Rethinking College Students' Self-Regulation and Sustained Attention:Does Text Messaging During Class Influence Cognitive Learning?

This study investigated whether texting during class influences students' cognitive learning. A theoretical model was proposed to study the relationships among college students' self-regulation, texting during class, sustained attention to classroom learning, and cognitive learning (i.e., grade-oriented academic performance and experience-oriented cognitive learning). Using a cross-sectional survey sample (N=190), structural equation modeling analyses showed that texting during class partially mediates the effect of students' self-regulation on their sustained attention to classroom learning. In addition, students' sustained attention fully mediates the effect of their texting during class on experience-oriented learning. Thus, the results also suggest that self-regulated students are less likely to text during class and are more likely to sustain their attention to classroom learning, which, in turn, facilitates cognitive learning.