Field Notes

High School Seniors and Effective Use of Study Hall Time

Ziad Y. Alzakari

The Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) is a private bilingual school in Washington, D.C.'s metropolitan area. The school was established in 1984 to enable students of Arab and Muslim immigrants to maintain the values of Islam, proficiency with the Arabic language, and academic excellence. The academy consists of separate boys' and girls' campuses; students come from a range of cultural backgrounds and participate in either our International Baccalaureate (IB) program or a regular college prep program.

ISA is currently facing a challenging behavioral issue: cultural mismatches between students' and the school's attitudes toward use of study hall time. By examining the issue from several cultural perspectives, I was able to study aspects of a dilemma and seek solutions that would enhance the use of study hall periods.

Data-Based Decisions

I focused my data collection on a group of senior boys who were not enrolled in the IB program and who had a less demanding schedule than other students in the school: each student in this group had approximately three study halls per week. The school does not have a designated area where the students spend their study hall periods and the library is not available for male students to access every day. This group of boys would usually spend their study hall periods hanging out with each other in the hallways, disturbing other students, or going to the administrator's office to ask permission to leave school. I decided to investigate the situation from different perspectives in order to find various ways for these students to utilize their time in a more beneficial way.

I collected data from a survey questionnaire, students' interviews, teachers' interviews, observations, and students' cumulative folders. I wanted to know how students perceived study hall time so that I could better understand gaps between student and school expectations. Over the span of a month, I personally observed students during study hall periods to examine their behaviors and attitudes toward study hall periods. I also looked at students' cumulative folders for links between study halls and poor academic or behavioral performance. I hoped to use this information to plan appropriate interventions.

Student interview data provided the most valuable information: the majority of students saw study hall as "free" or "wasted" time, a clear antecedent to their disruptive behavior. All but one student said they were used to doing homework at home, as they had when they went to school in Saudi Arabia. Students did not see study hall periods as beneficial; at their previous schools in Saudi Arabia, they would typically leave school during "free" periods. For most, study hall as a place and time to do work was a totally new concept that they had not experienced at other schools. Some did say that they did feel motivated to participate in study hall when the teacher was "cool" and when they had opportunities to do nonacademic tasks, like decorating for a special event. Student surveys showed that students wanted the option to leave school, spend their time in a senior lounge, and have greater access to computers or the library during study hall periods.

Teacher interviews revealed a different perspective regarding study hall periods. Teachers saw these periods as beneficial but challenging because students are usually noisy and disturb other students and classes. In addition, all teachers were against the idea of giving students the option to leave school because they believed that students would be late for the next class. Some teachers would come up with tasks to focus students' use of study hall time, some would tutor students, and one encouraged students to work on college applications.

Observations confirmed that students used study hall time to gain permission to leave school (which, when granted, usually meant they were late for the following period), to use technology (either in the library or on their own smartphones), or to disrupt other classes. Review of cumulative folders revealed that several of these disruptions had led to behavioral referrals.

Enacting Two Interventions

It was clear that something needed to be done to change the way that students were using their time during study hall. Based on staff and students' cultural beliefs and values and the data obtained during this study, I created an intervention plan consisting of two main actions. First, because the school library is not available for the boys' use every day, I found it necessary to designate a specific room for study hall periods. And because student study halls were a new concept for most of the students, I also found it critical to have a teacher supervise the students so that they used their time in a more beneficial way. Moreover, in order to have a positive effect on students' motivation and learning experience, it was important for me to choose a teacher whom the students considered to be "cool" and helpful.

The second action plan was to engage students in something meaningful—something that might be different from their typical coursework but still involved learning in some way. I came up with a project that asked students to translate some of the school's event reports from English to Arabic and then publish both versions on the school's website and the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education's website. Students also had the option to help and tutor elementary students with their homework and assignments during their study hall periods. I also encouraged students to write proposals suggesting other activities they might do during study hall periods.

As I monitored these interventions over the next five weeks, both students and teachers reported positive effects. Students were more engaged, and teachers were able to focus on learning instead of discipline. All parties were more satisfied with the study hall experience, and it even motivated students to write a proposal to establish a school newspaper where they can write articles regarding various issues and school events.

I strongly believe that this positive resolution would not have been possible without creating an environment for two-way communication between students and faculty. By accounting for student perspectives, we were able to make study hall meaningful again.

Ziad Y. Alzakari is the boys' school principal at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Va.

ASCD Express, Vol. 8, No. 22. Copyright 2013 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.