I also do something like that. I hand out 4 cards in the begining of class. Three blue cards and one green. The blue are for answering questions and the green is to comment. We try to get rid of all the cards at the end of class. This gives everyone a chance to answer and no student can just blurt out answers.
I also try and ask questions that are applicable in a real life situation and invariably at least one student will give a personal experience of how it applies to him/her. For example, my question might start out, "who has ever had this happen to them"?
I always start each class with a 2-point multiple choice "reading quiz." Firstly, that gets them reading and thus they are more prepared for class. Secondly, I encourage them to develop questions from their reading to bring to the class discussion.
I try to ask questions that they will make them more successful in their careers. For example, when teaching my students about antibiotics, I might ask, "What would you teach a patient who has been prescribed oral tetracycline?"
Hi Susanne,
I have to agree with your approach because a majority of people are not comfortable with public speaking. I can appreciate this common trait in people but I remind my students that my class is driven by participation. I give class participation a high percentage of the grade and stress to students that this is their 'A' right now! All they have to do is give their two cents to keep it! I do not care how ridiculous an answer may be as long as it is sincere and driven by their current knowledge. I have all classes of students (the overachiever to the extremely reserved student) and my approach to giving the class participation part of the grade is subjective but I make notes every class on students who were disengaged and I make it my business to engage them or find out why they are not engaging. If the reason is not legitimate or appropriate in a work setting then I stress this to them and remind them of the investment they made in themselves by registering for my class and the school. I ask them would they be comfortable paying for a car and then not even receiving from the dealer?? Of course not! This is YOUR CAR!! Drive it! Take it out and experience the ride (figuratively speaking).
I compare my classes to the different staffs I have managed and try to be uniform to the class but address each individual differently based on their strength/weakness.
Great job Susanne!! I hope I did not go off on too much of a tangent.
Best regards,
Erwin
sometimes when I have trouble getting students involved I will direct a question at a student, as he is brushing me off or trying desperately to come up with the answer and cannot find it I will say the answer out loud as if the student said the answer to me, and then commend the student for his or her correct answer. It helps lighten the mood and puts them more at ease.
Hi Jeffrey, Thanks for sharing a great example of dynamic questioning! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Hi Ebonie, Thanks for your post to the forum. This also allows students to understand the relevance of what they are learning.
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Erwin,
I found your post interesting. I had a very challenging situation recently pertaining to class participation. I was not informed that I had a student with special needs in my classroom. This particular student had a form of Autism, which made him very agitated and uncomfortable in participating in the classroom. I took the time to discuss this with my student in private. He did reveal his challenges to me. I was able to create an environment that made this student become more comfortable in participating. It is important that we first seek to understand why students are not participating. In this situation, it was not that he was refusing to participate, he was clearly terrified and had challenges with social interactions. He did not understand the give and take of participation.
Thoughts?
Susanne
By asking student how the information will apply to their daily activites, allows students to respond with critical thinking.
Before starting a new topic, I usually ask questions on previous lecture to test their knowledge and retention. It's just like a sort of review to students and then I will introduce the new content together with the objectives...
This is usually my favorite part of teaching because I can see how effective my lecture/demo was and what percentage of the class really learned. I would test for content first(memory recall)then go into questions that require application of knowledge acquired. This will be followed by problem solving questions and finally something controversial that may or may not have a right/wrong answer. Sometimes they would end up throwing the question back to me. This is when I would give them the opportunity to research the answer for home work which is what will start the ball rolling in the next class. Participation is usually a about 100%. Very few times I don't get that 100% participation.
Hi Erwin, I understand your frustration. I would make an effort to speak personally with the student and determine a topic that he/she seems confident with by asking a few questions about what we are learning. Then, ask one of those same questions and call on that student in class.
Susan Polick
Hi Curt - Thanks for your post to the forum. Students do enjoy sharing their experiences and this helps to demonstrate the relevance of the topic to the rest of the class. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career and Happy New Year!
Susan Polick
I have to admit that I have a few students who just refuse to participate and while it is frustrating for me because I know participation will help this individuals test performances, I take a passive approach with the student and ask personally when I get physically close to that student in order to not embarrass them. Does this approach seem effective? Is there a more effective approach I can take with this kind of student? This student will habitually sit in the back and never participate or raise his hand. Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Given my target audience, I like to ask questions of students that relate their skills and experience to the topic. For example, when I discuss the collaboration between two government agencies, I ask who has had experience in this environment. Then I counter with another asking the person to briefly describe the experience, both positive and negative aspects. This keeps the student involved engaged in the discussion, as well as his or her peers when they see opportunities to discuss their experiences. This technique also builds rapport and informs others in the class of experiences they may not have had the opportunity to experience.
Open-ended questions that any student can typically answer are generally the best questions I have found to get students to engage in class discussions. I have also found that if you bring up and engage in controversial topics where there are no black and white answers and allow students to openly express themselves they enjoy the discusiion.
Hi Martha, Thanks for your post to the forum. In my online classes, I find that students will often login to the live classroom early if they have a specific question. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Hi Robert, That is a good example of effective questioning!
Susan Polick
I like to go around to each student at the beginning of class to see if they have questions before I start the lecture. The students often thank me for giving them individual attention.
