I work at UBC’s School of Pharmaceutical Sciences.
This past Wednesday, our beloved first-year students had their comprehensive exam to wrap up the semester.
Over 200 students were split in half — one group went through a series of rotations from 8 am to 12 pm, and the other group from 1 pm to 5 pm. I had to be around for both chunks.
I knew this would be an interesting day for me to track my attention. I was involved with these exams last term too, and they really went by in a blur. You’re on your feet for most of the day, and you’re always around people responsible for different elements of the operation — invigilators, examiners, administrators, and so on.
And of course, there are the students too.
THE DAILY MORNING ROUTINE
I made it to work at around 7 am, but my day really began at 5:15 am when my alarm went off in Coquitlam.
Tracking attention during this 2-hour window wasn’t difficult — likely a combination of (1) my singular focus on beating traffic and getting to work on time, (2) having a routine to follow, and (3) just being too tired to think about anything else.
Here’s a simple spreadsheet I put together, and I’ll provide some commentary where I see fit as well:
Row 2 — I don’t snooze, believe it or not!
Row 3 — I usually check for deals while I’m getting ready (i.e. brushing my teeth, moisturizing my face, admiring my hair) in the bathroom. My thinking is that I might actually be awake early enough to catch some crazy doorcrasher…
Row 7 — I don’t look at my phone while driving, but I will ask Siri to read me my notifications.
Rows 11 — I let my hair air-dry in the morning to save time, and it usually sets by the time I get to campus.
Rows 13 — Whoever designed the PharmSci building was a huge fan of glass, and it is through the large glass windows that you can see right into the lobby. On exam days, I pay closer attention to how many students are there to do some last minute studying. It also gives me an idea of how heavy elevator traffic might be, and whether my introverted self will be taking the stairs up to the 5th floor that morning.
SCREEN TIME
After washing my hands — fine, I also checked my hair again — the first time I did was turn on my laptop. I wanted to check if any students had emailed to ask about potential tech issues.
Before I started working, I never thought too much about screen time because I felt like it was just a number. As a grad student for example, I stared at my essay-in-progress for hours on end everyday. The number was high, but it honestly didn’t feel like a problem.
With work though, there are tasks which could be time-sensitive. These tasks can also come in a variety of forms and requests, or may require collaboration and assistance from others — in other words, my screen time now involves multiple priorities, needs, and people.
It’s also spread to multiple devices as well — I find myself answering emails or messages while walking to the bathroom, all because technology lets me do so…
THE EXAM
Anyways, I still don’t fully understand the exam schedule but I do know it worked so here it is:
To understand my role better, you should know that:
- Work Up = 35 minute quiz
- Written #1 = 20 minute quiz
- Written #2 = 20 minute quiz
Depending on the colour of tape on their desks, all students start with the Work Up before they’re sent to different places or “stations”.
My main responsibilities included:
- make sure students can find the right quizzes on Canvas
- make sure students enter the correct access codes
- address any tech issues they might have (i.e. disconnected from wifi)
- check that submissions went through okay
As you might be able to guess, most of these tasks happen at the beginning and end of each rotation. In theory, it looks like I have some downtime once each quiz launches right?
ENVIRONMENT AND DISTRACTION
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple…
The comprehensive exam takes place across different rooms on a single floor, and all of the staff involved gather in an open area somewhere in the middle.
I’m disappointed in myself for not taking a photo of what I’ll call our “hub”, but just know that it’s not really set up for work. Everyone stands, and there’s a large cabinet where laptops, water bottles, and snacks are placed on top as a makeshift standing desk — we would probably all agree though that this setup is neither ergonomic or conducive to productivity.
People are always moving around as well — students going to the bathroom or being chaperoned to the next station, staff checking on the rooms or coming together for quick chats between slots. I had to kind of actively tune everything out if I wanted to read or respond to an email, for example.
REPETITION AND FAMILIARITY
After the first hour or so, I found that I was no longer thinking about making it to 12 pm. Instead, I was just looking forward to when the quiz timer would hit zero again and usher in the next rotation.
Like clockwork, I would enter the rooms a few minutes before the quizzes ended just to be present when student submissions started trickling in. In all honesty, I mostly just stood there but I do think my presence gave the invigilators and students some peace of mind…
Everyone is already familiar with myself (or others from my office), since we’ve been around to support classes and assessments throughout the entire term. This familiarity lets our invigilators and students pay attention to their own tasks — if something goes wrong with the tech, they know they’ll be supported.
MULTIPLE PLACES AT ONCE
Somehow we made it through the morning session, and the smell of fried chicken (complimentary!) filled the air.
I did have to hop downstairs to check in on another exam scheduled to launch at noon though, which delayed my greasy fingers from latching onto the greasy takeout. In fact, I even got a reminder that my food was ready for pick up while I was in that classroom.
We create a Teams thread for every exam to track issues, and for support staff to communicate in real-time. This is what I had open on my computer when I finally went upstairs to eat, my gaze alternating between my sandwich and the screen — that darn screen again.
I should also note that my phone was vibrating with every incoming message as well. Usually I have this off, but I was expecting a call that day and I didn’t want to miss it.
NERVOUS ATTENTION
I guess I can talk about this call, actually.
Without going into too much detail, I had taken my car in for service the day before. The issue required some time to fix, so they gave me (1) a courtesy car and (2) a promise that they would call to give me an update.
They also said something about fees if I kept the courtesy car longer than I should…
The call never came though, and so at around 4 pm (they close at 5) I gave in to my worried mind and called them myself. Citton (2017) says we have “a certain control over our immediate environment” — picking up the phone was my way of exercising it (p.174).
On the other hand, Citton (2017) also suggests that this control is “always extremely limited” (p.174). The car somehow ended up being ready, and they even drove it to UBC so we could swap — but I was always at the mercy of their workflows and schedules.
I did feel much better after I got my car back though and took my mind off it.
SURPRISE SURPRISE
We had next to no tech issues throughout the day, so it was a surprise when one did come up.
A student flagged me down, but I wasn’t really understanding what he was saying at first — in fact, it took almost an hour for me to get it after discussing the issue with others who were just as confused.
When I was first chatting with him though, I knew that we only had a minute or two before the next quiz needed to launch. One or two other staff members also joined our huddle in that moment, which wasn’t really productive for me since they started asking the student their own questions.
I can’t say that I was stressed because I’ve been in those situations before, but it’s never a good feeling to have your attention pulled in different directions — especially with a time crunch looming in the background. I came up with a decent solution in the end, but it certainly wasn’t the best one…
Eventually, the day came to an end.
Looking at it as a whole and maybe in context of what we can apply to teaching and learning, I’d say that there was an interesting dynamic between what I’ll call passive and active attention.
The former can be noticed in the routine, the predictable, and the familiar. I think of this as a sign that educators should focus on building good habits within their students — getting them to think about academic integrity in every stage of a course for example, rather than just at the beginning in the syllabus.
The latter happens when external — and perhaps unexpected — factors emerge. In these cases, I think that agency is key. Maybe students shouldn’t be held to just one way of learning or problem-solving, but be encouraged to stay flexible and adaptable. You could even say the same for instructors too…
Citton, Y. (2017). Conclusion: Towards an Attention Ecology. In The Ecology of Attention. John Wiley & Sons.
