by: Amanda Rioux

How do we gage classroom participation? More importantly, how do we gage classroom participation in the throes of a deadly pandemic? While the former drives Critel in her research, the latter remains our current predicament. Determining what is and is not “participation” has never been a universally agreed-upon concept; couple that with the uncertainty of teaching during a pandemic, and we end up with the obligatory wrench-in-the-gears situation. This leaves us to ponder if, and how, we should redefine what “participation” means in the age of COVID-19.

One of the long-standing issues with classroom participation lies in what Critel refers to as “unrealized and unstated power dynamics” existing between instructor and student, where “students’ social behaviors and actions are…delineated, observed, and assessed by instructors” (Critel 2019). Instructors may explicitly state in their syllabi what they consider “participation,” but rarely do students get the chance to discuss what they think it means. Additionally, students rarely have the chance to “delineate, observe, and assess” the instructor.

Long before reading the chapter, I played around with at least part of Critel’s ideas in my own classroom. After informing students that we would not be grading them for attendance—and, therefore, not grading for participation, as even the most eager participator may occasionally fall ill and miss class—I asked them to brainstorm what they considered observable forms of participation. While showing up to class and always being willing to raise your hand to answer questions might constitute what the average person considers “participation,” the students came up with a list of what we called “alternative forms of participation.” These included:

• • • Submitting assignments on time
    • Emailing the professor with questions on assignments
    • Sticking around after class to ask a question
    • Asking each other for help on assignments
    • Participating in any discussion board posts

I considered this a worthy list. Maybe a student doesn’t verbally participate in class, but if they email me to ask for clarification on something I said in a discussion, that demonstrates to me that they were listening and actively participating. The simple task of asking the students for their own ideas concerning participation proved a useful tactic in my own classroom, and became my own method for measuring participation.

Critel admits, however, that participation “has been theorized to a limited degree,” and further avenues of research are needed to fully examine every aspect of classroom participation. Perhaps one area of participation needing more exploration is on the lower end of the “power structure” Critel describes—that is, with the students themselves. Critel ponders “What if we asked students to tell us how they will participate? What if we asked them what they need from us?” (ibid). What students consider participation, and how they feel about participation as quantifiable and therefor gradable, are just some of several areas worth delving in to—especially as we continue to navigate the classroom amidst lingering threat of COVID-19.