Field Notes

What you should write after every trip to your site.

Taking Field Notes Each time you visit your service

learning site, you will need to write up field notes.

Field notes will vary in length, but for a one hour visit: you should be able to generate at least ONE PAGE OF NOTES. Most of the time, your field notes will be longer. Field notes will be turned in and graded three times in the semester.

February 28, April 17 and May 27

Field Note Format Each field note should start with your

name, date and time you worked. NOTE: We MUST be able to match up your field notes with your supervisor’s log hours.

Example:

Courtney HummFebruary 7 visit/ Salvation Army3:30 to 5:30

What are field notes? Field notes serve as your record of

your experience for each site visit. It is your detailed account of what happened and what you observed. It is not a journal which outlines your reactions.

Field notes should be done as soon as you return from your site visit.

What does it mean to observe

To observe is to notice what is around you and then record it. You should not interpret what is going on. You should not analyze what is going on. That said, as a person at a service learning site you will interpret and analyze– for the purpose of your field notes be aware of when you are interpreting and analyzing and write it that way (this is not easy)

For example…

A woman and a child walk into your (Service Learning) SL site together

Bad field notes: A mom and her kid came in. The mom looked really young, like 18– she must have been like 13 when her daughter was born.

Good field notes: A woman and a child walked in together. I assumed they were mother and daughter. The mother looked really young, like 18. I observed myself thinking, “wow, she must have been 13 when her daughter was born!”

What does it mean to observe? Do not analyze what you see in your field

notes

BAD FIELD NOTES: Leo and I worked on his math homework for the next 15 minutes. HE was doing long division. He got very frustrated. I think he has some kind of learning disability or maybe he just can’t get help at home because I don’t think his parents speak English.

What does it mean to observe? GOOD FIELD NOTES: Leo and I worked on his

math homework for the next 15 minutes. He was doing long division. He stopped doing the work after a few minutes and said, “I hate math.” He crossed his arms and sat back. I said, “Let’s try one more together.” I started to do the problem, talking it out as I went. After a few minutes, he uncrossed his arms. When I said, “How many times does 5 go into 25?” He answered, “5,” in what I noticed myself observing was a grumpy voice.

What do I write about? Here is a list of things you might want

to write about:• Physical description of the space• Describe people there, what they were

wearing, what they look like• Description fo things you noted: like all of the

boys playing basketball while all of the girls watched

• Describe situations that happen• Describe what you did and how people

responded to what you did

The best field notes Have lots of dialogue

When I read the notes I feel like I am there. I can see and hear what’s going on.

Stupendously bad examples of field notes

Well, today I went to the rec center• Played basketball with a couple of kids• Had snacks with them• Helped a kid with math homework• Stayed 2 hours

Outline form is not acceptable. Not enough details to be useful.

Bad examples of field notes

Today I went to the Salvation Army and I helped this kid with his homework. I could not believe how easy the homework was and I could tell he didn’t want my help, anyway.

Problem: centers on your reaction and doesn’t describe what happened

More things not to do… When I was at the rec center today there

were these three Somali girls who were so smart. I just loved reading with them. They were so eager to learn and we laughed so much about the books we read.

PROBLEM: How do you know they were Somali? What made you think they were smart? What was so funny? How did you end up with these three girls? There is no observation and detail, only reaction and interpretation here.

Things to emulate… Today I went to the Boys and Girls Club and

was greeted near the front desk by Sam. I met Sam last week in the Stars room. When I walked in he said, “Hey Josh, you’re back!” Sam was wearing baggy pants and a shirt with the saying, “Got Rice?” He asked if I would come play basketball with him and I did. We went to the gym. There were only 5 other people in the gym. As we played, Sam told me that he attended a family reunion over the weekend…

One more good example for the road…

Today I went to the Boys and Girls Club and was told by Jim, a supervisor, that they needed help in the tutoring center… When I asked if a student needed help shrugged his shoulders. He was wearing a soccer jersey. I asked if I could see what he was working on. He showed me and it was a math worksheet. I noticed one of the problems was wrong and I decided to point it out to him. He said, “whatever” and moved away from me. I noticed myself feeling embarrassed.

Grading your field notes I will read your initial field notes to

give you feedback on whether you have enough detail, if you are avoiding interpretation and analysis, etc.

Your field notes will be graded on both the quality of data you collected (observation, sufficient detail) and the hours you’ve volunteered up to that point