Are you worried that your students don’t take part in the classroom activities?
Most course designs include students’ participation. It can lead to insightful comments and intriguing connections from students. This creates a conducive and stimulating learning environment.
It can also lead to a high level of enthusiasm and energy in the classroom learning environment.
But poorly managed involvement can lead to instructor distress and learner’s confusion. Check out the following strategies to improve the effectiveness of your class participation.
1. Encourage a Spirit of Participation
Conversation between students and the teacher or professor in a class is an important aspect. This is because classroom participation is not an individual responsibility. It’s a conversation that needs to ease connections between the two participants.
Instructors need to see their teaching as a collective responsibility. Also, they need to see their participation as an experience that requires sharing. Such positivity brings and builds a sense of collectivism and students’ maximum participation in class.
The development of connections also builds the spirit of participation amongst the students. This encourages more students to take part.
2. Develop Activities That Promote Participation
It can be helpful to create activities that enhance the participation of students. This can happen in class discussions such as analyzing case studies. Through this, the students can talk with one another and with their teacher or professor.
But, for this to be effective, the instructor should give clear guidelines. Also, they should limit the conversation to case studies and matters in the class. Facilitation of this enables one-on-one exchange that promotes student engagement in class.
The technology learning approach is also used to enhance participation. For instance, use clickers to know students’ responses to questions. This is after giving them time to discuss with their peers.
You use SEL assessment to check students’ wellbeing and mental health while teaching.
3. Teach Participation Skills
An instructor may think that the students have the skills for effective class participation. But they may not. A discussion on how to get maximum class participation will reveal students’ views on class participation.
It is also essential to analyze how students take part in classes. This is because it assists to know the areas they didn’t understand.
4. Instructor’s Position in Class
Do instructors need to lecture while in front? Well, this should not be the case. Students have a negative view of instructors lecturing without moving in a classroom.
They tend to think the conversation is through the instructors and not collective responsibility. Thus, moving around the class can improve participation.
Apply the Above Tips to Improve Class Participation
Classroom participation helps the instructor to know the student’s preparation. It’s a good learning strategy as students engage with the instructor to understand the subjects better.
Class participation can improve students’ level of thinking. Also, there is improvement in the relationship between the instructor and the students. Thus, having proper class participation strategies can enhance class performance.
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