FOSTERING STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN CLASS

1. FOSTERING STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN CLASS AMY SPRINKLE, Senior TA Plant & Soil Sciences MICHAEL STURM, Senior TA Individual & Family Studies 2007 Teaching Assistant Conference University of Delaware

2. SESSION OUTLINE • Session goals and process • Icebreakers to facilitate participation • Why student participation is important • Buzz group activity • Gallery walk activity • Case study assessment

3. SESSION ICEBREAKER • Share your name, where you are from and the department where you will be serving as a TA. • Think back to your years spent in the classroom as a student. Identify one instructor whose behavior or actions inhibited your participation as a student in their class. Identify the behavior or action that created an obstacle for you. NOTE:To ensure anonymity, do not identify the instructor by name.

4. ICEBREAKERS AND STUDENT PARTICIPATION • Icebreaker – an exercise designed to get the discussion flowing and to further demonstrate the seriousness of an instructor’s intent to promote discussion • Icebreakers can be used to: • activate prior knowledge • discuss or illustrate class concepts

5. WHY STUDENT PARTICIPATION IS IMPORTANT • Involvement with the material, other students, and the instructor is key to student learning. • Student participation and subsequent learning must include reading, writing, discussion, and active problem solving. • As student involvement in class / class experiences increases, the greater their knowledge and grasp of material.

6. OBSTACLES THAT PREVENT STUDENT PARTICIPATION Buzz Group Activity: • Form a group of 4-5. • Brainstorm a list of potential obstacles that prevent students from participating in college courses. • Now link your group to another in the room. • Review your list of obstacles with the new group members. • Finally, generate some reasons as to why these obstacles exist.

7. OBSTACLES THAT PREVENT STUDENT PARTICIPATION • Boredom • Disinterest in topic or subject matter • Embarrassment • Fatigue/tired • Fear of failure • Lack of motivation • Lack of understanding / preparation • Difficulty of subject matter

8. Boredom Disinterest in topic or subject matter Embarrassment Fatigue/tired Fear of failure Lack of motivation Personal issues Previous bad experiences Teacher centered learning method Teaching level is either too high / low Unclear expectations WHY DO THESE OBSTACLES EXIST?

9. GALLERY WALK • Think about the obstacles to student participation and our discussion as to why they exist. • Walking throughout the room, note on the large post-it how each of the factors (physical space, instructor, student) could foster student participation.

10. PHYSICAL SPACE

11. PHYSICAL SPACE STRATEGIES TO FOSTER STUDENT PARTICIPATION • Control and use classroom space strategically. • Arrange classroom seating to facilitate discussion and participation (groups of desks, u-shape). • Lighting and temperature can greatly effect the mood and environment.

12. INSTRUCTOR

13. INSTRUCTOR STRATEGIES TO FOSTER STUDENT PARTICIPATION • Establish and keep guidelines for participation. • Define what you consider “participation” for your students. • Make connections between course material and students daily lives. • Vary your teaching style. • Utilize teaching technologies. • Use humor appropriately.

14. STUDENT

15. STUDENT STRATEGIES TO FOSTER STUDENT PARTICIPATION • Students are ultimately responsible for participating and becoming engaged in a class. • Instructors can guide and motivate students to a certain extent however the rest is up to them.

16. TIPS FROM SESSION FACILATORS • Amy – Tips for fostering student participation in lab settings. • Michael – Tips for fostering student participation in large lecture style settings.

17. CASE STUDIES • Read the distributed case studies and think about what strategy/strategies could be employed to foster student participation.

18. CASE STUDY #1 • Roberto has been assigned as a new TA in the sociology department assisting an instructor with an introduction to sociology course. The expected enrollment for this course is between 50-75 students. Already, the supervising instructor has given Roberto the opportunity to teach a class during the second week of school. What could Roberto do to foster student participation while he teaches the class?

19. CASE STUDY #2 • As a new biology TA, Janae must lead a freshman biology lab independently during the first month of school. The supervising instructor is a university favorite and has been commended on the high level of student involvement she incorporates into her classes; however this fact makes Janae nervous. What might Janae do to keep the momentum of high student involvement in the lab she leads later this month?

20. CLOSING • Summary of session. • Thanks for attending our session. Should you need any help or have questions this year, feel free to contact: Michael Sturm msturm@udel.edu

21. STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS • Set clear expectations for student participation in discussion sessions. • Break the ice with informal talk outside of class. • Control and use classroom space strategically. • Use eye contact purposefully and strategically. • Avoid open questions; call on individual students. • Ask good questions.