Participation
Define how students will share answers and opinions in class, including raising hands and using digital tools (Davis, 2009).
Impact: Ensures equitable participation and engagement among students. By establishing clear guidelines, students with diverse abilities and differing levels of comfort speaking in class are given clear guidance on participating. The more students are aware of the expectations and methods for sharing, the more comfortable and confident they feel engaging in the classroom.
Plan how to address and welcome students sharing multiple viewpoints.
Impact: Ensures that all students feel heard and respected, fostering an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and integrated into the learning process. By engaging with diverse viewpoints, students are exposed to different ideas and perspectives, which broadens their understanding of the subject matter. Creating a plan to address and engage with multiple views also allows instructors to proactively navigate disagreement and conflict within the classroom.
Example: Plan how to address and welcome students sharing multiple viewpoints
For example, in a Psychology lecture about the construction and development of human personality, students may question the theories of Bandura (1977) and Fiske (1949) and begin to discuss their different opinions on how personalities are constructed. The instructor might approach this discussion by:
- Being on the lookout for students ignoring the viewpoints that their peers share and referring back to, responding to, or restating the overlooked comments (Davis, 2009)
- Crediting and referencing student comments made in the discussion later in class (“As Farheen said…”) as a way of distributing focus away from theorists and instructors as the primary sources of knowledge (Davis, 20009)
- Redirecting the conversation to discuss the potential assumptions behind specific theories of personality development
Allowing students to express their learning is integral to creating a classroom environment inclusive of differing perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. Responding to different viewpoints, directly and indirectly, signals to students that an instructor is paying attention and, importantly, values all student contributions. Outside of a discussion space, instructors can build multiple viewpoints within a discipline into course materials and treat them equally in lectures and on the syllabus. It is essential to recognize that while some students may readily challenge the perspectives of theorists and instructors, some students are brought up to believe that challenging people in positions of authority is disrespectful and, therefore, not permissible. By emphasizing that there are multiple expressions of learning and critical thinking, instructors can validate the different dispositions of students.
Decide how to address students who frequently share in class discussions to allow all students to participate.
Impact: Creates space and boundaries for self-expression in the classroom. Implementing strategies, such as setting time limits for each student’s contribution or alternating participation methods, such as live polls, helps demonstrate that all students’ contributions are valued. This helps reorient understandings of what student engagement and learning looks like in the classroom and adapt to students’ capacities and communication styles.
Facilitate class discussions, including establishing and enforcing discussion guidelines and managing differences of opinions (Weimer, 2013).
Impact: Fosters a learning environment of respect and compassion between students, allowing students to express their ideas without judgement or discrimination. Discussion-based learning can offer opportunities to engage in constructive dialogue, learn from diverse perspectives, and develop critical thinking skills, which allows instructors to highlight the significance and interplay between oneself, subjectivity, and learning with others.
References
Bandura, A., & Walters, R. H. (1977). Social learning theory (Vol. 1). Prentice Hall: Englewood cliffs.
Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for Teaching (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Fiske, D. W. (1949). Consistency of the factorial structures of personality ratings from different sources. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 44(3), 329–344.
Weimer, M. (2013). Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
