The student survey analysis section of the report provides rich insights into the ways in which Carleton students perceive their working environments and the choices they make in engaging the campus while working on assignments. These findings relate to the spaces in which students work, sources of curricular support, and the times of day students work.
Learning Space Design and Assignment Type:
Students reported seeking solitary workspaces at greater rates and looking for “help nearby” at lower rates when working on writing assignments. As students increasingly include visual elements in writings assignment, many will need to become more skilled in the techniques and technologies associated with visual materials. It is important to reach out to students and help to connect them to existing and new sources of support without disrupting existing workspaces…. (Student Survey Analysis, p. 85)
Variations in Support Needs by Class Year:
First-year students and sophomores reported seeking assistance from student workers at academic support centers as well as teaching assistants or prefects at a greater rate than juniors or seniors. This finding may have particularly important implications in terms of tailoring curricular support for first- and second-year students as well as for efforts to refine the curricular support role of students working in support centers or who are assigned to play support roles for specific courses. (Student Survey Analysis, p. 80)
Aligning Support with Student Needs and Work Times:
…There is clear evidence that juniors and seniors adjust their work hours and report seeking help [at a greater rate] from their professors in the afternoon in comparison to first- and second-year students. Students earlier in their Carleton careers may benefit from learning the practices of more senior students. This disjunction between the business hours of the College and the working patterns of students may also benefit from increased considerations of how to effectively incorporate students into curricular support as Carleton students work on assignments including those that incorporate visual materials. (Student Survey Analysis, p. 85)
A full version of the study is freely available online.