There are many different aspects of the classroom that can be controlled directly by the teacher but in class participation is an area that is an unknown and can be scary at times. After class on Wednesday, I talked with a few of my peers at work on the topic. They seemed to feel about the same. It is difficult to get students to participate it they "don't want too."
Other things that seemed to come out is how different classes can be. For example, lets say that I teach English 10 in 2nd and 4th period, 2nd period may not discuss anything at all while 4th period won't stop talking about it. While I am glad 4th period is talking about it, what are some strategies that I can use to help get my other classes engaged in the discussion and learning the material?
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Here’s my thinking about class participation-
Quiet students: If you are going to college (high school is slightly different) part of the experience of college is stretching yourself and for some people that means speaking in class, even when the teacher is intimidating. I see nothing wrong with calling on students for their opinions about class reading, etc, if they “don’t have an opinion” they are not thinking about the material and should be encouraged to come to the next class with an opinion. Yes, this will make some people uncomfortable, but how well are you going to survive “the real word” if you can’t speak up when necessary? A shy person who makes a brief, but insightful, comments once in a while, should get full (or almost full) participation points.
Non-talkative class: Do not underestimate the power of silence. Ask your question, “what stood out to you in the reading?” and then just stop talking. Almost always someone will be too uncomfortable with the silence and speak up. When the class learns that the questions aren’t going away (not is the silence), they will (hopefully) interact more regularly. The hard part is that the teacher must weather the silence as well, but after a little practice it isn’t too hard.
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