Nancy's Reading Notes #3

Upon reaching week four of my first semester teaching college undergraduates, I noticed that there has been a decline in participation from one of my Communication 110 (Intro to Public Speaking) sections. After some reflection, I believe that part of the reason may be because the class contains mostly sophomores and juniors, and meets early in the morning. Now that the semester is underway, these students may be feeling the workload from all of their courses. This leads me to consider implementing more classroom activities and discussions in order to regain attention and increase participation.

Davis explains a multitude of ways to increase student participation. The two ideas which I believe deserve to be discussed in class are “limiting instructor responses” and “dividing students into small groups” (p. 107). As a new instructor, I know that when I pose a question and all eyes are on the floor, I can either assume that the students are not prepared, they do not understand the question, or that they feel uncomfortable answering. When those few moments of “dead air” pass by, how long should I give students to answer before changing the question, or answering it myself? Conversely, when students do give responses, I feel I may be so grateful that a response was given that I tend to move on instead of probing the class to create a more in-depth conversation. Limiting instructor comments and placing students in small groups seem like great ways to encourage discussion among classmates.

Just as Davis mentions placing students in small groups to encourage participation by creating a less threatening environment, Lang discusses the idea of “Think-Pair-Share” (p. 93). I think this idea is important because not only does it help create a more comfortable atmosphere for students, but it tends to boost their confidence. This should be discussed in class as a great way to help shy/quiet students participate, and to allow the instructor to walk around and check in with these small groups. As the instructor checks in with these smaller groups, it helps offer more personalized attention since the instructor is not addressing the entire class. Shy or self-conscious students may feel uncomfortable asking questions in front of the entire class, and they may open up more to two or three other peers.

Aside from helping students work together to increase participation, Lang also discusses the idea of what to do when the discussion veers off topic. I think this is very important because when students begin to feel passionate about a topic and become very involved, I feel bad jumping into the discussion to redirect them because I do not want to ruin the momentum. What are the best ways to approach changing and redirecting a topic without making the students feel like they have done something wrong?

To address the lack of participation I am experiences with one of my classes, I almost wonder if I should adopt a grading procedure for participation in my future semesters. Currently, I do not grade participation; however, I believe it may encourage students to talk if it were required. Then again, would it “encourage” discussion, or would it make students feel as though they are being “forced” to talk?