Students’ media use and multitasking behavior in class : Perspectives of university instructors about its impacts on the educational environment

This study investigates university instructors’ attitudes in cognitive, affective and behavioral terms towards students’ media use and multitasking behavior in class. A mixed methods strategy was adopted, in which data was gathered via interviews in the qualitative phase that informed the survey, used as instrument in the quantitative phase. The findings illustrate aspects instructors consider being positively and negatively impacted by students’ media use behavior, showing that most instructors have favorable implicit and behavioral attitudes towards the event. Pearson correlation coefficient tests demonstrated implicit attitudes were correlated to instructors’ familiarization to media devices and use of lecture. This study provides an update of nowadays’ picture of teaching in universities, contributing for the achievement of a more adequate education system for both learners and educators.