Engaging Shy Students
Shy students are willing to discuss topics if the instructor can find an innovative way to get them involved. What are some techniques you have used to engage shy students?
Kathryn
Kathryn:
I cannot say for sure that I have worked with "shy" students. I always adopt a strategy of identifying non-participants early in the course.
Once I have done that, I contact them and find out the reason fro non-participation. So far, I have only worked with students with perceived deficiency in written communication skills in courses in which proficiency in written communication is not a criterion for assigning a final grade.
In those cases, I advised students to send their response to me beforehand. I copy edit; then they post thier answers. This works only for Asynchronous Discussion forums; not Chats. And it requires a significant amount of additional time from the Instructor.
Satrohan
Yes sir, your right about it. My concern it is. What if we get 10-20 of those students in a class? And I very sure they demand a lot of more time.
Fernando:
Please elaborate on the subject to which you concur. Elaborate also on your concern so that I can be in a better position to compose an intelligent response to your posting. In short, Fernando, help me to understand your concern. There may not necessarily be a strong positive corellation between the number of students and the quantity of time each student may demand.
Satrohan
Hi Kathryn,
If you have identified students that are not participating in your discussions, you may want to send them a short personal note encouraging them to join in and asking them if they want to review any concerns they may have regarding these forums off-line with you. That may give them an opportunity to "jump over the hurdle".
Good luck!
Patti
Hi Kathryn,
I think one of the best ways is to keep discussion questions short and then ask more questions. I have one professor who uses 4 short questions in a weekly format and then asks everyone to make two responses to the posts of other students.
I have also had other instructors who use a single post and then ask follow-up questions.
Much as we don't like to admit it, grades are like money to a lot of students and if we tie the discussion posts to grades and keep the conversation interesting and on point there is no reason for even the shyest student not to participate, they simply do not have a choice.
-Chris
Chris:
The strategies of both Instructors are likely to lead to more participation. At least they will be less intimidating. My opinion-----"grades are like money" is a key concept for us to consider. I believe this is the case of the great majority of students; nevertheless, having said that, we must ask intelligent Discussion Questions, monitor students' responses, and provide constructive feedback, not only to individual students but for the entire group.
Satrohan
Engaging shy students is something I work with everyday. In a classroom environment I use different tactics such as calling them by name, encouraging them when I speak with them and providing an answer that doesn't cause them to feel isolated or more shy. On line a possibility is to do some basic sharing of my bio with the student, opening up to them, then giving them the opportunity for them to open up. I think the real key is no pressure on them, just encouragement.
Ed:
Your no-pressure, just encouragement strategy may yield some results. These are challenging areas fo online instructors. Am definitley interested in the results you achieve by adopting this strategy.
Satrohan
i would also like to know the answer tho this question. But also, in an online enviroment, how do we know if they are "shy" or just choosing not to particpiate?
Hi Alysha, yes it is harder to determine the reasons for non-participation in the online environment. Having multiple, interactive learning opportunities that might stimulate interest from different students and having minimim participation requirements are both a help, but just as in the traditional environment, the instructor may have to approach the situation privately if there is a non-participatory issue.
I have often had students in an online course, as a first assignment, provide me with a list of their own expectations of the course as well as a plan of how they will maximize the online environmenmt for their individual learning experiences. This helps to create buy-in from the beginning and I can tailor the course a bit, within the parameters of the learning objectives, to stimulate those expectations.
Frequent communication among instructor and students, and among students and students, is, of course, a must.
Thanks for your question.
Jay
EL102 Guest Facilitator
Kathryn:
Although it can be difficult in an online environment to tell which students are shy, those that are not participating can be contacted using a personal method including e-mailing them to see if they might need assistance in the course.
I will also call students to see if I can assist them in any way if I see lack of participation. I have found in the past that some students who are not participating might be having some technical challenges that need to be addressed before they can participate in a course.
Kim
I usually use students bios to tap into their interests. If there is an area that might be of interest to them, I ask them questions that might stimulate their interest.
Vanessa Enoch
