As new instructors, I think many of us can relate to a wide constellation of anxieties. How do we keep our students engaged? How do we ensure our students are understanding the curriculum? How do we encourage participation? 

Oftentimes, it can be difficult to navigate participation grading. To grade or not to grade, that is the question. Some instructors believe participation isn’t a requirement because students are expected to demonstrate what they’ve learned in their coursework, while other instructors think verbal participation in the classroom is vital as they are learning from both their peers and the instructors. I believe that as instructors, it’s our responsibility to tailor our curriculum to a diverse audience. 

In the Participation as Reflective Practice: Digital Composing and Feminist Pedagogy chapter written by Jason Palmeri and Abby Dubsiar, Palmeri says, “…I was never sure what to do with the quiet yet seemingly engaged students—the ones who participated actively and smartly on the discussion board but never or hardly ever talked in the whole group. As a teacher deeply committed to making my class accessible to students who learn in diverse ways, I could never actually follow my policy and give less than an A to a student who maybe just didn’t find talking in discussion to be all that helpful for their learning.”

In our classrooms, we have a diverse set of students and as Genevieve Critel stated in the introduction, we’re asking out students to be vulnerable when they’re asked to participate in front of their peers. There will always be the students that love to participate and share their ideas in the classroom, but there are also the ones that avoid it like the plague. 

A solution to this widely discussed topic is technology. It’s no secret that technology has advanced significantly throughout the years, forcing the way we teach to adapt to it. This can be both hindering and helpful in the classroom, but for the purpose of this post, I am going to focus on the benefits. Laptops are a tool for enhancing and documenting participation, and there are three strategies this chapter focuses on. 

• Digital Participation in Minilecture 
• Digital Participation in Whole-Class Discussion
• Digital Participation in Small-Group Work

Digital Participation in Minilecture

The authors encourage instructors to establish a routine with their students, where a brief lecture is followed by an individual or small group activity in which students must compose and share an informal text on a discussion board that applies to the concepts that were conveyed in the lecture. Palmeri and Dubsiar say, “The point here is that students will be more engaged in the lecture if they know they will have to apply the concepts right away and not in some distant future…” (Palmeri and Dubisar). 

Digital Participation in Whole-Class Discussion

Whole-class discussions can be one of the most powerful moments of collaborative dialogue. The authors suggest that digital technologies can be a productive tool that can help students build upon the contributions their peers have made. “In our experience, when students use digital technologies to compose and share the insights they gain from whole-class discussions, they are more likely to see these discussions as having value,” (Palmeri and Dubisar). 

Digital Participation in Small-Group Work

Lastly, many students often get bored or disengage during small-group work. To counter this, Palmeri and Dubisar suggest using a google document or digital presentation to encourage collaboration and participation. 

Conclusion

In my opinion, these are all ways participation can be graded. Participation can be more than verbal communication in the classroom. Whether a student is anxious about talking in front of their peers or simply needs time to compile their thoughts, technology is a great way to tailor to different types of learners. 

If you’re interested in reading more about the impact technology has on participation, click here to read the rest of the chapter. I know I didn’t focus on the feminist pedagogy portion in this post, but I highly recommend reviewing it because it’s very interesting! 

-Cameron