Posts Tagged ‘encouraging student participation’
December 16 - Making the Review of Assigned Reading Meaningful
By: Sarah K. Clark, PhD in Effective Teaching Strategies
The typical college student dreads hearing, “Let’s review the chapters you read for homework.” What generally ensues is a question and answer drill in which students are peppered with questions designed to make clear who has and hasn’t done the reading. In reality, these exchanges do little to encourage deep thought or understanding of the assigned reading. They produce awkward silences during which students squirm in their seats, hoping to become invisible. Other times students decline to answer for fear of giving the wrong answer. Almost all the time a negative tone permeates the classroom during this review. I decided to restructure the way that I approached reviews of reading assignments, and found that by doing things differently, I could change both the tone and outcomes of the review activity. I’d like to share some of the ideas and techniques that I have found useful:
September 21 - Practical Ideas for Improving Student Participation
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
At a recent workshop at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, I asked participants to identify the one thing about participation they would most like to change in their classrooms. From a variety of items mentioned, we decided to focus on three. They are listed below along with a range of solutions suggested by the group. Some of the solutions apply to more than one of the problems.
August 12 - Structuring Discussion to Engage Students
By: Nachamma Sockalingam PhD in Teaching and Learning
Instructors face a Herculean challenge in managing discussion – whether the discussion is face-to-face or online. To be an effective instructor, it is important to learn how to facilitate discussion, and keep the dialogue flowing without veering off topic.
August 4 - Participation Policies and Student Motivation
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
A number of excellent comments were posted in response to the July 7 post which raised questions about how much participation should count. Thank you to those of you who contributed and a suggestion that those of you who read the post early might want to revisit the comments section.
August 2 - Shy Students in the College Classroom: What Does it Take to Improve Participation?
By: Mary Bart in Teaching and Learning
When I was in college I never raised my hand. Never. I didn’t raise my hand when I thought I knew the answer. I didn’t raise my hand even when I knew the answer with 100% absolute certainty. And I didn’t raise my hand when the professor was practically pleading for someone, anyone, to please participate.
July 7 - How Much Should Class Participation Count toward the Final Grade?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
Two faculty researchers assembled a large collection of syllabi from introductory courses in their field and then analyzed them to see how much active learning it looked like the teacher would be including in those classes. It’s a really neat research design which I explain in the next issue of The Teaching Professor newsletter. They also looked how much participation and in-class discussion counted in the total grade calculation and that’s what I want to write about in this post.
May 23 - Tips for Creating a Participatory Classroom Environment
By: Mary Bart in Teaching and Learning
All too often students shuffle into class, take notes while the professor lectures for 50 minutes or so, and then pack up and leave. Rinse and repeat throughout the semester. Some might never raise their hand, offer their opinion, or even learn the name of the person sitting in front of them.
May 2 - Strategies for Facilitating More Effective Classroom Discussions
By: Mary Bart in Effective Teaching Strategies
If you’ve been teaching for any amount of time, you probably have a few nicknames for students based on the personality traits they exhibit. Roben Torosyan, PhD, associate director of the Center for Academic Excellence at Fairfield University, has some nicknames for his students, too. Names like Q, Sunny, and Light Bulb.
February 15 - 10 Benefits of Getting Students to Participate in Classroom Discussions
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching and Learning
Participation is one of those workhorse instructional strategies—easy to use, straightforward, expected, and often quite successful at accomplishing a number of learning goals. It’s good to remind ourselves of its many different uses, especially on those days when getting students to participate feels like pulling hens’ teeth.
January 27 - 9 Ways to Use Class Discussion to Promote Transformation
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Classroom discussion – whether face-to-face or online – is a vital part of higher education today, valued as way to explore course content while promoting critical thinking and effective communication. Learn how to improve your class discussions by attending this seminar.
Dr. Roben Torosyan is a frequent speaker on faculty development for national organizations and institutions, including the Faculty Learning Community Facilitators’ Conference, the Teaching Professor, the POD Network, Harvard, Columbia and NYU. As associate director of the Center for Academic Excellence and assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Fairfield University, he has extensive experience in the scholarship of teaching and learning.