C.L.U.E. ProjectCollege Life Under Examination

-Kelly Krevey

My Project

How do students study? Where do students study? How much do students study? Where is the best place for students to

study? What is in common with the places students

study? What are the most common places for

students to study?

Many students come to college to further their knowledge in a particular area. As a result, the typical day for a college student consists of class and studying. So I wanted to find out…

My Freshman YearWhat a Professor Learned by Becoming a Student

By: Rebekah Nathan

•Professor at “Any U” decided to go under cover as a freshman

• Became an ethnographer – took notes, observations,…

•“Interviews with the few students who were in the lounges during my observations revealed that the majority came there to “get away”- from a gathering in their room, music blasting in the hall, or a roommate with a guest.” (Nathan, 53)

Specific Questions

Do student’s really use the lounge to “get away”?

Why do students choose the places they study?

Methods I Used Observed the Lounge and Library

Surveyed student’s daily schedules

Interviewed people

Used class mates collected data and observations

To see how students use these spaces

To see how often they go to the Library and how long

To find out their preferences when it comes to studying

To obtain more data to help draw conclusions

Purpose of Ethnography Reflect on learned knowledge Understand a cultural group and why

they do the things they do

As an Ethnographer one must:• Participate

•Ask questions

•Observe

•Blend in (people do not act the same if they know they are being watched)•Take notes

• Be Open minded

(Health and Street)

Collected Data Columbia 2nd Floor Lounge

In order to gain a good amount of data I decided every time I walked

passed the lounge I would tally what each person was doing.

61%

6%

6%

28%

Observations over 2 Days

Homework/StudyingWatching TVChat Time (Cell Phone, Skype,…)Other (Games, Eating,…)

1. INtroduce2. INsert

1

2

Collected Data Columbia 2nd Floor Lounge Continued

In addition I asked each the students why did they come to the lounge.

When I asked the students why they came to the lounge, this is what they

said:

Easier to concentrateMore space to

spread out Roommate is sleepingLess distracting

Roommate

is watching

TV

Better for groupsIt’s quiet

Over all my conclusion is the lounge is used for many reasons both social and academic but it is mostly used for academic reasons such

as homework, studying and projects.

2. INsert3. INterpret

2

3

Further Investigation

After realizing the Lounge was mostly used for studying and completing school work I was wondering where else do students study?

When thinking where else do students study the Library came to my mind first.

Collected Data Bloomsburg Library

Diary 16:00 to 8:00 – Wake up; Drive to

School8:00 to 11:00 – Class

11:00 to 12:00 – Lunch12:00 to 2:00 – Class2:00 to 4:00 – Library4:00 to 9:00 – Work

9:00 to 11:00 – Home; Relax11:00 – Sleep

Diary 26:30 to 6:45– Wake up

6:45 to 7:45 – Gym7:45 to 8:30 – Breakfast

8:30 to 10:00 – Shower get ready10:00 to 11:00 – Homework in

room11:00 to 1:00 – Class1:00 to 2:00 – Lunch2:00 to 5:00 – Class

5:00 to 6:00 – Dinner6:00 to 8:00 – Library8:00 to 11:00 – Relax

11:00 – Bed

Diary 39:00 to 9:30 – Wake up9:30 to 11:00 – School

work11:00 to 11:30 – Lunch11:30 to 12:45 – Library

1:00 to 1:50 – Class1:50 to 3:00 – Library3:00 to 4:15 – Class

4:15 to 5:00 – Dinner5:00 to 6:00 – Gym

6:00 to 9:00 – Library9:00pm to 2:00am - Relax

2:00am – Bed

Collected Data

What does the library have to offer?

• Computers

• Printing/Photo-copying

• Books/Periodicals/Magazines

• Group Study Rooms

• Personal Cubbies

• Librarian

• Quiet Atmosphere

Bloomsburg Library Continued

Further Investigation

After checking out the Library I decided to go straight to the students to figure out their study preferences.

Collected Data Interviews

25%

50%

8%17%

Where do you study?

Lounge Dorm RoomApartment Library

*Majority of people prefer to study in their own private space

Collected Data Interviews

7%

21%

50%

21%

How many hours a day do you do study or do school work?

About 2 hoursAbout 3 hoursAbout 4 hoursMore than 4 hours

*Majority of students

spend around 4 hours a day completing

school work or studying

Collected Data Interview

s

43%

14%

43%

Do you prefer to study alone or with others?

Alone With Others Both

Collected Data Interviews

What are some ways you study?

Flash Cards

Power Points

Study Guides

Rereading Notes

Practice Problems

Rereading the Book

Type up notes

Organizing Notes

Make Slide Shows or Outlines

Highlighting

Memorization

Discussions with Peers

Reading the BookDoing the Questions at the end of the ChapterLook over Notes

Further Investigation

While looking at my peers work I noticed some of the public places they observed mentioned students studying.

Let’s check out where else student’s study!

Collected Data Kehr Computer Lab

(Stover, 2011)

“Bloomsburg students go to the Kehr Computer Lab to work on the computers, type schoolwork, use the internet, or check e-mails or even facebook. A lot of the students come to print papers or notes and PowerPoint slides from classes. “ – Sarah Stover

As I looked at the data Sarah collected I felt this was another place students would complete work or hang between classes.

From reading all of Sarah’s findings you can see that students take advantage of the resources on campus.

1. INtroduction2. INsert3. INterpret

1

2

3

Collected Data Starbucks on Campus

“I also noticed only a couple people who did sit down in Starbucks do their homework right there.” – Taylor Adams

When reading Talyor’s observations about Starbucks I was surprised to hear that people actually did their school work in the coffee shop. Yeah I heard of reading a book and socializing but why not walk to the library that’s connected where it’s quiet and there’s more space?

This shows that students do their work almost anywhere.

1. INtroduce2. INsert 3. INterpret

1

2

3

ConclusionsBetween my findings and my peers I found that students study in a

variety of spaces (Coffee shops, benches outside, computer rooms, libraries, dorms, lounges, apartments,…) but everyone has their own special space and own reason for choosing that space. It’s all that persons preference. Some students live off campus or on upper campus and choose to stay on lower campus between classes to complete work or socialize with friends. While students living in dorms prefer to go back to their rooms or study on their floor’s lounges. In addition students have many ways of studying. Many redo practice problems, reread the book, make flash cards, or simply just look over notes. But their reasons for choosing these types of study habits are all different. Mostly everyone has more than one way and has their own preference of studying alone or within a group.

Because most of my findings showed where you study or with whom you study was all preference, Does personality make a difference in the way you study?

Work Cited Adams, T. (2011) Personal Page. Retrieved from

http://sherry- adaptation12.wikispaces.com/CLUE+step+2. September 28.

Heath, S and Street, B. (2008). On Ethnography: Approaches to Language and Literacy Research. New York: Teachers

College. Print. Nathan, R. (2005). My Freshman Year: What a Professor

Learned by Becoming a Student. New York: Penguin Group, Ltd.

Stover, S. (2011) Personal Page. Retrieved from http://sherry-adaptation12.wikispaces.com/Stover+CLUE+Step+2a. September 28.