Description of Observation Site
My observations and interviews occurred over a three day period. I observed three
classes, which accounted for all four of the participants, for one hour each. One class was a
graduate level art class while the other two were graduate level counseling classes. The two
interviews were done after the observations were conducted. One interview was held in Cobb
Hall on the UWG campus. The other interview took place over the phone. Both individuals who
were interviewed gave me consent to record our conversations.
The first observation was of an art lecture class. The class was held on the second floor of
the Humanities building on campus. I arrived early and observed the students as they entered the
room. The class was composed of 14 students, 9 females and 5 males. The students were seated
in desks and were all seated in the front four rows. The professor was a female. She entered the
room and started class immediately. The students stopped talking among themselves as the
teacher walked to the front of the room. After the professor called the roll, she began the lecture,
which she did without notes or a PowerPoint presentation. She directed questions frequently to
the class, usually calling a student by name for the answer. After lecturing for an hour and five
minutes, the professor gave the class a break. As I followed the participant I was observing
outside to smoke, I noticed that many of the other students from that class were smoking.
The participant I observed was dressed in a tank top, shorts and flip flops. She had
several piercings, all located in her ears, nose and lips. She also had a tattoo of written words on
her left forearm, which she looked at several times during the class as if she was reading it. Her
hair was cut very short with several spots dyed either pink or blue. She also had three colored,
plastic barrettes in her hair. She only interacted with others when directly spoken to by her
classmates or her professor. She drew for most of the class and appeared to not be paying
attention.
My second observation was in a graduate counseling class. The class was held in a large
room on the first floor of the Education Center on campus. The room is one of five that are
divided by partitions instead of walls. The classroom has about 75 seats at tables, which are
situated in rows. The classroom has an aisle down the center of the room with half of the tables
on either side of the aisle. There are two sets of double doors that serve as entrances to the room,
one set that comes off the main hallway and one that allows people to enter behind the
professor’s podium from a back hallway. There are no windows in the room.
When the class began, 21 students, one teaching assistant (an Ed.S. student) and the
professor were present. The professor spoke briefly about the upcoming mid-term exam and then
told the class that they would be watching a 90 minute video. During the video, most of the
students were engaging in other activities. Some students had textbooks open and appeared to be
doing work for other classes. Others were texting and checking Facebook on their phones. I even
witnessed one young man sitting in front of me playing Scrabble on his phone. Despite being
engaged in other tasks, the students did laugh at the video from time to time as it was at least 20
years old and some of the people were sporting outdated clothing and hairstyles. Students were
coming and going from the classroom all during the movie.
The only male participant in my study and one of the female participants were both in
this class. The male participant arrived slightly late to class through the doors at the back of the
classroom. He chose a seat on the aisle in the second row. He was dressed in a long sleeve polo
shirt with rolled up sleeves, shorts and flip flops. He had a large black and red tattoo on the
inside of his right forearm. His hair was cut short and he had a full beard. For the majority of the
video, he was either shaking or bouncing his feet and legs. He consumed a bottle of Coca-Cola
during the video, one sip at a time. For each sip, he would unscrew the cap, take a sip, screw the
cap back on and place it on the table. He whispered to the female student next to him a few times
during the video. During the class discussion, he was an active participant as he spoke three
times during the ten minutes that the discussion was held.
The female participant arrived to class six minutes before the professor began speaking.
She was wearing a long sleeve cotton shirt, blue jeans and white tennis shoes. She had no makeup on and had no visible tattoos or piercings. She sat in the middle of the back row next to
another female student. She spoke to this student and three students sitting in the row in front of
her. She began writing in a notebook and continued through most of the video. She also had
small conversations with two students during this time. She was one of the few students who did
not check an electronic device or leave the room during the video. She did not participate in the
class discussion, but did whisper to the student next to her. When the class got into small groups,
she was talkative and appeared to assume a leadership role.
My third observation was also done in the Education Center at UWG. This classroom
was much smaller that the Education Center room where I had done my previous observation. I
was a half an hour early to the class. Although my early arrival was unplanned and I was quite
bored for a while, it was interesting to watch the students come into class. The students seemed
to sit with groups of people with whom they were familiar. There was quite a bit of conversation
occurring in little areas around the classroom, with some students sitting and others standing. As
the professor began class, there were still 4 or 5 students talking. The professor began by asking
if anyone had questions from what was covered in the last class. Several students began speaking
over each other. While the professor lectured, students asked questions. The students randomly
called out answers and questions, which created a chaotic environment. After a while, the class
broke into small groups to work on an assignment. The noise level remained high. The class then
discussed the assignment together, letting one representative from each group speak. During the
remainder of my time in the classroom the professor used a PowerPoint for discussion.
The female participant I came to observe arrived 15 minutes before the class was
scheduled to begin. She came in and took a seat in the back row on the aisle. As class members
came in, she greeted many of them verbally. Another female student gave her a hug. She talked
with a group of students for a while. The participant was dressed in a multi-colored t-shirt, blue
jean shorts and sneakers. She had her hair pulled back and wore very little, if any, make-up. She
had no visible tattoos or piercings except for a small earring in each ear. She shook at least one
foot or leg for the entire class period. She also jumped and closed her eyes during the parts of the
PowerPoint that were loud. She was active in class participation, answering many questions and
joining class discussions.
Field Notes from Observations
Participant- “Amber”
Observation
Amber arrives to class 5 minutes before it
starts, chooses seat in front row, next to wall
Perceptions
Wants to be away from focus of the room
Amber sets a notebook and sketchbook on
desk, begins drawing with a pencil
Drawing instead of interacting with other
students
Another female walks over to seat next to
Amber, speaks to Amber, she briefly looks up
from her drawing, then resumes drawing
Seemed to be more interested in drawing than
interacting
When the other student sits down, Amber
scoots her chair nearer to wall, draws
Pulls away from other student
Professor walks in room, starts class almost
immediately
Amber continues to draw, answers “here”
when professor calls her name when checking
attendance
Although she appears distant, is aware of what
is going on
Amber continues to draw, looking down
Amber looks up at professor for about 3
seconds, then continues drawing
Looks interested almost like she is taking notes
Amber puts down pencil and looks at the tattoo
on her arm for about 25 seconds
Looks interested in tattoo, appears clam
Amber looks down, picks up pencil, continues
drawing
Glances at professor, then returns to sketching
Looking interested
Professor begins to call on students asking
individual questions, Amber snaps her head up
and moves her sketch pad to right, she looks at
professor
Appears to prepare herself for participation
Professor asks Amber a question, she answers
with an answer that is about a sentence long
Although she appears not to paying attention to
class, has a valuable answer, contributes to
class
Professor nods her head
Approval
Amber smiles slightly, picks up her sketch pad
and pencil, leans over, begins to sketch
Seems happy, but embarrassed
Professor dismisses class for break, Amber
remains in her seat, once most of the class had
left room, Amber stands up and walks directly
outside
Seemed to be avoiding interacting with others
When outside, Amber sits on sidewalk, she
smokes two cigarettes, then sits with her head
down for a few minutes
Stayed by herself, not interacting with anyone
during the break
Amber returns to class, walks to her seat
Seems distant
without speaking to anyone
Student sitting next to her returns, says
something to Amber, she responds briefly,
returns to sketching
Does interact some
Participant- “Bob”
Observation
Professor comes in, begins to explain the
agenda for today’s class
Perceptions
Aisle seat- may be connected with symptoms
Does not seem to notice he is late
Bob walks in classroom, sits on aisle seat in
the second row, looks at professor
21 students in classroom, sitting in rows, more
chairs empty than occupied
Professor tells class about mid-term on
Monday
After this, she turns on video, says it will last
about 90 minutes
Bob sits in chair, feet bouncing on floor, has
his clasped holding up chin, uses thumbs to
comb through beard, looking at screen
Feels anxious, beard rubbing calming?
Leans over and whispers to young lady sitting
next to him, both smile, assumes previous
position
Has connections with others
Picks up coca-cola bottle, unscrews top, takes
one sip, screw top back on, return to resting
chin on hands, repeats this sequence 6 times
Seems very deliberate, ritualistic
Places both arms on table, one over the other,
leans forward as he watched video
Remains looking at screen, leans back in chair,
crosses legs and arms, right foot sticking in
aisle, bouncing up and down
Feels anxious
Continues to change positions as he remains
looking at screen
Does not stay in same position very long
Bob stands up and walks out of class, is gone
for approximately 6 minutes, returns, crosses
legs and arms, returns to bouncing foot
Seems anxious, may need to walk around
I decided to take a break and return when video
is complete
Professor begins to discuss video, which was
tapes of actual counseling sessions with
children
Seems very focused
Professor names one child with wrong name,
Bob says the right name
Seemed upset professor got name wrong
Professor apologizes, continues to lecture on
video, Bob speaks out three times during
discussion
Speech seemed slightly pressured, as if he
could not hold it in any longer
Bob sits with legs crossed and foot in aisle,
hitting it against table leg repeatedly
Anxious?
Bob continues in this position, gets cell phone
out of pocket, hold it under table, looking at it
Worried? Bored?
Professor asks class to get in small work
groups, Bob stays seated, asks for other group
members to come to him
Seemed to really not want to leave seat
Bob sitting in group, continues to shake leg,
leans over to look at paper and nods his head
Anxiety
Bob begins rock back and forth in his chair
Soothing?
Bob leans over again and points to something
on paper, speaks to group, group looking at
him, after three minutes, return to upright
position
Looks intense in what he is saying
Bob crosses legs again and shakes right leg and Anxious
foot
Participant- “Connie”
Observation
Connie walks into classroom six minutes
before class begins
Perceptions
Trying to hide?
She chooses a seat on the back row, three seats
from the aisle
She speaks with 4 other students who are
sitting around her, places her notebook and
book on the table, then sits down
Has connections with others in the class
Looks ready to work
Connie opens her purse, takes out her phone,
looks at it briefly, puts it back in purse, sits
purse on floor
Professor tells class about mid-term on
Monday
Connie turns to student next to her and
whispers
Professor turns on a video, which she says will
last for 90 minutes
21 students in classroom, sitting in rows, more
chairs empty than occupied
Working on homework/another assignment?
Connie pulls out notebook and a packet of
typed material
She underlines words throughout the packet,
then begins writing in her notebook,
occasionally looking back at the packet
Looks serious about what she is doing
A female student sitting in front of Connie
turns around, the two begin to whisper back
and forth
Appears to have good connection with this
student
The other student stands up and leaves the
Again looks serious about her work
room, Connie returns to writing
Connie begins looking around the room,
focusing on a group of five students on the
other side of the aisle
She returns to writing
*Connie was one of the few students who did
not check phone or leave room during the
video
I decided to take break and return when video
is complete
Professor begins to discuss video
Connie whispers to student next to her several
times
Seems to have good connection with student
Writes something on her notebook and shows
it to student next to her, both smile
Again, connecting
Professor asks class to get in small work
groups, Connie moves her chair to her group
The group has a conversation with all members Connie appears a little frustrated with group
talking, one students appears to be taking notes
on what the group members are saying
Connie takes a sheet of paper that has typing
on both sides, holds it up and points to
different places while talking to her group
Seems like she kind of took control of the
group
The group members shake their heads as
Connie speaks
Participant- “Diane”
Observation
Diane comes in classroom, another student in
room- they do not speak, she arrives 15
minutes before class begins
Perceptions
Early- perhaps to get set, needs to be early? Or
maybe traffic was light today
Chooses seat in back row on aisle, door is in
Seems like she needs to be by door, easy way
back of room
to leave- reduce anxiety
Gets book, notebook and binder from her
backpack
Organized!
Diane says hello to several female students as
they enter the room, gives one a hug
Seems to enjoy other people
2 female students come over to table where
Diane is seated, they all three talk
1 of the students shows Diane a piece of paper
Diane nods and smiles pointing to the paper
Diane returns to writing in her notebook,
bouncing her heel repeatedly on floor
Seems anxious
Other students drift in, the professor arrives, 22
students present, 4 or 5 continue to speak to
one another
Diane looks at professor, continues writing,
right foot shaking rapidly
Anxious, would like to know what she is
writing- no one else taking notes- to calm
herself?
Diane remains focused on professor, she is
shaking her pen between two fingers, foot still
shaking
Nervous/anxious
As professor talks, Diane picks up her textbook
and puts it in front of her, opens the book and
begins to flip through pages
Professor asks the class a question, Diane
raises hand, then answers question without
being called on, has correct answer
Seems proud
Professor continues to speak, Diane laughs and
smiles, looks at professor, left foot shaking
back and forth
Nervous, but happy?
Diane speaks out in a response to a comment
by professor, continues shaking left foot, other
students begin speaking out
She participates a lot to be looking as anxious
as she does
Diane looks at female student sitting next to
her and whispers something, both students roll
eyes
Looks irritated, confused, something
Professor talks, Diane is looking at him, right
leg shaking back and forth
Anxious/nervous
Professor asks class to break into small groups,
class members looking around and moving
chairs
Diane joins a group of 4 other students, they
begin speaking and laughing, Diane shakes her
leg back and forth
Looks happy and interactive, but still shaking
Professor clears throat, Diane is facing the
back of the room, she jumps a little and then
turns her body to face professor, both legs
shaking back and forth
Appears startled, shaking both legs really fast
Diane talks with other members and wrote in
her notebook, professor tells class to return to
seat
Seems relaxed, yet anxious
Diane returns to seat, shakes her right leg
Professor begins powerpoint, Diane opens
textbook, begins highlighting book
Seems to want to catch everything, looks
intense
Each time powerpoint changes slides, it makes
this swooshing noise, each time this happens
Diane raises shoulders and closes eyes, then
returns to textbook
Startles her each time the noise occurs, even
though it happens with every slide
Diane is shaking both legs rapidly for rest of
powerpoint
Seems very anxious