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Jacqueline Mahaboob

Instructor: Malcolm Campbell

English 1101

October 28, 2014

FO5

After observing my lab group for several meeting sessions I have noticed many trends

that seem typical, while some of my other observations veered from the common stereotypes.

This lab group is made up of 26 students that are taking a course called Computing

Professionals, which is a freshman seminar class for students with a Computer Science major.

The group meets formally once every week on Mondays at 3:30 in a classroom located in the

Atkins Library at UNC- Charlotte. The classroom we meet in has a lecture style set up with

several rows of tables where four students can sit together and face a large projection screen. The

group meets for an hour and fifteen minutes and during that time we follow a routine; first

attendance is taken, then our instructor informs us on the topic of the day which is followed by a

class discussion or smaller group discussion. The topics that we converse about revolve around

professionalism in the working world and career planning. These discussions are based on topics

that are meant to help students learn about professionalism and how being successful requires the

use of specific tactics, such as goal planning or the proper use of a schedule. This small lab group

fits into the much larger Computer Science community which consists of faculty members,

graduate students, and undergraduate students. This larger community is continuously growing

due to the high demand for students in this major to meet the demand of the job market and fill

positions in the information technology field.

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In the several weeks that I observed this group I noticed many similarities among the

students, as well as some occasional differences. Just from listening to my peers talking around

me I could hear that some of the terminology used in the class has to do with the computing

language called C++. Most of the students in this lab group also have another introduction to

Computer Science class together where they are learning to code in C++. This results in some of

the conversation in our lab to be about their current assignment or upcoming test for their coding

class. Aside from verbal communication in class we often use Mahara, a tool similar to a Google

Drive, to submit any assignments we have done to be viewed by our instructor or fellow

classmates.

A couple of visual similarities that I have noticed are clothing and accessories that the

students wear to the lab sessions. The majority of the students dress fairly casually, wearing

jeans and graphic t-shirts or sweatshirts and sneakers. Oftentimes multiple people in the class

wear the same type of graphic t-shirt, such as a Star Wars themed t-shirt. However, there a

couple of girls in the group who dress noticeably more fashionably, and they dress in a similar

style to one another. For example, both girls wear the same type of UGG boots and similar types

of trendy jewelry. Overall, the students in my lab do not seem to be very concerned with keeping

up with the latest fashion trends, so they dress with comfort and convenience in mind.

Observing body language and the behavior of each student can also tell us a lot about the

group dynamic. One of our in class assignments was to take the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

(MBTI) Online Assessment where each student answers a questionnaire that determined certain

personality traits such as whether the student is an extrovert or introvert. Over two-thirds of the

class fell into the introvert category, which is the typical stereotype for someone who is a

Computer Science major, as they are typically thought of as people who tend to keep to

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themselves. The members of the class who were deemed extroverts seemed to have expected that

they would due to their more assertive and talkative nature. The Myers-Briggs categorizations

are evident in every lab session while watching the students interact with each other. Whether in

large class discussions or small group settings, it is easy to see who contributes the most ideas

and asks the most questions as compared to who listens to what the group has to say. In groups

where there are one more multiple extroverts the conversation is fluid, and in others that are

composed of mostly or entirely introverts there is little conversation after the specific discussion

topic has been addressed. The body language that is displayed around the classroom also

contributes to this because the students who were classified as introverts often sit quietly in their

seats observing and listening to their peers with arms crossed or hands folded. The extroverts in

the class are typically hopping from seat to seat to be able to talk to different people and often

talking with their hands and more visible emotion. Some students tend to stay close to each other

so as to create a comfort zone and other students sit in a new seat with someone new each

session.

Another common stereotype that Computer Science students are faced with is that they

are very intelligent, but is sometimes negatively construed as nerdy or “know it all.” In reality

many Computer Science students that I have come across are genuinely interested in and

passionate about programming and have practiced coding in many different languages prior to

college for enjoyment. This results in a lot of students in my major appearing as if they already

have all of the answers, which is simply because they do. Being stereotyped as smart is not

necessarily a bad thing, so most of the stereotypes among the community are acknowledged and

ignored or proudly represented.

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Interview: Rick

From this group of students I chose to interview a close peer of mine who we will refer to

as Rick. Rick is also a freshman Computer Science major and plans to focus on coding in the

language of Java. When I interviewed him after a lab session I asked him a series of questions

beginning with “What do you gain from attending this lab class?” Rick responded by saying, “I

am gaining a better understanding of the networking side of Computer Science and how to

professionally interact with my peers. Also I have learned many ways to put myself out there

such as creating a LinkedIn account.” I followed this question with another by asking, “How do

you think the group of students interacts with each other?” Rick replied by saying, “Sometimes

having a conversation with people in the class is hard because they will just answer your

question and then stop talking rather than asking a follow up question or expanding on their

answer. It is the same kind of conversation when answering questions that are asked by the

instructor; not many people take the initiative to answer in front of the whole class.” Lastly I

asked Rick, “What beliefs, values or tastes do you think the group has in common, if any?” To

which he answered, “Most people must share the belief that Computer Science is a good major

seeing as how we are all in it, and I guess tastes we share would be that a lot of people like to

code and like math. In terms of personal taste, people seem to like some of the same shows or

movies.”

After my interview with Rick I considered his responses to my questions to see if they fit

with my observations. I found that a lot of what he said about interacting with his peers matched

closely with my observations of how students interact with each other during class. Many

students seem to prefer to keep to themselves or might find it hard to find something to talk

about with their peers. Although some students are more introverted than others, we are all there

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for the same purpose; to pursue greater knowledge of programming, gain a degree in Computer

Science and ultimately secure a well-paying and rewarding job in the field. This overarching

similarity is usually the main recurring topic of discussion during that class. This lab teaches us

that communication is key to growing a successful career, and by observing this group of

students I am gaining an understanding of behavioral trends of people in this field and how those

behaviors will advance or compromise their future careers in Computer Science.