Hi Mitchell,
Thank you for handling the silent student very carefully and tactfully. I have great luck with getting silent students involved by doing small group activities.
Patricia
I will provide an assignment where by the student will have the in formation written down and then read it out loud, or I will just simply pull the "silent" student carefully and tactfully into the classroom activity.Of course, depending upon the reasons behind their silence.
Since I am a language teacher, I try to involve everyone in the class. Obviously, learning a language requires practice. I do have 1 or 2 very shy individuals and I find putting them in groups with others helps them to open up and participate. Also, individual praise goes a long way to boost confidence.
One method for involving silent students in the class is by utilizing small groups. This provides an atmosphere where there may be 5-6 people to discuss a topic as opposed to 20-30. The silent student may feel more comfortable with becoming involved in a more closely knit group.
For these students I will give them an assignment such as group presentation or a debate.
Hi Natalie,
I agree! I've noticed that even though a student is shy; the shy student is more apt to open up in a pleasant controlled environment. Shy students are easily intimidated, and if they are comfortable they will shine.
Patricia
Hi Marsa,
Absolutely! It is hard not to get involved when playing games. It is certainly a great way to get silent students involved. I like making my silent students the captains or score keeper. I give my silent students some type of lead position so that they are even more involved.
Patricia
How do I involve silent students in class? Very good question. I purposely seek them out and have them respond to a question or read an excerpt from the text. I walk to them individually and speak with them. Most of them are soft spoken and I encouraged them to speak up and I have the other students refrain from answering for them. Each class day I make sure that they contribute information regarding the text we are covering. Generally they are very knowledgeable.Teaching and nursing is a passion for me. By encouraging them to speak out hopefully this will provide an incentive to participate readily. As a future nurse they will be leaders and able to speak up and be advocates for themselves and their clients.
The best way for me to get my silent students involed is by playing games. We do spelling bees for our terminology words and play group concentration. We play Bingo with word parts. Who can help but get involved when they are playing a game and having fun. PS they learn at the same time and don't even realize it.
It is important to give positive feedback often and let them know that the environment is safe, non-judgemental. The non-threatening environment allows them to feel comfortable, relaxed and able to speak.
Hi Michael,
I like how you put the responsibility on the shy student, but you take the instructor's role by following up. We must continue to work with our shy students.
Patricia
I have had a talk with them a see if the have alway been shy in front of fellow students? After our talk we set out a game plan to help them become more vocal in class and help them follow through with the game plan.
I'm usually pretty good engaging students. Asking non-classroom specific questions or using a bit of humor usually opens them up to discussion. One circumstance I've found problematic is related to cultural differences. For example, I've had Hmong students whose ethnic background generally prohibits outside interaction--they remain very exclusionary. Culturally these Hmong students don't relate to me or other students. I try to find different common ground in their interests. Ask them questions about their life and interests, and, on occasion, ask them for insight on their culture. Sometimes this technique relaxes the cultural barrier.
Hi Ann,
I like to start out with my silent students by making small talk. Shy students tend to not be very open to long conversations. Once my small talking begins to work, I then gradually increase the length of the conversation.
Patricia
Sometimes the students just don't want to talk. I find that when you have a new member in an established class, they don't talk either because they don't know anyone or don't know what people will say about what they are saying. I try to give these students alittle more attention and speak with them one on one a couple of times during each class. I ask them about the project they are working on and about what they do for work and how was their day. Just to see if they can get alittle more comfortable
I typically use group discussion or popcorn style teaching to try to motivate the silent student.
I have a lot of shy students who respond well when questioned or in small groups. I understand them and can deal with them. My greater challenge are the non-shy students who simply don't want to participate at any level. It works having them in small groups, to an extent, but iot's a constant challenge to get them to participate.
The other challenge is the opposite, what do you do with the 2-3 students who want to answer every question and who jump in before anybody else has a chance to respond?
Hi Lynette,
This is certainly a great way to get silent students to come out of their shell. Silent students appear to seem really overwhelmed in a larger setting.
Patricia
By starting them out in a smaller group so they feel more at ease. Each person in the group can have a part of the assignment to do and present it as a group so the "silent" student does not feel as uncomfortable as if they were alone.
You want to place them in smaller groups to interact with others.
