Field Notes 10

For my tenth week of field work I chose to focus on the general patterns of the students instead of focusing on a specific aspect of the students as I had in previous weeks. These observations took place between 12:30 and 1:30 pm Thursday November sixth.

S I began my observations in the oxygen building the original two groups from my original observations, the doors and the drawers, where sitting a similar tables to the previous times I had begun my observations in this area. These groups where conducting similar activities as before such as eating and engaging in light conversation. This continued for a few minutes before the members of the drawers group left presumably to McCredie’s to get tea as before.

As this was happening there where two students studying individually in the oxygen building. These students appeared to be of different grades and they appeared to both be studying different subjects as both of their books where different. This pattern continued in a similar pattern to the one outside for quite a few minutes until a third student arrived and joined the younger of the students in studying.

At this time, around 12:50 I decided to check the carbon building for activity. In the carbon building there was a small group of three engaging in conversation on the courses one solitary male student engaged in an activity on his computer. It appeared that the individual on the computer was playing a game based on his focus on the screen, the strength he was pressing the buttons with and the speed at which his mouse was moving. There was also a solidary female student who appeared to be studying from the same book, civics, as the older student in the oxygen building causing me to belie that there was a test in their shared civics class.

Near this time the members of the drawers group returned from their trip with cups from McCredie’s as I had predicted when they left. Despite sticking to a previously viewed pattern in this way the members of the drawers did not return to their original position under the shade, instead they came to the carbon building and took seats near the female student that was studying alone and began to engage in conversation with her. At this time a student left from the classroom she was in and joined the three students in conversation on the couch for a few minutes, before returning to her classroom.

Near the end of my observation period I returned to the oxygen building to see if there were any changes in the students studying there. At the time ear the end of my observation period the older student studying civics had left and there were now there of the younger students studying until the beginning of the next class period.