Hi Curtis- Thanks for your post to the forum. Your idea of asking a question that you know will relate to a students background confirms that getting to know your students early is essential!
Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
You may use a variety of techniques. perhaps my favorite is to ask a question that you know directly relates to a student's background they are more likely to answer as they are comfortable with the topic.
I struggle with this area. I do call on students that have not participated. Sometimes I will ask "can I hear from someone who has not spoken today". My classes are small
Hi Scott - Yes, often the students "on the back wall" are the ones who do not participate! As you describe there are various ways to get everyone engaged. Susan
When I notice that some students aren't participating, I'll try to direct questions to them in a subject area that I know they are comfortable with. Sometimes I'll maintain eye contact with non-participative students, or position myself closer to those students when I ask my questions. I never want to put anyone on the spot, so I don't ever single anyone out, although sometimes I am very tempted to do that. Sometimes I will single out a particular section of the class: "How about we hear from someone along the back wall?" I've had varying amounts of success with this.
Hi Amy - you are obviously an experienced instructor! Thanks for sharing some great hints. Susan
Great idea Scott! I often find this technique helpful for my more reticent students.
I also often wait a good 5 to 10 seconds before I call on a student. I acknowledge those whose hands shoot up immediately, but try to delay on calling on them until I am sure that none of my more quiet students want to give it a shot.
I also respond positively to every answer, correct or not. I find somwething positive about their contribution so that they will feel encouraged to speak up the next time.
Hi Don - thanks for your post to the forum. That you make an effort to get to know your students one-on-one in the beginning of your classes makes a huge impact. As you mention, your students are more open to participate in discussions - I will bet that it is because they feel more comfotable because of your efforts! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
We have a lot of lab time at our school. I use this time the first day or two to interact with the students and question them one on one. I find that when we do get to the instructor led portion of the cirriculum that the students are more open to responding to discussion questions.
Thanks for the statement idea to draw the student in. I am just starting teaching and preparing my lecture and need all the suggestions I can get.
I liked the suggestion in our course material 'the following 3 people will be next to answer this question: ... take a couple minutes to think it through' (then repeat the question). It will work best when there are multiple answers to the question. By giving them notice they can be paying attention and not feel like it is a surprise. (Make an effort to go through the whole class in selections of 3 if possible)
If you have a lot of questions you would like to review you can start at one point in the room and go to the next person until everyone has had to answer a question. If they are able to see ahead which question will be theirs it can give them more confidence.
I also like the idea of asking students to come prepared with what they think is a good question on the material being studied. Then as you go through the session everyone gets to ask a question and everyone has to take a turn at answering. If the normally non-responsive students know they have to answer at least one question they may be more inclined to offer an answer on a question that they know instead of waiting until the end.
I think the biggest challenge in getting non-responsive students to participate is to get the students that want to answer every question to sit back and be quiet so others get a chance to talk.
Debi Makidon
I feel that as a teacher, I should try to elaborate on the question asked. If I still get unresponsive question, I have to take a different approach
Hi Summer- Thanks for your post to the forum. You make some very good points about students who may not readily volunteer to answer questions. I liked the alternative assessment idea that you offered. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career. Susan
In asking this question I think it is important to differentiate between quiet and non-responsive students. Simply because a student isn't volunteering to answer questions doesn't mean they are not engaged. This could be reflective of their own learning style. I was always a quiet student and in learning I really need time to process things before I feel comfortable speaking about them. As much as I like discussion in my class, I also give written response questions. For quieter students, having the opportunity to express themselves in writing is valuable and works for them. I know for more extroverted instructors it can be difficult to know if these students are learning, but I assume students are engaged unless demonstrating otherwise.
This leads to non-responsive students. For me, these are students that are not making eye-contact, not taking notes, sneaking in a text here and there, constantly leaving the room....For these students, I will often set up an activity or assignment where they are responsible for bring their classmates together in an activity or discussion. I will also directly confront this behavior by asking before or after class if something is going on since I've noticed they don't seem to be engaged. As we are Career College educators, many of our students have busy, stressful lives and it is important to understand where the student is coming from before jumping to conclusions.
First, I would try to find out as much as I can about each student. Regardless of any situation, students will respond to questions that they can relate too, even non-responsive students. I find that students always have some sort of issue going on in their life, and they will vent those frustrations out in class; possibly to questions that you’ve asked within the class.
You have to make the classroom questions interesting, and they have to capture the attention of all your students which will make them want to respond to the topic at hand. Watch the reaction on their faces to determine if everyone has the full understanding of what’s going on, this evaluation will help you to determine if the question/s need to be addressed in another form. Ask each student if they understand one-by-one, and if they say yes, ask them to provide their thoughts. If they say no, re-word the question so that the student can have a better understanding.
I agree, that's a great response. I would try to get those students to be as comfortable as possible so they become a part of the discussion.
Try a small group....that works for me
I also use humor and strive to make my students feel comfortable and "safe" ...that all questions are important and that answers that move to a personal level are kept in the classroom
Hi Christian - Truly excellent questioning technique - Thank you for sharing! Best wishes- Susan
That is a wonderful approach and I use it all the time. I try to set them up with an easy question first, help to build their self esteem, then get them into some critical thinking.
