Participation and Connection

Participation is an obvious goal in classes. When students are participating, especially in

discussions and small-group work it is important that they be actively engaged. If only a few
students participate by raising their hands, volunteering answers, asking questions, or
contributing to discussions then the class sessions become a lost opportunity to assess and
promote learning for the non-participants. Student participation in class is encouraged by
devoting time and thought to shaping the environment and planning each class session.
First, I model the behavior that I want my students to emulate. I participate in the discussion by
showing that I am paying attention to what they are saying by making a positive comment about
students contributions and I reinforce good points by paraphrasing or summarizing them. If they
have asked a question I make sure to repeat the question so the whole class can benefit from the
answer.
In general, I make sure that I know their names and so that none of my students feel that they are
invisible and dont have to participate. I make a point of learning something about them,
usually in the form of which extra-curricular activities that they prefer so I can relate scientific
principles to their personal experiences. As I move around the classroom, I carry a small cup of
sticks with the students names so I can draw randomly. I make sure to ask the question first, and
then draw the stick, so the students remained tuned in to the discussion.
Ideally, the goal of increasing participation is not to have every student participate in the exact
same way or even at the same rate. I try to create an environment in which all students have the
opportunity to learn and in which the class explores issues and ideas in depth, from a variety of
hands-on as well as theoretical experiences.
One example of this was when I was teaching plate tectonics. It is necessary to connect the
concept of a plate boundary with what is formed at that type of boundary. I created cards for
each group that contained the information from one of the entries below. (see table) Each group
had to act out or make up a story for the plate boundary they were assigned and talk the class
through all the points on their card. Each member was required to participate and the class filled
out a blank version of the table below as each group presented. Their own version of the table
would start with the boundary they were assigned. The response was enthusiastic and the
students were very thorough in the representations. I had student who squeezed between other
students to represent magma oozing up through a mid-oceanic ridge while saying Im very hot
magma and then as he passed the other students he said now Im lava!.