A Digital Detox Intervention Across France (and Potential Benefits for Learners)!

Radical.  Bold.  Ambitious.  And shocking too.  Until I read the research. But first, the country-wide experiment in learning...

As reported by CNN, starting earlier this month with the new school year, France has banned, I mean completely banned, student cell phone use in all primary, middle, and high school campuses throughout France (and throughout the entire school day (lunch included)):  https://www.cnn.com/france-smartphones-school-ban-intl/index.html 

As detailed by CNN, there's research to back up the educational benefits.  As described by CNN, the research evaluated the relationship between cell phone use and academic achievement for 130,000 UK students.  The researchers "found that following a ban on phone use, the schools' test scores improved by 6.4%. [And,] [t]he impact on underachieving students was much more significant -- their average test scores rose by 14% (emphasis added)."  https://money.cnn.com/smartphones-schools-ban/index.html.  Citing research authors Dr. Richard Murphy and Dr. Louis-Philippe Beland, CNN reported that just by prohibiting cell phone use in schools, "[s]chools could significantly reduce the education achievement gap...."  

That's big news - that ought to make a big splash in legal education - because the research suggests that a low tech solution might help law schools too narrow the achievement gap for those most at-risk of not doing well in law school. So, as you meet with students who are struggling this semester, you might ask your learners about their cell phone habits.  No need to be pushy.  Instead, just show them the research and then let them make a decision.  http://cep.lse.ac.uk/publishedresearch   

Based on my own review of the research, here's my recommendation to my students:  "For one week, just leave the mobile phone at home...or in one's school locker...or tucked away with the power off in one's backpack.  Even if it doesn't lead to better learning, you'll find that you'll quickly put a quash to those never-ending furtive glances at one's phone to see if someone has tried to connect with you.  And, more importantly, you might find that you are actually making better connections with the materials (and others) by not connecting to the digital world while at law school.  In short, you might reap the same educational benefits as those documented in the UK."  That's a great educational goal for all of us.  (Scott Johns).