Danielle, One of the ways to get students comfortable in a class is to have them pair off and exchange information, such as why they are in the course. By chatting with another student the shy students seem to get more comfortable when it is their turn to talk. I frequently have the paired students introduce each other to the class after their exchange of information. That way the students aren't talking about themselves but about someone else. The shy students seem to do better at this. I still get the information I need and everyone in the class learns why each student is in the class. Gary Dr. Gary Meers