputer use
is both ta ctuali amd visual It is
tactua l Deca use o~
the use rshea~
reliance upon
I4sing Gnestllmds
and itisv isual
because of the
imag~s proJecte(Ji
onthe screen
fur ther cause to believe that learning style
and brain functions are connected
For example Ralph Terregrossa and othe rs
recently found that lear ning style characteristics
of students (in a college economics cour se] do
appear to have a sign ificant relation ship to the
students achievement Th ese researchers
inferred that student performance can be positively
influenced by conveying the subject material in
a congruent manner to the learning style of th e
students Similarly in a study involving adults
Joanne Ingham found that when truck drivers
mechan ics and managers were taught using an
instructional style that matched their learn ing-style
preferences they learn ed Significantly moreF
Research ers had similar finding s for college
students Rachelle Maltzman found pos itive
result s when she taught developm ental
college students reading and writing using
instructional str ategies that compl emented
their learn ing style Regina Rochford also
taught developm ental college students with
instructional materials that complem ented
their learning-style preferences Rochford
found statistically higher wr iting-test scores in
her study result s when the students materials
complemented their learning style
Thus if students understanding of course
content improves when the method for
24 See genera lly Du nn amp Grigg s supra note 10 at IS
2 Terregrossa et al sllpra not e 13 at 29
26 1d
27 Joanne M Ingham Matching Instructio n with Empl oyee
Percept ual Prefere nce Significantly Increases Train ing Effectiveness
2(1) Human Resource Development Q 53 62-63 (Spri ng 1991)
28 Rachelle Maltzrnan Effects of trad itional versus learni ngshy
style st rategies on commun ity college stud ent s ach ieveme nt in and
atti tudes toward developm ental read ing and writing 153(2008) (Ed
D dissertation on file with St Joh ns University)
29 Reg ina Rochfo rd Effects of learning-style responsive
materials on underachieving remedial-writing studentsat an urban community college (2004) (Ed D disser tation St Johns Universi ty)
Disserta tio n Abstrac ts lntI A64 (12) (on file with St John s
Un iversity)
30 ld
learning complements their learning style one
can dedu ce that laptop use in the classroom
would provide a ben efit to tho se studen ts who
pr efer tactile and visual learn ing Researcher
Maureen Martini proved just that
Is Computer Use both Tactua l and Visual
According to Maureen Mar tinis study computer
use is both tactual and visual It is tactual
because of the users heavy reliance upon
using ones hands and it is visual because
of the im ages projected on the screen
Martinis study focused on computer usage
and the matching and mismatching of students
with instruction al strategies She studied the
relationshipts) between perc eptual learning style
characteristics and computer-assisted instru ction
and the effects of matched and mismatched
condition s on student achievement in science
and attitudes toward each strategY32 Specifically
after assessing the learning styles of seventh
grade subjects she ascertained which ones were
auditory tactu al or visual among other learni ngshy
style elements In one part of the study Martini
provided the same science con tent to students in
ways that complemented their learni ng styles For
instance auditory-preferenced students received
the subject matt er by means of a cassette and
tape recorder The tactual students received
comp uter-assisted instruction by drill and
practice tutorial s simulation probl em solving
games testing and evaluation diag nosis and
prescnption gt Th e visual students received the
same science content as the other two but through
31 Mar tini sopra note 6
32 d at 11 Stud ent s atti tud es in co njun ction with their
learn ing styles were explored in th is study
33 See ~ The Learning Style Inventory was the assessment tool
osed in th is study wh ich is bas ed upon th e Dunn and Dunn Model Id at 15-18 69-7 1
31 See id at 16
35 d
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
9 Perspectiv es Teaching Legal Research and Writ ing Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
and difficul t information A learning-style
mode l develope d by Drs Rita and Kenn eth Dunn
(Dunn and Dunn Model) is based upo n more
than three decades of research spanning 135
institutions of higher education throughout the
world Cur rently the Model includes 26 learn ingshy
style elemen tsI I These 26 variables are subdivided
into six stimulus strands Perceptua l Psychological
Physiological Emotional Environmental and
Sociological Researchers have verified and
offered independent empirical support of the
efficacy of the Dunn and Dun n methodology
The tactual elemen t is included within the larger
category of Perceptual Strengths Taetual learne rs
need to handle and ma nipulate instruc tional
ma terials in order to best absorb new and
difficult information During lectures tactual
learn ers retain the information best if they
engage in small motor skills Tactual learn ers
10 Rita Dunn amp Shirley A Griggs Multi cu lturalism and Learning
Style Teaching an d Co unse ling Adolescents 14-15 (1998 ) See Rita
Dunn amp Kenneth Dunn Teaching Secondary Students Thr o ugh Thei r
Ind ividual lea rni ng Styles A Pract ical Approach for Grades 7- 12 2
(1993) (applicable 10ad ults as well as yo ung learners)
II See the learning-sty les website at wwlea rni ngstvlesnel (last
accessed o n July 2 20 11) Susa n Rundle amp Andrea Honi gsfeld with
Rita D unn Buildin g Excellence An Ed ucators Guide to th e Lea rning
Individ ual (2007)
12 See Rundle Honigsfeld with Dunn supra note I I at 8-9
Percept ua l Streng ths includes audi to ry visua l tactu al and kines theti c
preferences Psych ological Strengt hs includes global v ana lyt ic
pro cessing impulsive v reflective PhyslologlcalStrengths include
lime-of-day energy levels food or liq uid intake and mob ility whil e learning Emotional Strengths include motivation persistence
(completing oue task at a tim e or mu lti-taskin g) respon sibili ty
(confo rmity v nonco nform ity) and structure Enviro nme nta l
Strengths inclu de sound ligh t temperature an d furn itureseating
design Socio log ical Streng ths include learn ing in alo ne pairs
grou ps with out au expert and variety of ways v consis tent patter ns
fERobin A Boyle amp Rita Dunn Tea ching taw Students Through
Indi iduill teltmling Slrl 62 Alb I lk V 213 224 -25 (1998) (after assessing the learn ing styles of first-yea r students at St Johns
Un iversity School of Law concluded that law stude nts were d iverse
in their learning style s )
I J Ralp h A Terregro ssa Fred Eng lander and Zhaobo Wang
Wh y Learn ing Styles Matte r For Student Achievem en t in Co llege
Eco nomic s9(1) J Econo mic Ed ucators 16 30 (Sum mer 2009)
14 See Patr icia Mur phy Raupers Researc h on Perceptual
Streng ths I See What You Mean I Hear Wh at You Say Are You
Stayi ng in Touch Are You Moving My Way in Synthesis o f the
D un n and D unn Learning-Style Model Resea rch Wh o W hat W hen
Whe re and So Wh at 23 23 (Rita Dun n amp Shirley A Gri ggs eds bull3d
ed 2oo7)
learn best by taking notes trad itionally such
as with pen and paper or on chart paper
The visual element is also included within the
category of Perceptual Strengths The Dunn and
Dunn Mode l along with Building Excellence
an onlin e assessment tool distinguish
between visual-picture learners and visual-text
learnersIS Visual-picture learners learn best
if they create or refer to pictures flowchar ts
or graphs Visual-text learn ers prefer text in
hand outs overheads or casebooks to help them
retain an auditory presentation or lecture Not all
adults are visual learners but those who are can
remember 75 perce nt of the academic information
they have read during a 30-40 minu te interval
Is Ther e Validity to the Theo ry that Matching Instructional Strategies to Indiv idua l Learn ing Style Improves Learni ng
Numerous stud ies have found that students learn
best when taught with complementary rather than
dissonant instructional strategies Although
[ijndividuals differ in how they absorb and
process new and difficult information the
mater ial is best absorbed and processed according
to their primary learning-style strengths Study
after study indicates patterns between academ ic
ach ievement and learning style giving researchers
15 See Rundle amp Honigsfeld w ith Dunn supra note II at 23
16 For more information go to wwwlearningstvlesnd (last accesse d July 2 20 11)
17 See Rundle amp Honi gsfeld with Dunn supra note 11 al 18-19
IS ampe iltlaI 20 -2 L
19 See iii at 19
20 See id at 2 L
21 Rita Dun n Ar min RIhies And rea Honl gsfeld Syn thesis o f
the Dunn and D unn Learn ing-Style Mod el Resear ch Analysis from a
Ne uropsychological Perspective 8 (200 1) (St John s Universtty School
o f Educ amp Hum Serv)
22 Id a19 Dunn amp Griggs sup ra note 10 at 20 (W hen
adolescents were introduce d to new material through th eir per ceptual
pr eferences they remembered significantly more than when they
were in troduced to sim ilar materia l th rou gh th eir least -preferred
mod ality )
2J Dunn Thies amp Honi gsfeld supra notc 2 1 at 9 Dunn amp
Griggs supra note10 at 7
Numerous
stud ies nave
found that
stude nts learn
best when
taught with
complementary
rather than
dissonant
inst ruetionaI
strategies
10 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I No1 I Fall 2011
[C]Orflputer use
is both ta ctuali amd visual It is
tactua l Deca use o~
the use rshea~
reliance upon
I4sing Gnestllmds
and itisv isual
because of the
imag~s proJecte(Ji
onthe screen
fur ther cause to believe that learning style
and brain functions are connected
For example Ralph Terregrossa and othe rs
recently found that lear ning style characteristics
of students (in a college economics cour se] do
appear to have a sign ificant relation ship to the
students achievement Th ese researchers
inferred that student performance can be positively
influenced by conveying the subject material in
a congruent manner to the learning style of th e
students Similarly in a study involving adults
Joanne Ingham found that when truck drivers
mechan ics and managers were taught using an
instructional style that matched their learn ing-style
preferences they learn ed Significantly moreF
Research ers had similar finding s for college
students Rachelle Maltzman found pos itive
result s when she taught developm ental
college students reading and writing using
instructional str ategies that compl emented
their learn ing style Regina Rochford also
taught developm ental college students with
instructional materials that complem ented
their learning-style preferences Rochford
found statistically higher wr iting-test scores in
her study result s when the students materials
complemented their learning style
Thus if students understanding of course
content improves when the method for
24 See genera lly Du nn amp Grigg s supra note 10 at IS
2 Terregrossa et al sllpra not e 13 at 29
26 1d
27 Joanne M Ingham Matching Instructio n with Empl oyee
Percept ual Prefere nce Significantly Increases Train ing Effectiveness
2(1) Human Resource Development Q 53 62-63 (Spri ng 1991)
28 Rachelle Maltzrnan Effects of trad itional versus learni ngshy
style st rategies on commun ity college stud ent s ach ieveme nt in and
atti tudes toward developm ental read ing and writing 153(2008) (Ed
D dissertation on file with St Joh ns University)
29 Reg ina Rochfo rd Effects of learning-style responsive
materials on underachieving remedial-writing studentsat an urban community college (2004) (Ed D disser tation St Johns Universi ty)
Disserta tio n Abstrac ts lntI A64 (12) (on file with St John s
Un iversity)
30 ld
learning complements their learning style one
can dedu ce that laptop use in the classroom
would provide a ben efit to tho se studen ts who
pr efer tactile and visual learn ing Researcher
Maureen Martini proved just that
Is Computer Use both Tactua l and Visual
According to Maureen Mar tinis study computer
use is both tactual and visual It is tactual
because of the users heavy reliance upon
using ones hands and it is visual because
of the im ages projected on the screen
Martinis study focused on computer usage
and the matching and mismatching of students
with instruction al strategies She studied the
relationshipts) between perc eptual learning style
characteristics and computer-assisted instru ction
and the effects of matched and mismatched
condition s on student achievement in science
and attitudes toward each strategY32 Specifically
after assessing the learning styles of seventh
grade subjects she ascertained which ones were
auditory tactu al or visual among other learni ngshy
style elements In one part of the study Martini
provided the same science con tent to students in
ways that complemented their learni ng styles For
instance auditory-preferenced students received
the subject matt er by means of a cassette and
tape recorder The tactual students received
comp uter-assisted instruction by drill and
practice tutorial s simulation probl em solving
games testing and evaluation diag nosis and
prescnption gt Th e visual students received the
same science content as the other two but through
31 Mar tini sopra note 6
32 d at 11 Stud ent s atti tud es in co njun ction with their
learn ing styles were explored in th is study
33 See ~ The Learning Style Inventory was the assessment tool
osed in th is study wh ich is bas ed upon th e Dunn and Dunn Model Id at 15-18 69-7 1
31 See id at 16
35 d
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
10 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I No1 I Fall 2011
[C]Orflputer use
is both ta ctuali amd visual It is
tactua l Deca use o~
the use rshea~
reliance upon
I4sing Gnestllmds
and itisv isual
because of the
imag~s proJecte(Ji
onthe screen
fur ther cause to believe that learning style
and brain functions are connected
For example Ralph Terregrossa and othe rs
recently found that lear ning style characteristics
of students (in a college economics cour se] do
appear to have a sign ificant relation ship to the
students achievement Th ese researchers
inferred that student performance can be positively
influenced by conveying the subject material in
a congruent manner to the learning style of th e
students Similarly in a study involving adults
Joanne Ingham found that when truck drivers
mechan ics and managers were taught using an
instructional style that matched their learn ing-style
preferences they learn ed Significantly moreF
Research ers had similar finding s for college
students Rachelle Maltzman found pos itive
result s when she taught developm ental
college students reading and writing using
instructional str ategies that compl emented
their learn ing style Regina Rochford also
taught developm ental college students with
instructional materials that complem ented
their learning-style preferences Rochford
found statistically higher wr iting-test scores in
her study result s when the students materials
complemented their learning style
Thus if students understanding of course
content improves when the method for
24 See genera lly Du nn amp Grigg s supra note 10 at IS
2 Terregrossa et al sllpra not e 13 at 29
26 1d
27 Joanne M Ingham Matching Instructio n with Empl oyee
Percept ual Prefere nce Significantly Increases Train ing Effectiveness
2(1) Human Resource Development Q 53 62-63 (Spri ng 1991)
28 Rachelle Maltzrnan Effects of trad itional versus learni ngshy
style st rategies on commun ity college stud ent s ach ieveme nt in and
atti tudes toward developm ental read ing and writing 153(2008) (Ed
D dissertation on file with St Joh ns University)
29 Reg ina Rochfo rd Effects of learning-style responsive
materials on underachieving remedial-writing studentsat an urban community college (2004) (Ed D disser tation St Johns Universi ty)
Disserta tio n Abstrac ts lntI A64 (12) (on file with St John s
Un iversity)
30 ld
learning complements their learning style one
can dedu ce that laptop use in the classroom
would provide a ben efit to tho se studen ts who
pr efer tactile and visual learn ing Researcher
Maureen Martini proved just that
Is Computer Use both Tactua l and Visual
According to Maureen Mar tinis study computer
use is both tactual and visual It is tactual
because of the users heavy reliance upon
using ones hands and it is visual because
of the im ages projected on the screen
Martinis study focused on computer usage
and the matching and mismatching of students
with instruction al strategies She studied the
relationshipts) between perc eptual learning style
characteristics and computer-assisted instru ction
and the effects of matched and mismatched
condition s on student achievement in science
and attitudes toward each strategY32 Specifically
after assessing the learning styles of seventh
grade subjects she ascertained which ones were
auditory tactu al or visual among other learni ngshy
style elements In one part of the study Martini
provided the same science con tent to students in
ways that complemented their learni ng styles For
instance auditory-preferenced students received
the subject matt er by means of a cassette and
tape recorder The tactual students received
comp uter-assisted instruction by drill and
practice tutorial s simulation probl em solving
games testing and evaluation diag nosis and
prescnption gt Th e visual students received the
same science content as the other two but through
31 Mar tini sopra note 6
32 d at 11 Stud ent s atti tud es in co njun ction with their
learn ing styles were explored in th is study
33 See ~ The Learning Style Inventory was the assessment tool
osed in th is study wh ich is bas ed upon th e Dunn and Dunn Model Id at 15-18 69-7 1
31 See id at 16
35 d
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
11 Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing Vol 20 I No1 Fall 2011
presentation in written form The study also
mismatch ed students by random assignment In
this way students who were tactual for instance
were given the cont ent in either auditory (by using
a cassette) or visual form (reading materials) All
students level of achievement in the subject matter
was determined by criterion-referenced tests
The results of the Martini investigation revealed
the matching of ind ividual students identified
perceptual preferences with complementary
instructional methods increased science
achievement test performance Mart ini
summarized her study [t]he results verified
the effectiveness of matching instru ctional
methods with the diagnosed perceptual
preference of individual students
Mart ini also found that the computer-assisted
instruction was most effective for all thre e
categories of learners - auditory visual and
tactual - although it was more effective for tactu al
students than for the oth er two In applying
the Mart ini study to what we know about the
diverse learning styles of law students laptop
use during class may be somewhat beneficial for
all students but ideally for tactual learners
Research er William Clarke conducted a study
with low-skilled and below-average skilled
high school students measuring whether their
math skills improved (or declined ) when given
computer-assisted instruction Clarke found
that students improved their math skills to a
greater extent in a computer settin g than in a
36 1a
37 lei at 69
38 lei at 16middot17 73middot 76
39 uat 96
40 ld at 104
oil ld at 107
42 William Robert Clarke the effects of comp uter ized inst ruction
on th e improvement and transfer o f math skills for low-skilled and
below average-skilled sopho more students co nsidering student
gender eth niciry and learn ing style preferences 5 57 ( 1993) (ed D
Dissertation University of La Verne)
non-computer setting Those with mobility and
tactile learning-style preferences showed significant
improvement in their math skills Clarke
dedu ced that because the dominant trait of
tactile learners is the continuous hand activity
this need was satisfied with the students hand
man ipulat ion of the computer keyboard
Thus students who underachieve academically
can improve their academic performance when
they are taught in ways that complement their
learning style Th is is true for tactual (and
kinesthetic) students whose learning-style
preferences are often overlooked in conventional
schools In applying the findin gs of these stud ies
to law students we can predict that those who
are tactu al and visual would benefit from laptop
use in the classroom because it complements
their learning style To prohibit their use of
laptops could actually retard their development
Are Young Adu lts Mo re Likely To Be Tactual andor Visual
Studies have shown that Generat ion X is
slightly more tactual than others For example
researcher Renee Cambiano found that Baby
Boomers would not find tactual engagement
(note-taking) as advantageous as would the
Gen X population Closer to home Boyle
43 ld at 8 1 87
11 lei at 87
15 Id
46 See Haver Crosley Effects of Tradi tional Teaching 5 A
Mu ltisensory Inst ructional Package of the Science Achievemen t and
Attitud es of Eng lish Language Learn ers Middl es-School students
and English-Speaking Middl e-School Students 86 (2007) (Ed D
dissert ation St Johns University) (on file with autho r) Haver Crosly
foun d tha t tactua lkinesth etic-preferenced middle-schoolers achieved
their best when using instructional materials (the content as
science) that were congruent with their learn ing styles
47 Renee Cambi ano LearningPreferences of the Age Cohorts Generation X Baby Boomers aneithe Silent Generation 15 70
(l999) (Ed D Doctoral Dissert ation Univers ity ofMe mp his) (on
file with autho r) She found significant differences between the Baby
Boom er Ge neration (birth years 1943- (960) and both the Gen Xers
(birth years 1961 - 1981) and th e Silent Generation (birth years
1925 - 1942) on tactu al pre ferences Her results indicated that Gen
X and the Silent Ge nera tion pre fer to use manipulativcs to lear n
new inform ation and to engage in note-taking whi ch would be less
effective for th e Baby Boo mers lrl at 70 The popul ation for th e
Carnbiano study was gra duate studentsld at 21
hirapplying the
findings of these
5tucliestb law
students We can
ratedietthat those
who are tactual
amdVi~ualwould
IrJenefit from
laptop use in the
classroom
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
12
Atmiddotthe outsetlt
inform students
abQut r~ported
resultsinaicati rig
that students can
be distractedby
Inappropriate
websitesoriing
and emailing
during Glass)
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing
and Ingham found that Generation Xers in
law schools are slightly more tactual than their
professors It is important to note that the
percentage of those who strongly prefer to
learn tactually or visually is small in any cohort
Thi s Authors empirical studies oflaw students
conducted over a ten -year period indicate that
only approximately 20 percent demonstrate a
preference for tactual learning and fewer than
that 10 percent are visual learners Additionally
Boyle Minneti and Honigsfeld found that
law students were less tactual compared with
their peers in oth er academic disciplines
Im plicat ions for the Classroom
Although teachers need to find their own
hom eostasis in their classroom s the complet e
prohibition of laptops is less than opt imal for
tactual and visual learners who actually use them
for appropriate purposes When students are
taught in ways that complement their learning
styles they will improve academically And
as the Martini study indicated there may be
some benefit to all students regardless oflearning
style who use laptops for note-taking and other
I Vol 20 No1 Fall 2011
instructional purposes while in class Thus
professors should allow students to use their
laptops in their classrooms but within limits
To curb laptop distractions professors
could try a variety of approaches
bull At the outset inform students about reported
results from prior studies indicating that
students can be distracted by inappropriate website
surfmg and emailin g during classSol Explain
that there are consequences for distractions
bull Give students notice of penalties for
inappropriate laptop use which could
include a ban for the entire class for the
remaining class period (this sparks peer
pressure on the offending student)
bull Announce Alleyes on me when wayward
eyes focus on the monitors at unusual times
bull Suggest at appropriate times to close laptops
bull Develop a written laptop policy and place the
statement prominently on the course syllabus
bull Move the lecture along to a point where
the students need to interact with each
other or with pen and paper
48 Joanne Ingham amp Robin A Boyle Generation X in Law School How These ta w Stude nts are DifFrent from Thse Wh Teach The1ll 56 J Legal [ duc 281 graphs A B amp C (2006)
49 Sec Boyleamp Dunn supra note 12 at app 2 Robin A Boyle Bringing Learning-Style Instru ctional Strategies to LawSchools You Be the Judge in Practical Approaches to Using Learning Styles Application in Higher Edocation 158 160 tbl 174 (Rita Dunn and Shirley A Griggs eds Bergin amp Garvey 2000) Robin A Boyle amp Lynne Dolle Providing Structure to Law Students - In troducing the Programmed t earning Sequence a an Tntructional Tool 8 Legal Writing I Legal Writing Inst 59 at app A (2002) Robin A Boyle Karen Rosso and Rose Frances Lefkowitz Presenting a New Instructional Tool fo r Teaching Law-Related Courses A Contract Actiity Packagefo r Motivated and Independent Learners 38 (I) GOIlZ L Rev I at app A (2003) Robin A Boyle Empoving Activeshy
LearniS Techniques and Metacogllilion in Law SchoolShifting Energyrom Irofessorto St dent 81 U Det Mercv 1 Rev I at app A (2003) Robin Doyle Jeffrey Minneti and Andrea Honigsfeld Law Students Are Different fr om the Genera Populat ion Empiricul Findings Regarding Learning Styles 17 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res and Writing 153 (Spring 2009)
50 See Doyle Minneti amp Honigsfeld supra note 49 at 158-59
51 See Martini supra note 6Terregrossa et al supra note 13 Matlzrnan sp ra note 28 Rochford supra note 29
52 Sec Martini pra note 6
53 See eg Sovern supra note 3 Fried supra note 3
54 See Tracy McGaugh Laptops in the Classroom Pondering the Possibilities 14 (3) Perspectives Teaching Legal Res amp Writing 163
(2006) (suggesling that professors first acknowledge to students that
there is a potential problem with inappropriate laptop use in class)
55 See Fried supra note 3 at 912 (suggesting thai professors warn students about the pitfalls of inappropr iate laptop use during class time)
56 See McGaugh supra note 54
57 lhis Author has Singled out one or two individuals and stated flatly closeyour laptops when these students were blatantly smirking and typing at inappropriate times 111is curbing sets a tone for the
rest of the class I have also talked to students outside of classabout whether their use of laptops pert ained to class matters
58 For example I provide the following written policy on my syllabi Laptop policy Students may use their laptops in class for purp oses of taking notes or other academic work associated with
my course Laptop use inconsistent with this policy may result in sospension of laptop privilege in class
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-
Perspectives Teaching Legal Research and Writing I Vol 20 I NO1 I Fall 2011
III Have a laptop free zone by reserving certain
rows for those with and without laptops
The following approa ches would
provide effective use oflaptops
III Have students use their laptops to draft
answers to exercises in casebook or in legal
writing texts (For my Contracts class I
have stud ents draft an essay based upon a
former exam question For my Legal Analysis
and Writing class I have students draft an
application of law to fact paragraph For my
Drafting Contracts class I have students draft
a provision of a contract) Then have students
send the drafts to an electronic assignment
drop box (TWEN or another forum such
as the professors email account) and allow
the class to view these drafts on a screen
Provide a live critique of work displayed
II Use Internet access for students to
research short legal questions in class
III Use laptops to access the documents
you have previously posted (syllabus
course materials assignments)
59 See McCreary supra note 9 at 104 (advocatin g an optimum
learning environment because students have varied learning styles)
-- --shy~--_
Another Perspective
III In the classroom explore wikis and customized
polling features The wiki will allow multiple
students to edit a document A professor
can pose a question on the poll function and
stud ents can send in yes or no responses
III Encourage students to be creative in
designing a learning exercise in the form of
a game (a word game crossword puzzle) or
PowerPoint slide show while in class
In conclusion laptops can provide a classroom
without walls Students can research create and
send documents during class and edit written
work-in-progress This will benefit those whose
learning style is complementary with laptop
use And by setting proper limits all students
may find their laptops beneficial for class use
copy 2011 Robin A Boyle
so See Boyle Russo amp Lefkowitz supra note 49 When my
students appear to need a fresh way to approach material such as difficult concept s of contract building blocks or legal research I suggest that they create thei r own resources using the Contract
Activity Package Id I also include an open category for students to
come up with their own ideas Often they turn to their laptop s and create a game orslide show
fiJ After reading this Article my Research Assistant commented
I would feel crippled without a laptop in class His comment sums
up the point of this piece
[l]qptops
can provide
a classroom
withoutwalls
Studentscan
researQh create
and send
documents
(juring class and
editworks-inshy
progreSs
I
Whether managing distractions minimizing str ess or max imizing sleep the bottom line is that we must attend to attending Mind s have always wandered but our attention has never been more challenged than in thi s multi-media high -tech world Media and technology must be our tools not our masters Without learning to attend to the th ings that matter we will be fatally distracted by every beep flash and pop-up and therefore be unable to perform the sophisticated cognitive work required of th e st udy and practice of law If the study and practice of law require attention then attention needs developing just like any other skil l Developing attention requires practice self shyreflection anddiligence If professors find their students are not attending to the class material but instead are engaged in computer games e-mail instant messaging and other technological distractions professors need to ask why The why may be that students are so used to being distracted that they have not yet learned how to pay attention
MH Sam Jacobson Paying Anemion or Focally DistractedConcentration Memory and Multi-Tasking in a Mulli -vledia Worid 16 Legal Writing 419 461 (2010)
1 _
- Cover Should Laptops Be Banned
- Should Laptops Be Banned Abstract
- Should Lap Tops Be Banned
-