Sample report
Executive Summary (or Summary or Abstract )
PurposeMethodResultsConclusionsRecommendation The aim of this report was to investigate
s university teaching staff attitudes to the use of
mobile phones by students in tutorials. A survey
of teaching staff from each college was conducted
in first semester of the academic year. Overall,
the results indicate that the majority of staff found
student mobile devices use a major disruption in
tutorials. The report concludes that the
predominant view of staff is that mobile phones
are disruptive and should be turned off during
tutorials. It is recommended that the university
develops guidelines which would support staff in
the restriction of student use of mobile phones in
tutorials except in exceptional circumstances.
Introduction
ContextPurpose There has been a great increase in the use of
personal mobile phones over the past five years
with every indication that this usage will continue
to increase. Indeed, widespread use of mobile
devices in educational contexts for non
educational purposes has been reported as
distracting and disruptive to learning
environments. Recently a number of university
teaching staff have proposed that an institution
wide policy be developed regarding student
mobile phone use during tutorials and
lectures. This report will discuss research into
staff attitudes to the issue of student mobile phone
usage in the teaching and learning environment.
Method
Refer to relevant reading/literatureDescribe how the The research used a quantitative methodology
research was done based on the approach advocated by Williams
(2009). This study was conducted by
questionnaire and investigated university teaching
staff attitudes to the use of mobile phones in
tutorials (see Appendix 1). The questionnaire used
Likert scales to assess social attitudes (Jones
2007) to student mobile phone use and provided
open ended responses for additional
comments. The survey was voluntary and
anonymous. A total of 412 questionnaires were
distributed online to randomly selected staff from
each of the three colleges within the university.
The completed questionnaires were returned by
email.
Check your course guide for
appropriate referencing style.
Results
Facts only- no interpretation. There was an 85% response rate to the distribution
of questionnaires to staff. The results clearly show
that student mobile phones are considered by
teaching staff to be disruptive (see Table 1). As a
result, most staff would prefer that mobile phones
were turned off in tutorials.
Table 1
Tables must be referred to in the text
Discussion
Discuss and interpret the meaning of the results It is evident from the results in Table 1 that
student mobile phone use in tutorials is considered
to be a significant problem; however it was
Integrate different findings to create meaning acknowledged that in some cases it should be
permissible. Given that such high numbers of
teaching staff (85 %) consider that student mobile
phone usage in tutorials is a problem, clearly this
Link results to other research is a teaching issue that needs to be addressed.
Further, while the findings acknowledge a place
for mobile phones in exceptional circumstances
(62%) it would appear that a policy is required to
make explicit acceptable guidelines for their
usage.
These findings are consistent with a number of
other studies. According to Smith (2009) many
educational institutions have identified mobile
phones as disruptive to [Link](2010) also
claims that up to 30% of tutorial time is wasted
through unnecessary phone interruptions. Other
similar research shows ….
Another significant finding of this study was that
80% of respondents found mobile phones
distracted from the learning environment. This
result differs from other similar studies.
According to Lau (2011), staff were increasingly
using mobile technologies in tutorials and saw
them as a valuable addition to the classroom.
Further to this, mobile technology has the
potential to become a critical tool for teaching
(Bond 2010). This difference suggests that the
technology can be used effectively if it is integral
to the learning process. However, if it is used as a
distracting social tool in a tutorial, control of its
use is justified.
For Results and Discussion develop
headings appropriate for your
content
Conclusion
Summary of main findings and ‘the answer’ The student use of mobile phones in tutorials is
clearly intrusive to teaching staff and detrimental
to learning environments in general. The study
highlights the concerns of teaching staff with
regard to mobile phone usage. The fact that the
majority of staff views the student use of mobile
phones in tutorials as disruptive suggests
appropriate guidelines and policies need to be
developed.
Recommendations
Suggest possible changes/solutions. It is recommended that the university develops
official guidelines regarding the use of mobile
phones in tutorials. The guidelines should
Point form can be used.
recommend that:
teaching staff have the right to restrict
mobile phone usage according to their
discretion
mobile phones may only be used by
students in exceptional circumstances.
Finally, the guidelines need to be university wide
and clearly communicated to all staff and students.
Attachments Appendices
Use point form for lists. Check your
course guide.