Getting the quiet ones to participate
I find there is always at least 1 quiet student in a class. I teach programming which is a very hands-on skill. It is important to figure out how to help these students. Are they bored because they are already familiar with the material? Are they lost? Are they embarrassed to ask questions? Do they feel helpless or too far behind to recover? This is where the old-time psychology of the master-apprentice come in handy. Work with them side-by-side to show them how it is done. Give them an orderly process to accomplish a task and succeed. I find the "Like this, see!" method works well. This tends to make them a lot more comfortable, draw them out of their shell and begin to build confidence. They can see the complexity level is much less than their anxiety led them to believe. Does anyone have some other tips?
Hi Laura,
Yes, there can be various reasons as to why students are quiet. Silent students really do a lot better in a smaller setting. They do even better when it is just one-on-one.
Patricia Scales
David,
I think your list of possible reasons for students being quiet is good: they might be lost, already familiar, etc. I would add that some students are quiet for cultural reasons. In many cultures it is frowned upon to draw attention to oneself. Also, in some cultures questioning someone in authority (teacher) is considered inappropriate. Understanding these cultural differences is important for us as teachers. That still leaves the issue of getting quiet students to speak. I like the idea of smaller groups.
Laura
Hi Gurinder,
Building a rapport with quiet students is paramount so that they feel more comfortable around you.
Patricia Scales
In almost all my classed, I have/had couple of quite ones and sometimes it takes a bit longer to involve them in discussion. I make sure that I engage these students also outside the class so that they feel comfortable and confident enough to participate in the class. It works most of the time- they open up and start participating.
Hi Sharon,
You have it! Quiet students will definitely open up more if they are a part of a group.
Patricia Scales
I agree, some quiet students would bolt and run if asked to present in front of a class but in a group of three or four they may be more comfortable sharing ideas.
Hi Janet,
The paper is very helpful, and you really get to find out a lot about your students.
Patricia Scales
Great idea, Patricia. Thanks. I will do that. I generally have the groups create a team charter after the groups have been formed in the second week. I will have each student do a short paper on their approach to leadership and succeeding as a team leader.
Janet
Hi Janet,
Have your students write a mini paper as their first assignment about leadership/leader and use your best judgement based on the characteristics they share in the paper to determine whether they are a strong leader or not.
Patricia Scales
Hi, Patricia,
That's a good idea. I usually do not know who is a good leader in an online class. When I have to group people at the end of the first week, I generally do it by time zone, unless otherwise requested. What signs do you use to determine who is a leader?
Janet
Hi Janet,
I normally team students by having at least one strong student academically in the group. Every group truly needs a strong leader.
Patricia Scales
Hi, Wayne,
Is there a way to connect philosophy with art? Perhaps a piece of artwork could be considered as representing in some way a philosophical concept? I am thinking that if the two could be connected in some way, the students might find a voice to discuss the concept.
Janet
Hi, Terrell,
Having students help each other learn is a great idea. I actually used it last week. I was a sub for a math class. A couple of the students needed help, so I asked other students to assist. It worked out really well. Because I was a sub (not a regular math instructor), I felt that they could probably help each other better than I could try to explain the concepts. The teams of students went to different locations on the board and worked out the problems. The more knowledgeable students felt good about being able to help the others and they all learned from the experience.
Do you have an approach that you use to team students for learning activities?
Janet
Hi Erin,
I have implemented the same system. Everyone is more readily involved when they know their grade is at stake.
Patricia Scales
Participation grades or group projects have been a great way for me to get the quiet one to speak. Usually the quiet one's care the most about their grades and if they know they may loose points for not participating the start to speak up real quick.
Hi Wayne,
You may want to include a participation grade to encourage discussion from the quiet students. Small groups work well with quiet students as well.
Patricia Scales
Hi Terrell,
Great way to get students comfortable with patient service. Some students have a natural knack for teaching.
Patricia Scales
This is a particular challenge for me. I teach at a vocational art college, but i teach philosophy. The problem is that philosophy is best understood through discuss, but since this is merely a requirement that the students "have to satisfy," the level of commitment is fairly low. So, there are a large number of "quiet ones." My ever present challenge is increasing the overall level of interest and buy-in.
I like to have the students play teacher. I give them a question or side mat and have them go to the front of the class and instructs for a short. Of time they have to explain a concept or define a term and then they have to answer questions from the other students.I find that this allows them to open up and get more comfortable with their classmates. I teach a dental assisting so I use this as an opportunity to explain to the students how they need to be comfortable in conversation with their patients day to day.
