A further analysis of activity in the two different classrooms led to a study of
students’ comfortability with various learning activities in the class. Students’
comfortability with the learning activity tended to influence how vigorously they
participated in or resisted completing the activities. Activities that the instructor asks
students to complete will have a certain inherent structure to them (from open ended to
prescribed). No matter the structure to the activity, students tend to approach the activity
falling somewhere between wanting to be shown exactly what to do and wanting to
struggle through on their own and ask questions when they get stuck. The students’
approach and the structure of the activity itself will influence how comfortable the
student is with the activity. In addition to the structure of the problem and the students’
approach to the activity, students will also tend to have an attitudinal disposition toward
the activity in general. Their mind-set will be somewhere between wanting to just do
what they are required to do to complete the activity and wanting to understand the
purpose behind the activity. These aspects of structure, approach, and mind-set shape
how comfortable a student will be with the learning activity in the specific learning
environment and will influence how willing the student is to engage and participate in the
activity.