HI Althea - Thanks for your post to the forum. You are a great example of an emphathetic instructor! What you are doing undoubtedly takes time and some planning but I'll bet you are seeing some great results - Excellent work!
Best wishes - Susan
Hi Stephen- Thanks for your post to the forum! Your comment about encouraging students to respond to each other thereby creating a conversation is especially important. Best wishes- Susan
Students who tend not to participate in class discussion may simply be shy, or they may be afraid of appearing ignorant to their peers. Questions need to be clear, well framed, and well within the students ability to answer. In addition, encouraging students to respond to one another and not just to the instructor can engender real conversation, which may be more effective in drawing recalcitrant students into the debate.
For shy students, I sometimes create a situation where they can feel very confident in speaking up. I will make up a list of some factual and some conceptual questions, and pass it out as a in-class exercise. For students who've been hanging back, I'll give each of them a heads-up: "I'll be calling on you for the answer to #_." As the students are working, looking up the answers, I'll check in with a few students (esp. the shy ones) to ensure they're finding the correct answers. The hardest part for me is to remember to keep the positive reinforcement very low-key, no "fuss" when they give the correct answer. I find that having a definite success can be very helpful for the shy students.
I only teach in the online environment and it is usually a requirement for the students to respond with substantial posts and then respond to so many of their classmates.
Hi Larry - Thanks for your post to the forum! We see this so often adolescents are rarely "morning people"! Coffee - yes! Also rarely have they had any breakfast before class - some inexpensive healthy snacks can help as well. Best wishes- Susan
I teach a 7am cost control class, my main problem is the students are half a sleep, trying to get students to think about math is always a challenge!, in contrasted my 8:30 class is vary talkative, by tying the math back to money usually get the kids going -- the problem is we have no chose but to have a 7am class -- SO, I'm looking for ideas to get students to be more awake in hopes of more involvement? coffee at the door, pop quizes to start them thinking???
any ideas?
I ask another student to amplify on the previous students answer
Ask simple questions. Ask stimulating questions, that can further be expanded upon.give appropriate wait time for adequate and active responses.
I get a student involved in the session by asking a simple question . This is to get the student interested in the subject. then I increase the difficulty of the question
Hi Chris - Thanks for another great idea! Susan
Hi Geraldine- Welcome to ED 103! If you can recall information about your students you can, as you mention, try to bring some of their personal experiences into your teaching. For example, you could say, "Mary-I remember you worked in the Red Lobster chain, can you tell us how they ......? Best wishes - Susan
I would try to get to know my non-responsive students better so that I can formulate the question to fit them and their experiences. This way they will be able to answer the questions.
Hi David - I really agree with your post - good instructors work to connect with their students and students respond when they feel that their instructor really cares about them. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
I like to set them up in discussion groups and then designate the unresponsive participants as the spokes people. They must engage with their classmates and then break the ice in front of the class. I can then go back to them and have them provide relevant answers which they already have.
Building rapport with the students who are less likely to participate in answering questions gives them confidence and familiarity with the instructor, making them feel more comfortable to participate in class discussion.
It goes back to positive reinforement and excitment about the subject from the professor. Everyone likes to have fun, so keep the energy flowing. Ask lots of questions, especially to the students who are not confident. The more they answer correctly, the more confidence they will build.
Start by asking some questions you know they have some knowledge of, then continue the discussion
Hi Jim - Welcome to ED 103! Your post illustrates an excellent approach to questioning. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
Redirect the question,allow sufficient wait time for responses,allow silent time after students answer questions,praise and reward student participation in answering questions even if the answer is not correct.
