ABSTRACT

With the rapid development of mobile devices and web-based technologies, it becomes common for students to switch between different tasks during study time. However, it remains unclear how the transition between on-task and off-task states happens and how digital devices affect the process. This study examines college students’ independent study in the library to delineate the pattern of on-task and off-task behavior, and identify the triggers for students’ engagement or disengagement. Through video recordings, the researchers captured the behaviors of over 266 students at the library. Observations were taken and used to double-check and confirm the behaviors. The study adopted the behavioral sequences method to scrutinize behavioral transition and explored gender differences. The results indicate that on-task behaviors tended to decline as the learning duration increased, whereas off-task behaviors tended to increase when students interacted with personal devices. As the most used device, smartphones posed persistent interference for learners, leading to reduced focus during independent study time. Moreover, male students were more likely to be influenced by external interruptions, whereas female students were more prone to the influence of internal interruptions. These findings can contribute to the development of research-based guidelines for improving students’ attention and self-adjusting during self-study time.

摘要

随着移动设备和网络技术的快速发展，学生在学习期间在不同任务之间切换变得很常见。然而，目前尚不清楚任务状态和任务状态之间的转换如何发生以及数字设备如何影响该过程。本研究调查了大学生在图书馆的独立学习，以描绘任务内和任务外行为的模式，并确定学生参与或脱离的触发因素。通过视频记录，研究人员捕捉到了图书馆超过 266 名学生的行为。进行观察并用于双重检查和确认行为。该研究采用行为序列方法来审视行为转变并探讨性别差异。结果表明，随着学习时间的增加，任务内行为往往会减少，而当学生与个人设备交互时，任务外行为往往会增加。作为最常用的设备，智能手机对学习者造成持续干扰，导致独立学习时间注意力不集中。此外，男生更容易受到外部干扰的影响，而女生更容易受到内部干扰的影响。这些发现有助于制定基于研究的指南，以提高学生自学期间的注意力和自我调节能力。导致独立学习时间注意力不集中。此外，男生更容易受到外部干扰的影响，而女生更容易受到内部干扰的影响。这些发现有助于制定基于研究的指南，以提高学生自学期间的注意力和自我调节能力。导致独立学习时间注意力不集中。此外，男生更容易受到外部干扰的影响，而女生更容易受到内部干扰的影响。这些发现有助于制定基于研究的指南，以提高学生自学期间的注意力和自我调节能力。