Breaking the Silence

To transform a muted classroom into an actively engaged one, you must first understand the barriers that prevent students from participating. Fear and anxiety are on the top of the list for both boys and girls followed by self-esteem and seating position, says a 2018 study on the Factors Behind Classroom Participation. Many students are afraid to speak up in fear of being judged by their peers, while for others, past negative experiences like responding with incorrect answers may affect their self-esteem.

Additionally, the classroom layout, particularly when students sit in the back of the class, has been associated with students being less engaged and less focused in class. Understanding these barriers is important to foster a more inclusive, engaged classroom environment.

Strategies for Boosting Student Participation

Creating an environment where students feel comfortable and confident enough to participate in classroom activities and discussions requires intentional strategies. The most widely used strategies use the active learning approach. This involves engaging students in activities requiring them to actively process and apply knowledge rather than just passively listening to an instructor. By involving students in the process, active learning can boost participation and engagement. Here are a few methods to try to help solicit student participation.

Student-directed Discussions

This approach has students taking the lead to drive the classroom discussion. This can be done in large groups, small groups, or individually. Students lead the discussion on a specific topic of their choosing, where they will pose questions and engage with their classmates. Taking the role of facilitator encourages deeper engagement, which can be empowering for students.

Utilizing Interactive Technology Tools

Digital platforms such as Kahoot, Flip, and Google Classroom can make classroom participation more engaging and fun. These tech tools allow students to respond to questions, participate in online discussions, and complete quizzes and projects right from their devices. These interactive digital platforms also cater to students’ unique learning styles and interests making it more appealing for students to participate.

Implementing Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning strategies such as the Think-Pair-Share and Jigsaw method are two great choices to boost student participation. The Think-Pair-Share method involves posing a question, giving students a moment to think about their response, and then pairing up with a peer to discuss their thoughts before sharing with a larger group.

This approach reduces anxiety in students by allowing them to think about their response, and then share it with their classmates before having to discuss it in a whole group setting. The jigsaw method is another collaborative technique that allows students to become an expert on a topic before teaching it to their peers. After each student in the group researches their part, they teach it to their group members. This approach ensures active participation by giving each student a specific role.

Gallery Walks

Gallery walks are an active learning experience where students move around the classroom to engage with different “galleries.” These “galleries” are learning stations displaying specific topics, student projects, or questions students must answer. The way they work is you set up different stations around the classroom, each dedicated to a specific topic or question. Students then rotate through the stations in small groups, interacting and discussing the material within their group. This approach is a great way to get students up and moving while actively engaging with content interactively.

Fishbowl Discussion

This approach involves a small group of students discussing a topic while the rest of the class watches and listens. A small group of students known as “the fish” sit in the center of the classroom to discuss a specific topic or question while the rest of the class or “the bowl” observes them. After a specific amount of time, students who are in “the bowl” can ask questions or make comments. This is a great setup to encourage students to participate as well as engage the listeners actively.

Why Student Participation Matters for Us and Them

The advantages of student engagement go much further than just day-to-day classroom activities. For educators, student involvement means valuable insight into student understanding allowing them to adjust their teaching methods accordingly. Once educators can understand individual student challenges, they can personalize instruction to meet that student’s needs. Additionally, when students are more engaged, it makes for a more enjoyable learning environment, which can increase job satisfaction and give teachers a sense of accomplishment.

For students, active engagement helps to deepen their understanding of subject matter, which leads to better retention. It also enhances their critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical thinking skills. Through regular classroom participation, students develop stronger communication skills which can boost their confidence and self-esteem, all contributing to a more positive learning environment.

Unleashing the power of student participation requires time, a little creativity, and a lot of dedication. By understanding the barriers that may prevent students from participating, as well as implementing strategies to encourage engagement, educators can transform their students’ learning environment into an immersive, engaged experience.

The post Unmute the Classroom: Unleashing the Power of Student Participation appeared first on TeachHUB.

Within the virtual classroom, there will need to be time for synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning refers to the time spent together in learning. The teacher and students are engaged through a virtual platform and are able to ask and answer questions in real time. Asynchronous learning refers to the independent learning and activities. This might occur through pre-recorded lessons, instructional videos, or assignments that allow the student to progress through activities at their own pace.

Strategies for Synchronous Learning

In order to feel more like a traditional classroom, teachers and students like to be engaged in synchronous learning. However, to keep students’ attention, this needs to be more than just a virtual lecture. It is also the fear of many educators that virtual learning could lead to cheating as parents try to help students more or students are able to use the internet to find answers. For these reasons, teachers could use any of the following strategies to check for understanding and boost participation during virtual meeting times.

Create Time for Small Group Collaboration

Some virtual meeting platforms, such as Zoom, allow the teachers to divide students into smaller groups for collaboration, sometimes called breakout rooms. The teacher is then able to move in and out of each small group to monitor student discussions. The teacher may post questions in the chat box that need to be answered or provide guidance for the discussions. Because the teacher is able to visit each group, the groups are more likely to stay on-task. If the virtual platform does not allow small groups, partners may work together through the chat section by typing the name of their partner before their statement.

Encourage Think-Write-Share

Teachers in all grades have discovered that they can monitor student progress by posing a question and allowing students time to think about it, write it down on a white board or piece of paper, and then share it to the camera. Some teachers have made screen shots of the share-time so they can go back and see who mastered the skill or what mistakes were made in the process.

Participate in Daily Review

Just like in the traditional classroom, teachers may want to set aside some time for a daily review of the previous day’s work. Teachers may take this virtual meeting time to go over parts of the assignment that were missed by several students, and then provide a chance for students to ask questions and modify their answers with the new understanding. An online poll or survey may be another easy way to incorporate review and check for understanding before students begin independent work.

Engage through Brainstorming Activities

Prior to starting asynchronous activities, classes may want to brainstorm together. Teachers may model on a shared document while students write their own ideas on paper at home, or everyone may want to brainstorm through the chat feature together.

Offer Incentives

Because students are working from home, they may have objects around the house they want to show off. Teachers can use this to their advantage by allowing students a few minutes at the end of the discussion for a virtual “show and tell.” If students know that on Friday they can show their favorite pet, Lego creation, or other object if they participate in the week’s virtual meetings, they may be eager to earn this reward. Just be sure to set some parameters as to what is acceptable to show. This also helps build relationships with others on the virtual meeting screen.

Participate in Online Competition

Just because students are learning online, does not mean they can’t have fun through learning games such as Kahoot, Jeopardy, scavenger hunts, or other interactive games. These can be used to learn vocabulary, remember important historical events, or review skills from previously taught material. For a virtual scavenger hunt, students may find items around the house that connect to a word or idea, then the first three students back with an item may get to share their connection.

Strategies for Asynchronous Learning 

Although it would be ideal to engage in synchronous learning all day, teachers need to plan for engaging asynchronous learning. Just like within the classroom, students need some time to work independently so the teacher can check for understanding and monitor mastery of skills. There are several ways to boost participation in asynchronous learning.

Allow for Group Work

Providing activities that can be performed with a partner or small group on students’ own time encourages students share ideas and collaborate. They may want to meet over the phone or through email to discuss ideas. Just like in the classroom, you may want to assign jobs so each child has a responsibility to the group.

Virtual Field Trips

There are many online sites that students can visit and participate in virtual field trips. Then at the next virtual meeting, spend a little time in discussion about what they learned during the “trip.”

Offer Office Hours

Teachers should provide a time during asynchronous learning when they may be reached to answer questions either through email or some form of interactive chat. This will encourage students to do their work and reach out for clarification prior to the next day’s virtual meeting.

Offer incentives for Work Completion

You can easily boost assignment completion by offering an extra five points for work turned in by a certain time. This will encourage students to stay on-task during school hours and stop procrastinating until the last minute.

Create Virtual Book Reports

To encourage independent reading, students may be encouraged to participate in virtual book reports. They can prepare their own slides to share with classmates by following a set of guidelines and posting in a shared drive location.

Whether it is through synchronous or asynchronous learning times, there are many creative ways to boost participation in the virtual classroom. Teachers can continue to promote collaboration, monitor progress, and encourage students to have fun while learning. Traditional classroom activities just take a little modification to adapt to engaging virtual learning settings.

The post Strategies to Boost Participation in Your Virtual Classroom appeared first on TeachHUB.

Reason #1: The content is repetitive.

Solution #1: Assess their prior knowledge.

This could be as simple as asking students, “What do you know about (topic)?” and writing their responses on the board. You could also try a pre-test or a graphic organizer. The goal is to find out what they already know (or think they know) and tailor your lesson around it.

Solution #2: Try skills grouping.

Divide the class into groups based on what skills they need to practice – not forever, but for a class period or two, so they can focus on what they really need help with. Take time to move between the groups and help them review. You’ll have more students engaged in the lesson, and they’ll get specific, focused practice time.

Solution #3: Let them teach each other.

Especially good when reviewing before a test: divide the class into groups and give each group a topic. Set some guidelines and then let them teach each other. Encourage them to do interesting activities – write tests for each other, design review games, etc. – and evaluate each group on the accuracy of their content, the creativity of their approach, and how well they work together as a team.

Reason #2: The content is too hard.

Solution #1: Allow anonymous questions.

Put out a “question box” where students can submit questions any time. Give each student an index card and ask them to write something about the reading assignment they did for homework. If they don’t have a question, instruct them to write a comment on the reading. Collect the cards and use them to lead a class discussion. You’ll easily recognize what parts of the reading confused a lot of students and they won’t feel embarrassed.

Solution #2: Allow them to work together.

When students bring in their homework, do a quick survey for completeness, then put them in pairs and let them review the homework together. Encourage them to make changes if their partner’s answer looks right. When they’ve finished, review as a class. Students may be less embarrassed to share a group’s answer than their own, and you may be able to complete the review more quickly.

Solution #3: Try a jigsaw approach.

If you’re introducing new, difficult content, divide the class into groups and ask each group to master only one portion of it at a time. Ask them to do a reading on their topic – to become the class “experts” on that subject. Then split up the class into new groups that include one “expert” on each topic. Ask these new groups to work together to write an essay or complete a worksheet that requires information about all the topics, learning from each other in the process.

Reason #3: There’s too much information to present in too short a time.

Solution #1: Keep it “bite-sized.”

If you have a lot of information to convey, re-arrange your lesson plan so you never lecture for more than 10-15 minutes. Break up large concepts into smaller sections – give a brief lecture, then do an activity to help it “sink in.” Repeat this process over several days. You’ll increase participation and improve comprehension, too.

Solution #2: Keep them busy.

Don’t allow students to stare into space while you talk. Give them something to stay connected. Try “fill in the blank” lecture notes. Delete key words and phrases in your lecture notes to create a “fill in the blank” worksheet. Then ask students to fill in the worksheet while you lecture.

Solution #3: Look into the future.

Before a lecture, give students a prediction activity. For example, tell them you will be lecturing on Shakespeare and ask them to predict what you will say, or give them a set of true/false statements and ask them to make their best guesses. When the lecture is over, have a class discussion and evaluate how accurate student predictions were.

Reason #4: The lesson emphasizes the teacher, not the students.

Solution #1: Keep them busier than you are.

Re-imagine your classroom as a place where students are busier than you are. Keep the “sit still and let me talk to you” moments as brief as possible; get those kids working! Give them worksheets, activities, discussions, and projects. Stay busy by moving from student to student or group to group, correcting, evaluating, or providing feedback.

Solution #2: Use groups.

Homogeneous grouping? Heterogeneous grouping? Tracking? Forget the buzzwords: having students work in groups is one of the best ways to increase student participation. Don’t keep them in the same groups all the time – mix it up based on mastery levels or interests.

Solution #3: Give them a voice and a choice.

Do students ever get a “say” in your classroom? Kids often tune out because they feel like their ideas don’t matter. Show them their opinions are important, and they’ll pay better attention and speak up more in class.

There will always be some unreachable student who won’t respond, even with these efforts. But if you give these a try, you may be pleasantly surprised at the previously unreachable students who just might join in!

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