Abstract:
The purpose of this classroom-based research was to investigate the
factors that were involved in students' diary-keeping. The subjects
of the study were 3 first year undergraduate students. They were
from the Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of
Engineering at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi
(KMUTT). The research instruments used for data gathering were
subjects' diaries, interviews, and questionnaires.
The researcher applied a micro-ethnographic research approach and
verbal reports to investigate the data. The data were mainly drawn
from the subjects' diaries which could be divided into two types:
the ones written in the classroom and the ones written in the
think-aloud sessions. The interviews were retrospective interviews
where the subjects gave more insights towards their own performances
in the diaries. Finally, the questionnaires were administered at
the end of the data-gathering process. In the questionnaires,
the subjects were asked to give their overall ideas towards their
own diary-keeping in this research.
The findings of this study revealed that there were a number of
factors that influenced the student's diary-keeping. Those factors
came from the students themselves, the teachers, and other contexts
such as lessons, culture, and situations. It was found that the
teachers' management during the pre- and while- stage of the diary
task could have a great effect on the subjects' perceptions and
involvement. However, there was an indirect support from the
teachers, which could make the situations of diary-keeping change
in a positive way. This support occurred via the responses that
the teachers' interacted with the students in the diaries.