Classroom Observation Paper

Our group observed a computer lab for game design majors on three separate occasions. The reason we chose a game design lab is that there are numerous interactions that tend to occur simultaneously. While the lab is a place designed for productivity, students use the space for other a range of activities, such as working on school assignments, socializing, or engaging in recreation. We expect to observe behaviors like these in this setting. The computer lab is a large room, comprised of curved desks of computers, each equipped with two monitors. The space has an open design, allowing for people to move around and work together easily. We primarily observed presumed students frequent and use the lab. These people almost always wore jackets or sweatshirts, t-shirts, pants and sneakers, and carried backpacks. Most of the students in the lab, whether in a group or as individuals, were men. We saw less than 10 women in the lab at one time over the three instances we observed. Also, although we do not know ethnicities of individuals for certain, students’ ethnic appearances were somewhat diverse; a majority of people were white, followed by asian (including Indian and Middle Eastern), hispanic, and black. …show more content…
A majority of people would remain by themselves at a computer, and most of these would be wearing headphones or have headphones on their person. On a few occasions, an individual at a computer would be approached by another person or in even rarer cases multiple people would approach the individual, and a conversation between the two or more would emerge, seemingly about the task the first person was doing or about something the two or more people had in common, such as a class or friend group. Some people would enter and exit the lab as a group, and others did not join the group after they arrived at the