WGU’s
Classroom Tip of the Month
How to Increase Student
Participation
Defining Participation
What is Classroom Participation?
If an immediate answer popped in your head…good for you! You are
definitely in the minority. For the majority of teachers this topic is
always one for contention.
• Should participation be a part of a student’s grade?
• Should the teacher grade it objectively or should he/she have
documentation to support the students’ scores?
• Is it enough for the student to just raise his/her hand?
• What if the student is shy, yet knows the material?
• Should poor social/public speaking skills be penalized?
• If the student isn’t participating, how do I know he/she understands
the material?
I recommend you pause the presentation at this point and self-reflect on
the questions above before moving on……
What does Participation look like?
Post reflection, you may have thought of one or more of the following:
•The student is on time and has his/her necessary class materials.
•The student actively raises his /her hand and participates in class.
•The student is respectful of his/her classmates and of me.
• The student completes all his/her homework assignments.
How do I encourage participation?
Now that you have thought about your approach to
participation, it is important that you recognize your
responsibility to your students before you consider issuing a
grade in this area:
• Have you created a safe environment where students aren’t
afraid to participate and share their ideas?
• Do you ask good questions (think Bloom’s Taxonomy) that
require thought, not just factual recall?
How do I encourage participation? (cont.)
•Have you considered cultural attitudes toward teachers that
might affect the way some students respond to you?
•Have you created (and enforced) class rules that let all
students know you are a student advocate and that all
student contributions are valued and appreciated?
•Do you correct students’ incorrect responses with dignity
or do you inadvertently move on to the “one you can count
on” to give you the right answer?
How do I encourage participation? (cont.)
•Have you developed a fair, consistent participation policy?
•Have you posted it in your classroom?
•Is it in your syllabus or class rules?
•Have you created opportunities for all students to contribute
by using differentiated instruction in your lesson plans?
The good and bad news is that there is no right or wrong
answer to these questions/statements. Each teacher must
individually decide what is fair for their students, keeping
their content area in mind. For example, a foreign
language teacher will place more emphasis on verbal
participation than perhaps, a reading teacher. It is
important that you feel comfortable with whatever system
you develop and that you are consistent when using it.
Lastly, make sure you read your school participation
policy, if one exists.
Participation Strategies
Participation Strategies
•Know your students’ names for personalized attention.
•Make eye contact with them to validate their responses.
•Ask for new hands! This might sound silly and simple, but
sometimes it does work. Some students are used to remaining
silent because they know other students will raise their hand
and they’ll answer. Simply inviting students to participate
just might do the trick.
Participation Strategies (cont.)
• Allow enough wait time after asking a question. Give
students enough time to process the question and prepare a
response before you expect them to answer.
•Create pair/share activities where students work with one
other person to share their thoughts, written work or ideas.
Working with one person is much less intimidating to shy
students who are afraid of public speaking.
Participation Alternatives
Participation Alternatives
• Create a post-it note wall/bulletin board. Students who are
afraid to raise their hand during class can put their question
up on the wall as they leave class . You collect the post it
notes and make sure you answer their question in
tomorrow’s class period.
•Provide class discussion questions in advance. Students can
take the material home, work on their responses and be
prepared to participate in tomorrow’s lesson.
Participation Motivators
Participation Motivators
•Talk with quiet students privately and encourage them to
participate more. Encourage them to start out raising their
hand once per class. Praise their efforts.
•Work the room during group work and provide
encouragement to silent students as you “eavesdrop”.
•When students are engaged in partner/group work, alternate
students in the “recorder/spokesperson” role so all students
become comfortable with their classmates.
Participation Motivators (cont.)
•Promote a monthly “Participation Award” and have the
prize be something worthwhile. (i.e. free lunch in the
cafeteria, gift certificates to local food establishments,
free homework pass, etc.) Be creative and involve local
businesses in your plans. Some will give you free
coupons that you can award to your students. Most
students will be motivated just by a free homework pass,
so use that to your advantage!
Participation Motivators (cont.)
•Develop unique, fair ways to “cold call” on your
students. “Cold calling” is when you call on students
whose hands are not raised. If you haven’t done this in
the past and have only called on “the hand raisers”,
students might fight you on this idea. Therefore, you
need to develop random ways to execute your cold
calling that is fair across the board.
Cold Calling Ideas:
• Buy a bag of popsicle sticks at your local craft store.
Put each student’s name on a stick and put them name
side down in a small bucket/pail. Pull a stick out for
each question you ask and call on that student. Place
“used” popsicle sticks back in the pail upside down at
the end of the class, so you know who got their turn
today and whose turn it is tomorrow.
Cold Calling Ideas:
•Assign each student a number at the beginning of the
year. Make sure they use that number for everything:
labeling their papers, their textbooks, their homework,
etc. Make a group of numbers cards (i.e. 1 through
35) and randomly pull out numbers to call on
students. If I call your number, it’s your turn to
answer.
Participation Problems
Potential Participation Problems:
•Require students to raise their hand. Do not allow shout
outs from students without consequences.
•Make sure you continue to call on the over achiever.
Even if his/her hand is up for every question, make sure
you don’t ignore them. Likewise, don’t call on them for
every question, either.
Potential Participation Problems: (cont.)
•Correct inappropriate comments/ridiculing immediately. If a
student cannot answer your question after you’ve called on
him/her and another student makes a comment about his inability
to do so, you must take immediate action. Remind the students that
it is safe to make a mistake in this class and that all contributions
are valued and appreciated. Require the student to make a public
apology to the offended student. If you don’t handle this situation
immediately, the embarrassed student will never feel safe to
participate in your classroom, again.
Grading Participation
Participation Grading Ideas:
•Do a random book/materials check. Award students points for
having their materials and supplies. Likewise, offer some extra
credit opportunities that month so students who lost those points
have the chance to make them up.
•Attach a transparency to your seating chart each month. Each
time a student participates in class, make a check mark.
Assuming each month has an average of 20 school days, make
your participation grade 20 points for that month and assign each
student their grade (the amount of checkmarks on the seating
chart).
Questions or Comments:
• If you have any comments or questions about this
presentation, please contact Marcella Ryan, WGU TC
Alumni Mentor, at mryan1@wgu.edu
• Please visit our WGU Teacher Blog and share your tips
and ideas at www.alumni.wgu.edu. Click on “Teachers
College” and then choose “Teacher Blog” to post your
ideas.