As students, we have all lived in fear that our teacher would randomly call on us to participate. Random participation can create fear and anxiety for many students in a classroom. Maddie Witter created a list of strategies for teachers to help promote student participation that are more democratic, stress-free, and promote a comfortable classroom environment. Listed below are summaries of her six suggestions. It is also important to note that her suggestions are influenced from educational research as well as her own practice.
- Three seconds – wait longer to allow more time for students to come up with answers to questions.
- Pre-planned questions – give students the tools they need before whole class discussion. Group students with the same question together to build a collaborative understanding.
- Anonymous questioning – Witter uses online assessment and participation tools here. Unfortunately one of her links (Infuse Learning) is shutting down – which is unfortunate as it looks quite interesting, but I think Fresh Grade and Plickers would apply here as well.
- Choice questions – Witter comments how broad, open-ended questions can sometimes be intimidating for students. She suggests incorporating either/or questions as well, which offer choice but aren’t too intimidating.
- Snowball to Avalanche – this is a great idea for how to incorporate kinaesthetic learning into a classroom. One student’s comment starts off as a “snowflake”, if students find they agree with the “snowflake” they move over and become a “snowball”. Eventually – if the initial question was intriguing enough, there will be more “snowballs” that can try and persuade more people to join them, thus creating an “avalanche”.
- Estimation line-up – give students a scale and when you ask a question have them place themselves on the scale (agree → disagree). Then when the students have found their place, fold the line in half and have the students discuss with each other why they put themselves in that spot.
These strategies for participation are intriguing. They could be modified and adapted to fit the needs of different classes. They aren’t one size fits all tools to throw in a teacher’s back pocket, but foundation of inspiration for how to mix it up in a class to increase participation in learning.
Source: Beyond Q + A: Six Strategies That Motivate ALL Students to Participate