Students' use of cell phones in class for off-task behaviors: the indirect impact of instructors' teaching behaviors through boredom and students' attitudes

This study was conducted to determine how various teaching behaviors influence students' emotional and cognitive experiences in class, and how these experiences relate to students' use of cell phones while considering contextual factors that might influence this outcome. Two hundred and seventy-four students responded to questions regarding their instructors' teaching behaviors, their experiences of boredom in class, and their attitudes toward using cell phones for off-task activities. Results indicated that, after controlling for students' general cell phone involvement and course policies regarding cell phone use in class, students' decisions to engage with their cell phones during course lessons were influenced by their attitudes toward using these devices. Importantly, our results indicated that students' attitudes regarding using their cell phones for off-task activities in class were a function of their instructors' teaching behaviors and the experiences of boredom these behaviors produced.