Heath: Thoughtful Technology Integration

Some Students Are Not Participating in Class Discussions

Why Not?

Pedalogical Thinking: Why Are Students Reluctant To Participate in Classroom Discussions ?

Factors That Affect Our Students' Eagerness to Participate in Academic Discussions

- Some Students Are Naturally Quiet Sometimes you just get a quiet group of kids who are reluctant to speak up. It’s not you. It’s them. They are passive learners everywhere they go.
- They Do Not Have Friends In Your Class Students have a friend in class often feel more comfortable and are more likely to take a chance to speak out. The opposite is trues as well. When a student does not have a close friend in your class they will be less likely to speak up and share their thinking.
- It’s The Subject We all have subjects that we are passionate about and subject that are not that exciting. Your students will be much more willing to share if they are engaged with the content because they are more comfortable with it.
- They're Learning the Language Some students are just learning to speak English. Speaking in front of others in a language they are just learning can be a daunting task.
- Not Sure Of The Correct Answer Sometimes students are not sure if they have the answer correct. Giving them a chance to reflect or think about the content can help with getting students to be more sure of their answers. when they are more sure they will be more likely to share.
- What Will My Teacher and My Peers Think If I Get It Wrong? This is the biggest reason for student reluctance in sharing their ideas. They are worried they will get it wrong, that everyone else is smarter than they are, or that the teachers or their peers will look down on them.
- Some Students Are Distracted While the videoconference is happening, some students may be chatting on their phones, playing video games, or just staring out the window. What can we do to engage them so when the time comes to have a conversation they feel comfortable enough with the content to share their thinking?

Digging into Discussions: A Podcast About Academic Discussions

The Classroom Commute (Podcast): 4 Things to STOP Doing In Your Classroom (and what to do instead) (13 min.)

4 Things to Stop Doing in Your Classroom.mp3

Student Conversations: Ideas and Strategies

Conversation Starter: Have you ever been afraid to share? Why were you afraid?

Interact: Have you ever been afraid to share? Why were you afraid?

Think: Three words to explain one time or up to three different times that you were afraid to speak up during a discussion,
Share: Share your thinking (don't be afraid) by entering your three words here.
Watch: See our word cloud (below) build in real-time to reflect your thinking and the thinking of your peers.

Conversation Starter: The Size of the Group Matters

Small Group Discussions

Students are More Likely To Share in A Small Group Setting: A recent survey at the Lawrence School, in Brookline, MA, found that students overwhelmingly felt more comfortable sharing in a discussion if it was a small group (rather than whole class).
Small Groups Make Sense: When they class has 25 students, it can be intimidating for even your bravest student to share their ideas in front of the whole class. When students are in small groups of three or four the pressure decreases and students will be more likely to participate in the discussion.
Zoom Breakout Rooms allow teachers to break their large class into small groups. Teachers can pre-make groups or automatically / manually make groups on the fly.

Interact: What is the perfect size of a group for discussions?

Think: When you have participated or facilitated a small group discussion what was the optimal group size?
Share: Share your thinking (don't be afraid) by entering your optimal group size here.
Watch: See our circle chart (below) build in real-time to reflect your thinking and the thinking of your peers.

Model Discussion:

Lesson Plan: Develop A Plan To Bring Academic Discussions In Your Teaching

Explore Further: Additional Resources to Learn More About Academic Discussions

Additional Resources - Why are Some Students Reluctant to Participate in Discussions...

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