Computer Writing and Research Lab | University of Texas at Austin

How heavily do you weigh participation?

Submitted by megan on January 9, 2008 - 11:49am

And does it work? I've been griping to colleagues over the last several months about my failures to inspire good class discussions, and some have simply said, "up the participation percent." Folks, does this work for you? If so, what was the magic number?

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I'm anti-participation grade

Submitted by erinhurt on February 15, 2008 - 11:51am.

I'm anti-participation grade if only because of the difficulty I have in keeping track of something like that. Instead, I like to spend time at the beginning of and throughout the semester talking about why the class follows a discussion format. I tell them that learning to articulate their thoughts to a group, out loud, is something they won't get to do in most of their classes. Sometimes that seems to motivate some of them.
As in previous posts, blogs have been useful for me. I have my students write a 250-300 word blog each week, and it counts for 15% of their grade. They each have to leave two comments on their classmates' blogs. I've found the blogs to work well because the students have already thought out a few ideas about the texts we'll cover. It also lets me see if there is a consensus around a certain topic. For instance, my class as a whole found Cindy Sheehan's protest to be entirely to hostile and aggressive. So I had a direction to go in for that class discussion. I also like to use it as a way to draw out my more shy students by summarizing what they say in their blog posts and asking them if they want to add anything. That way, it's as if their ideas are taking part in the class discussion even if I'm the one saying them.

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I don't know if

Submitted by Michael Faris on January 9, 2008 - 2:30pm.

I don't know if participation points is the way to go. I've found that when I can't get students to talk to me or each other during class discussion, that starting small and working up to a larger group discussion usually works. Have students freewrite, then share and talk about that with each other in pairs, and then move onto class discussion.

Another option is thinking about how you're soliciting class discussion. I've found that using Rogerian techniques, like reflecting content back to the students, instead of asking questions, works a lot to solicit discussion. Statements like "So I'm hearing..." and then waiting for more students to chime in seem to work well for me.

I don't think there is a magic cure all — which is why I think that the use of participation points (a form of coercion) won't necessarily work.

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I don't give any

Submitted by Ljones on January 12, 2008 - 5:36pm.

I don't give any participation points. If they absolutely don't want to participate, that's their problem. I probably will be willing to bump a student's final grade a percentage point or two if they are very active in class.

I agree that freewriting, or giving the students a few minutes to write down some answers to questions for a few questions, is a better way to get students to talk.

Another approach is to say something like, "I'm going to ask you to tell me the argument of The Devil's Highway cover in a couple of minutes" while you're making introductory comments on visual rhetoric so that the students know what question is coming.

I also find reading responses / blog posts helpful. This semester, I divided the class into two groups -- every other week, they have to write 300 words. That way, at least half the class has done some more in-depth thinking about the reading. You could also ask the students to bring in or post a discussion question as part of their homework--that might get them thinking about what they find interesting in the piece.

Then, of course, there's threats or bribes. You could offer to let them go a few minutes early if you have a stimulating discussion, or say that you will have a quiz the next class period if they don't talk.

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I agree

Submitted by gavinbenke on January 15, 2008 - 8:09am.

On a practical level, I don't think giving credit for participation works that well. It's very subjective and opens the door to student complaints if they don't like the final grade. Another pitfall is that it potentially penalizes very shy students who do good work otherwise.

Still, class discussions are important.

I've found that blog posts - especially if they appear before class - can help. You can start class discussion by referencing the blog and asking that student to elaborate. It puts people on the spot, but it does get the conversation going.

Another technique I've seen professors use in graduate classes is to have students email questions before the the start of class. This lets the instructor know what people are thinking and that becomes the basis for the discussion. I don't know how well that would work with undergraduates, though.

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