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Abstract This is a Work in Progress paper. The purpose of this study is to collect and analyze student perspectives on a digital systems course with both lecture and laboratory sessions, to gain insight into what motivates students to attend (or not attend) the scheduled class sessions. This Work in Progress paper discusses preliminary results from an end-of-semester survey in which students were asked to report their attendance along with their motivations to attend or not attend lecture and/or laboratory sessions. The survey responses were recorded anonymously, and responses to open-ended questions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Future work will repeat student surveys at several times throughout the semester and survey results will be supplemented with instructor observations. The broader goal of this study is not necessarily to increase attendance. Rather, the goal is to analyze students' perspectives on the utility of attendance, and to attempt to draw broader conclusions about student motivation in relation to class structure and environment.
Kara Bocan (Sun,) studied this question.