When Class Participation is Too Much - Professor LS Murty

Abstract

When class participation is too much, the teachers get to know the different views/lines of thoughts of student responses on some issues. Professor LS Murty begins the video on this positive note. However, the teacher should steer the discussion so that it does not get chaotic. Determining who/how many in the class participate in the discussion on a topic relates to control dimension of the discussion. To have effective discussion, a teacher should exercise this control dimension without upsetting the students.

According to Professor Murty, there are some pre-requisites to exercise control dimension, like (i) having information on the students' academic backgrounds, work experiences, which companies they have worked in, etc. This will give teachers an idea of who can add value to which session's class discussion and discussion process; (ii) choosing who will speak in class – this can be done through the ‘raise the hand’ option or through ‘cold calling’. If a quantitative method analysis is on, teachers might not want a student with a quantitative analysis background to respond, as that could mean that the students who don’t have that kind of background will go silent. Teachers may also try picking a student who has said something in another session that might be relevant for the present class discussion. Teachers can address the student and ask what they think about that thought now in the class discussion.

Then, the need for control is explained. There are two types of control – high control and low control. There is nothing like ‘low’ or ‘high’ class participation – a teacher can decide whether the participation should be low or high.

High control may be exercised when a teacher thinks that there are chances of a class discussion turning chaotic. If there is low control exercised, it will be suitable in a situation where the teacher is raising a question that's somewhat nebulous and having many directions. Appropriate body language is required when exercising low level of control. Teachers must retreat to the corner of the class. This will allow students to speak freely without regulating their responses. Teachers may step back in their original position once they think that enough discussion has happened, and students now need to pay attention to the teacher.

Professor Murty also suggests that teachers capture discussion points on the blackboard. It must be done in a structured manner. Teachers must make a provision for this in their teaching plan.

The level of discussion in class is a matter that needs to be decided by the teacher.