Blog 5

The following are my Ethnographic Notes of my Eng 3029 class.

Jottings

• Jessica- Red hoodie and glasses
• Briana- with Jessica (bun in hair)
• Brenda- classmate from Eng 2020 last semester
• Amanda- very quiet, blonde hair
• John- talkative, taller man in the class with the beard
• The teacher knows all names of students
• The teacher holds direction
• The teacher tells people to move
• Nervous/ Arms Cross/ All Taking Notes

Head Notes

I met with  Jessica, Briana, Brenda, Amanda, and John

 

Jessica

•  Red hoodie
• Glasses
• Observes while writes(all around

Briana

•  From other writing class on Monday and Wednesday nights

Brenda

• From writing class last semester
• Also an education major
• Bilingual specifically
• Applying to be a sub in Elizabeth

Amanda

• Blonde
• Very quiet 
• Kind of just smiles and looks around

John

•  Taller man in the class with beard.
• Very enthusiastic when speaking
• Moves around a lot to get to know the entire class

The class as a whole through this study

1.       People seem nervous and put in an awkward position since they are being forced to speak to someone, just to get to know them?

2.       Arms are crossed for a sense of comfort

3.       People are standing in the same spots

4.       Only maybe two or three want to move around to get out of comfort zone?

5.       Small talks

6.       One thing leads to another

7.       Smart phones

8.    7 minutes

Things I Remembered After

• Everyone was pretty much the same
• People really didn't want to move
• It was kind of difficult to focus on everyone else, my notes, and the people I was talking to all at the same time
• I found myself remembering people by what they were wearing, which made it so much easier to remember what they told me rather than to write it down

Specifics

• A lot of education majors
• Many are Elementary/Middle
• Not so many just "writing" majors
• People tend to first mention their major, after they re state their name
• At first we all gravitated towards the people we sat behind

 

 

Field Notes

 

     As a class, we did an ethnographic study/research or our class. The entire things took about seven minutes. First, our instructor told us to get up and have an inconspicuous device to jot down notes.  The first thing I noticed is everyone took out their smart phones. Dr. Chandler stood in the front of the class for most of the period, and briefly walking through when she wanted others to engage with each other.After, we were told to talk to someone we don't really know. I first spoke to the two ladies that sit in front of me. I found out that their names are Jessica and Briana. Jessica wore a red hoodie which made her easy to remember, and Briana had a bun in her hair, which was also easy for recognition. The first thing I really noticed was how awkward everyone felt; arms crossed and limited speaking. Jessica was very focused "all around," as in she was talking to us, but also very aware of her surroundings. Briana was as well, but more focused on just our group and close area, not the whole class. We then stayed talking in out little group and didn't really leave until the instructor told us to move; I noticed everyone else did the same thing and didn't want to leave their comfort zones. After, Brenda and Amanda came to where I was standing and it was more of a casual conversation, since we were all getting use to this activity. Brenda and I clicked quickly because we had a class together last semester so the conversation was much easier and it flowed nicely. I don't remember what Brenda wore, but it doesn't matter since I had class with her before. Amanda on the other hand I do not really know. She is blonde and seems kind of shy. She comes off as shy but seems friendly and was engaging in the conversation. I began to notice that people were talking more and getting more comfortable; I don't remember if arms were still crossed for most people. John came to talk to us towards the end, he was very talkative. Dr. Chandler dismissed up to go back to our seats soon after John came to speak to us, so I don't really know much about him.

  

     What I noticed between conversations were the same thing; name, major, and talking briefly about the activity we were currently involved in. I really wanted to focus on the class as a whole, but it was difficult with all the different conversations going on as a whole.