Small group activities is probably the best way to involve silent students.
We only have so many training aides to go around so I do alot of small group activities with my class, and it usually is with in the first week.
Honestly, I am still working on this problem. Even though I have taught for more than 15 years the silent student is still a challenge. For instance I have a student who is brilliant but I am having great difficulty getting him to "share the wealth" as they say. At times he is anxious to read his essays and address the class. On other occasions he is virulently opposed to interaction of any kind. I do find that he does like to be part of a group when given the opportunity so that may be the best way at this time to have him consistently put his best foot forward.
Hi Theresa,
Shy students seem to be a lot more vocal when less people are involved.
Patricia
Excellent idea. Asking open ended questions will put the student more at ease because they will be the expert for their response. That is an excellent way to help draw these silent students out into the classroom community with their participation.
Velma
I agree with you about staying in close contact with the groups. Without this contact, group work often becomes ineffective.
Break them in small groups and make them the group leader. Assist the silent student leader if they have questions prior to starting the small group activity.
Students are all different but some have a real fear of hands on patient care. With these students I try to go with them and and offer them my undivided attention. This helps to calm ther anixety and help them to learn the tasks at hand without an audience. Usually they are alot better.
Hi Theresa,
While putting silent students in groups, I like to give them a some type of leadership role as well so that they are forced to participate.
Patricia
Hi Brandon,
I like to call on everyone in the class to participate so that the silent students do not feel singled out.
Patricia
Hi Velma,
I also like to ask silent students real open-ended type questions that are more opinionated generated so that there is no real right answer.
Patricia
Hi Pete,
I generally try to use the same strategies you discussed. I ask them to also share some of their work experience the general area of work and that typically lets students open up and share some information. I agree building a rapport with the students will enable them to be comfortable both with the instructor as well as with the other students.
Velma
Currently there are 2 strategies that help the silent student become more involved in my class activities. Class participation counts for a part of the student's grade and this information is shared on the first day of class. This generally encourages participation for students.
The other strategy that I have found that also work is having the class break into groups and present their information to the larger class. Each student generally gets a piece of the assignment to complete. The silent student becomes a part of this smaller group and usually participates without hesitation. That silent student becomes more involved when surrounded by other students.
I also find that the information the silent student is presenting is usually discussed in the group before being presented to the larger class. Presentation of that information is done confidently by that student because the information was previously reviewed and accepted. These small steps generally gives confidence to the silent student to provide individual contributions on other occasions.
By calling on them in class to participate.
I find that the best way to accomplish this task is to let the class know ahead of time, like on the first day, that we will be meeting in small groups at times to accomplish certain tasks and to bring forth information in different ways from different individuals. I feel the smaller groups make the silent students come out of their shell a bit more and they feel comfortable in discussing amongst smaller groups.
I have found by putting students in groups it helps the silent students to interact and make their selves more comfortable with the outgoing students.
I think putting them in a small group is a good way to help them vocally participate.
I definitely agree with the course suggestion of taking the time to help these types of student overcome their silence and lack of self-confidence. It is a very good idea to get them involved in smaller groups, to allow them to utilize their knowledge and expertise in certain areas. This will build their self-esteem and as the instructor I look for positives in these individuals to build upon. They are people often time with vasts amounts of knowledge, capability and talent, we just have to see it and utilize opportunities for these student to practice their skills.
One technique I like to use with silent students is to first discuss my observation with them one on one. I let them know that I would like them to participate more in class and share their ideas or answers with their classmates. A typical response may be that they like to be quiet or don't like to answer questions.
I then ask if it would be OK for me to give them a little visual clue that I will be calling on them next to answer a question or provide a response. For some students this reduces the anxiety of not knowing if I'm going to ask them a question and it also gives them a little time to formulate a response. It doesn't always work, but for some students it is a way to nudge them into greater class participation.
I start by building a good rapport with all my students. When I have a shy/quiet/or silent student I try to find a topic they are comfortable talking about and get them to discuss it in class. Sometimes I have to start by getting them to open up on the breaks.
The first day of class I have everyone introduce themselves and tell the whole class who they are, where they are from, where they were born, about their family {married, kids, etc}, favorite color, favorite movie, favorite food, favorite desert and their hobby.
By this time everyone has something they can talk to each other about.
It has also given them the chance to speak in front of the class when it will not count for their grade.
