Reply to Rocklan Kopylec Sr's post:

Good points.  I might also add: getting to know what motivates each of your students so you are able to relate to each student.

Every class has its' own specific environment, not necessarly coordinated by the instructor. Some classes are loud and boistrous; others are very quiet and not very responsive. What are your suggestions for students, in a class as a whole, have difficulty participating and to get students to participate. These are the classes where essentially no one can answer a question or  cannot use critical thinking skills to answer a question. Perhaps this is a group speak phenomena.  

I have several students that are very quiet with such a low volume that it is difficult to hear their answers. I don't want to keep embarassing them by always asking them to speak louder. Any suggestions?

@bonz15

This issue has been going on for years and is not going away. I dealt with it strictly at first with reprimands and write-ups, but the rules were not followed in every class on campus. I now inform students on the first day that cell phones are not permitted during class time but I don't want to expend all of my energy enforcing this every day. I had one student that was sleeping at his desk. I approached him and asked him to run around the campus for exercise. He came back after class and apologized. He said he… >>>