This project was completed as part of an undergraduate course in Introduction to User Research, in Spring 2017.
For this project, I conducted field observations, interviews, and surveys in order to learn more about the factors that impact student learning and attentiveness. Afterwards, I wrote three reports corresponding to each study.
I conducted field observation sessions in two University of Washington classes, where I observed and wrote down behaviors of students and professors while class was in session. I then interviewed three University of Washington students about their personal experiences regarding motivation and attentiveness in class. Finally, I sent out a survey on my Facebook wall where 20 university students answered questions regarding the factors that affect attentiveness and learning in class.
Video Final Presentation
User Research Study: Student Learning & Attentiveness
Field Observation Report
Observations took place over three 30 minute sessions. Two sessions were in the Climate Change (ATMS 211) course because the classroom layout proved to be difficult to observe all students from one area of the room. One session of observation was done in the Business Statistics (Q METH 201) course.
Key Findings
Professor Teaching Style
The two classrooms observed displayed two differing teaching styles of professors. The Climate Change course professor taught in a lecture-based style, alternating between hand writing notes on an overhead projector and displaying PowerPoint slides. The Business Statistics course professor taught with a more interactive teaching style by using a course packet and asking the class multiple questions. Students in this class tended to look more towards the front of the room and the professor.
Student Technology Interaction
The two courses also had differing policies regarding technology usage. The Climate Change course had a fairly open policy regarding technology and this was reflected with the student behavior. Students in this course typically took notes either on their laptops or handwritten in notebooks. The Business Statistics course had a strict course policy against the usage of laptops and phones throughout lecture. Within five minutes of class starting and the professor talking, almost all students had either put their phones away or put their phones facing down on their tables.
Student Seating Patterns
In the Climate Change course, the two students that sat together sat in the second row and spent most the observation time looking at the front of the room and taking notes. The students I observed that sat with acquaintances in the Business Statistics course sat together in the front row. For my second observation of the Climate Change course, I closely observed a student that sat with an acquaintance in the back half of the room. Throughout my observation period, the girl I observed would switch between writing notes and conversing with the person next to her while the professor was talking.
Design Implications
Professor Teaching Styles
One way professors can increase student interactions with course material would be to add a question or polling system to encourage students to stay on task with the course material. Professors can also hold students accountable for answering questions and allocate participation point as incentive for being attentive to lecture.
Course Policy Regarding Technology
In order to improve student attentiveness, another design implication for classes is to restrict the usage of technology throughout the class period. If needed, classes should limit phone usage as much as possible throughout the class period since most students do not use their phones to enhance their learning experience. However, if students want to type on their laptops to take notes, an internet-free connection could suffice.
Interview Study Report
I interviewed three University of Washington students for 30 minutes each. All three of the students are around the same age, so the participants I interviewed were all juniors. I wanted to exclude people that were at different universities because the class structures between universities may vary. Two participants were female, one majoring in Geographic Information Science, the other majoring in Biology with a focus on Physiology. The other participant was a male majoring in Biochemistry.
Key Findings
Each participant will be referred to as P1, P2, and P3. P1 will refer to the Biochemistry student, P2 will refer to the Geographic Information Science student, and P3 will refer to the Biology student.
Professor Teaching Qualities
Professor teaching style and professor attitudes seemed to be a large factor in determining whether students chose to go to a class or not. All three participants stated that they enjoyed going to classes where professors taught in a style that engaged with their students. All three participants mentioned enjoying classes where the professors expanded on the topics and could teach students more information than what is provided on the lecture slides. Additionally, all three participants referenced that they disliked when professors taught by reading off their PowerPoint slides.
Classroom Environment/Layout
When describing a class that they enjoyed, P1 and P3 described enjoying going to classes where they could discuss ideas with their peers. P3 repeated multiple times that she enjoyed discussion based classes. P3 also talked about how the layout of the class layout she enjoys the most has circular tables that aid the discussions and interactions between students. P2 also said that they prefer smaller discussion groups over classes with over 400 people.
Note Taking Behavior
When asked the question about note taking behaviors, each participant used different methods for taking notes in class. P1 said that they take handwritten notes because he felt it helped him retain information better. Additionally, P1 mentioned that taking notes on a laptop are faster, but admitted that he would get distracted if he took notes on his laptop. P2 said that she took notes on her laptop because she is unable to write fast enough while following what the professor is saying. P3 said that she varies her note taking based on what class she is in. P3 reflected that she “has lately been taking notes on [her] laptop… because it is faster to bold and italicize or to highlight”. However, P3 also said that if professors provide the lecture slides before classes, then she prefers to print out the slides and take notes on those during class.
Design Implications
Professor Teaching Qualities
A way for professors to increase student interactions would be to ask more questions throughout the class period. As mentioned in the previous field study report, professors could potentially add a polling system for students to answer questions and motivate students to gain participation points in class.
Classroom Environment/Layout
Large lecture halls tend to prevent students from wanting to discuss with their peers and speak out in class, so a classroom layout with tables that allow for small groups of students to convene can help promote student interactions with each other. Classrooms with 150 students or less should have tables that breaks students into smaller groups. Additionally, the tables should be arranged in a manner where students can face each other.
Note Taking Behavior
One of the students mentioned that since there are multiple peer discussions throughout class, that the discussions made it difficult to browse the internet and get off topic. Other classes can adopt a similar form of promoting interactions between students and their peers as well as interactions between students and lecturers.
Survey Study Report
I created a 12-question survey using Google Forms asking about topics that were brought up in both my field observations and interviews. At the time of closing the survey, 20 people had responded to the survey.
Key Findings
Classroom Motivations
Overall, reasons behind students choosing not to go to class include sleeping, being sick, feeling as though lectures are unnecessary, having other commitments, and being lazy. On the other hand, motivations behind going to class include friends being present, reliance on grades, and the cost of tuition. However, when asked about the impact of having friends in classes with respondents, all respondents referenced friends as some form of motivation in class.
Professor Teaching Qualities
Overall, respondents reported that they enjoy discussion-based class styles the most in relation to lecture-based, individual project-based, and group-project based classes. Additionally, a large frustration that respondents reported was related to the professors. Most (14 out of 20, or 70%) of the respondents stated that their biggest classroom frustration was related to professors.
Classroom Layout
Classroom layouts that were smaller and had table space were generally preferred over classrooms that were organized similarly to medium or large lecture halls. Most (14 out of 20, or 70%) of respondents stated that they preferred a smaller classroom layout with larger tables. Of the 14, nine chose the classroom layout option with rows of tables and students facing the front of the room.
Classroom Distractions
The main influencer of classroom distractions is related to technology usage. The majority (18 out of 20, or 90%) of respondents stated that their biggest distraction in class relates to technology. Of the 18, 14 claimed that their cell phone is their biggest distraction. The other two said that their biggest distraction in class is their laptop. When asked about how friends affect their class experiences, none of the respondents claimed that friends serve as distractions.
Note Taking Behavior
The main method of note taking for students was hand-written notes, but students that took notes in other ways still believed there were benefits behind their preferred note taking method. Of the 20 respondents, all 20 stated that they use handwritten notes in some capacity. Seven students stated that they always take hand written notes, five stated that they take hand written notes most of the time, and eight students stated that they occasionally take hand written notes. Of the 20 respondents, 16 states that they use typed notes in some capacity during class. Seven students said that they type most of their notes while nine students said that they occasionally type their notes. Of the 20 respondents, 4 stated that they take notes by writing on lecture slides. Although in the minority, the few respondents that use this note taking method stated many benefits from it.
Design Implications
Classroom Motivations
Students typically chose to skip classes due to sleepiness, so having classes later in the day could help boost attendance. Additionally, some students believe that attending lectures was unnecessary and did not affect their grades, so professors could opt to implement a stronger participation grade. A large motivation for going to class and participating in class was having friends in class, so allowing students to choose where they sit and who they interact with could aid interactivity.
Professor Teaching Qualities
Students tended to enjoy discussion-based lecture styles, so professors should spend more time in class asking and answering questions that students can discuss. As mentioned in the previous field study report and interview report, professors could add clicker questions or a polling system to help aid discussion between peers. Additionally, since some professor qualities can add to frustration in classes, implementing a class format could be beneficial towards student learning. Having more organized slides with a clear format could help aid student learning.
Classroom Layout
Classroom layouts have a large impact on student interactivity. Classrooms that have enough space should be arranged in a way where students have enough space to put their belongings on a table. Having large tables in rows allows students to sit fairly close with each other while still facing the front of the room. Additionally, if students need to break into groups, rows can turn around to face each other momentarily.
Classroom Distractions
The biggest classroom distraction for student was cell phones, so a strict “no phone” policy could take place to prevent distraction. Some students stated that their laptop can be distracting at times, so there could possibly be a “no wifi” policy implemented that allows students to take notes on their laptop while still being focused on the lecture content.
Note Taking Behavior
Note taking behavior has a large impact on student learning. All students used hand written notes in some capacity, but a few stated that hand writing notes cannot always keep up with the professor. Additionally, some students tended to enjoy writing on lecture slides. Professors should provide lecture slides before lectures to help students refer back to material if they have missed any information. By providing lecture slides ahead of time, the students that enjoy writing on lecture slides can also print out the slides to write on in class.