Talkers and non talkers
I like to ask questions to the students that do not participate in discussions, so they feel more comfortable talking in class.
Robin,
Good strategies to follow in working with reluctant students. Thanks you for sharing them with us.
Gary
I would only use this technique if I was asking a question that I KNEW this reluctant student could answer or if it involved a topic with which he/she had experience to share. Otherwise you are going to push them out of the class. Look for non-verbal cues to indicate if the student is getting the class material. If you still have doubts, arrange for a private meeting to discuss.
Hi Nelson,
This is a great strategy for including all of the class in a low risk setting. You get the input you need from them and they get to contribute to the class. It is a win win for everyone.
Gary
There is a portion of my class devoted to a quick response to practice questions for the next quiz. Students can anticipate which question will be theirs and when it is their turn they read the question and give the answer. Then I ask if there are any disputes -- does someone think they have a better answer? This is a safe and effective way to bring out the shyer student and get everyone participating.
I prefer to do both in group communication and ask questions. We want to engage students but we also want to make them feel comfortable. In groups they can discuss and have one spokes person talk about what they have discussed.
I perfer to put them in a group setting that way they all open up
I use 3x5 index cards and pick people at random to participate. The class is well aware that I will be doing it because they filled them out the first day of class with this expectation.
This is a good point. If the student has non-verbal cues that say they know, then you may want to ask them. However, I feel that it's also important to look for clues that show uncertainty. I wouldn't want to ask a student to answer a question when I think they don't know the answer. This could cause them to be even more hesitant to participate in the future.
Watch for the clue...you can usually tell if someone "gets" the material and has somthing to say...that's when you ask the non-talklers a question...when you know that they have an answer
I think this works well also, I also try to get the non-talkative student to add to another students answer.
