STUDENTS’ PARTICIPATION IN CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS

Cheerfulness and energy are in abundant supply. There are new ideas for class, new ways to engage students, and great questions to wrestle with as the intersections between past and present have rarely been so obvious. And it all goes swimmingly, it seems, until the first time we actually launch a discussion. Then those faces that seemed to be so cheerful–nodding along as we talked about how our class could be challenging, provocative, even enjoyable now stare back blankly. It was as if posing a question triggered an actual electric shock that stunned them into a catatonic state . Someone looked up. Eye contact? We look at them hopefully, ready for someone to bravely interrupt the increasingly awkward silence. They meet our gaze for a split second, their eyes widen in panic, and all of a sudden there seems to be something much more compelling to look at on the floor next to their chair. It’s as if the air goes out of the room.

Everyone seemed to be on board with a discussion-based class until we actually gave them the chance to embark. It’s hard to congregate the enthusiasm (and increased effort) necessary for an active, collaborative class environment when none of our students seem to reciprocate. We know an active learning pedagogy is better for student learning, but we also face circumstances like this example, or of large classes, or of rooms with desks bolted to the floor in rows. Our discipline has so many avenues into a fruitful conversation with students: primary sources, images, “what-if” questions, debates, exploration of difficult, controversial, or morally and ethically complex issues. But those conversations can’t happen if only one party participates. The key question for so much of our teaching, then, is what do we do when discussion dies?

I’d like to suggest that a flagging discussion, or one that fails to launch entirely, is most often the fault of something other than our students. Sure, there are some students who haven’t done the reading or who refuse to participate and most of our students are receptive to at least the idea of engaged, active learning. The key is to turn that general willingness into specific practices.

The first thing to consider is our own actions during and immediately after posing the “discussion-starter” question. Have we asked a question that is sufficiently open-ended to invite further conversation? In other words, are we soliciting actual discussion, or only mere recitation? A good, complex question that sparks thoughtful engagement–which is the ideal– is not one that can be immediately answered by our students.

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The author is Teacher I at Maimpis Integrated School, Division of City of San Fernando(P)