Examining the attention resumption from smartphone to class: a sequential mixed methods study

The pervasive distraction of smartphones has imposed tremendous challenges on students’ attention and engagement inside the classroom. Students often engage with their smartphones for various activities during class, underscoring the imperative to recapture their attention from phone screens back to class. The current study uses a sequential mixed methods approach to explore the driving force behind the switch from smartphone activities back to class. Semi-structured interviews were conducted first to obtain students’ views regarding attention resumption intentions and their antecedents. The qualitative findings were then transformed into a set of predictors for resumption from on-task and off-task phone activities back to class. Finally, two research models were constructed and verified with a questionnaire involving 543 university students. The results reveal that the sense of guilt, perceived course value, and vigilance are related to students’ intention of switching back from off-task activities, while perceived cost, task completion, relative usefulness, and leadership of instructors may recapture students’ attention from on-task smartphone activities. The findings of the study contribute to a better understanding of the missing link in attention-switch during class. They can offer valuable insights for educational practitioners to develop appropriate strategies or interventions to recapture students’ attention and enhance in-class engagement.