PROCEEDINGS OF THE 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION (Vol 2)
2012
Portland, Oregon
What do Students do in Self-formed Mathematics Study Groups?
Page: 2-435
While it is widely taken as understood that students should be spending additional time outside of the typical undergraduate mathematics classroom studying, little is known about how students spend that study time. Currently available research has investigated how much time students spend outside of the classroom studying, whether they work alone or with others, and what materials students keep on hand while studying. However all of these studies rely on self-reported data in the form of interviews or anonymous surveys. This ethnographic study undertakes to expand our understanding of what activities students are engaged in when they say that they are “studying” through direct observation, journal entries, and interviews. Particular attention is given to how students study together in groups and how students make use of the materials they bring with them for studying purposes.