Places, Places, Everyone
In my car.
On my bed.
On my friend/girlfriend/boyfriend's couch.
(No, that's not where this is going 🥴😳🤣)
Starbucks.
Chick-fil-a.
These are the kinds of answers I get when I ask students where they study.
"Ever heard of the library?" I ask.
Place is such an important element in building a living situation that supports learning. Our brains are wired for all kinds of connections, and the places we frequent and what those spaces are designed for send strong messages to us about how we behave in them. Beds are for sleeping. Gyms are for exercising. Classrooms are for learning. Hospitals are for healing. What spaces are reserved only for lucubrating? (Ask your student if they have lucubrated lately. It's a fun word to know when you have a college student.)
Just like the specialized places mentioned above, a study space has its own specific list of requirements. It must be 1) relatively free from distraction, 2) comfortable but not "flannel pants, fleece blanket, and pillow" comfortable, 3) accessible to a hard-top surface large enough to display books, laptop, notebooks, etc., 4) brightly lit, and 5) equipped with tools for learning. Oh, and 6) WIFI, too! Gotta have WIFI!
Actually, a student needs as many as three different places like this on campus to maximize learning outcomes. Varying environmental conditions from time to time can actually wake us up a bit because our goal related responses to each environment grow weaker over time. (The psychological term for it is dishabituation.) Changing environments is actually good for learning, and a break between study blocks is, as they say, a whole 'nother level of beneficial (see spaced or distributed practice). I recommend three spaces that are generally all easily available on most college campuses: a study carrel in a residence hall common room, the quiet floor of the library, and one small cafe, academic building lobby, or student lounge area. If and only if conditions in a student's room, suite, or apartment are ideal for studying do I ever recommend staying put at home to study. I consider it a non-controlled environment, and even if it starts out fine, it usually doesn't stay that way for long. Of course, each scenario must be assessed on its own merits.
Environmental cues like lighting, sound, seating, and the designated purpose of the space are not always a student's first consideration when planning to study. More often than not, they plan study around relationships, and while that can be leveraged properly in certain situations, who you are studying with or near should never be the first line of thinking.
So have a chat with your student about where and with whom they are studying. Maybe suggest some variation. If they don't believe you, feel free to share my number 770-598-2564. I receive student texts until 9 PM, Sunday through Friday! Happy lucubrating, everyone!