Facilitating Student Participation

I thought that the Weinstein & Mignano chapter on Managing Recitations and Discussions was both enlightening and eye opening. There were a few specific areas that I would like to focus on as they were especially beneficial or informational to me.

First of all I was surprised to read the differences in gender participation and involvement within the average classroom. I was shocked to see the differences between the numbers of girls versus the number of boys getting called on and/or participating in group discussions or recitation. The fact that "boys called out answers eight times more often than girls did" was something that struck off guard (309). Additionally, it is really surprising to see that teachers tend to listen to the ideas of males more often, as well as provide more in depth and helpful feedback.

When thinking about running my own class discussions, specifically in regards to our upcoming language arts lesson, I tend to get a little nervous and wonder how I will structure my discussion so that I receive good feedback, and so that my students are involved and attentive throughout it. I find it even more overwhelming that it is important to call on a variety of students on order to work towards more equal participation within the classroom; I must try not to call only on those who are always participating, as well as try to avoid calling on those who are truly embarrassed or intimidated to speak (306).

The final aspect of this chapter that I really liked was the section about different strategies for distributing chances for participation. I especially thought that the "response cards" or dry-erase board strategy is one that would be very beneficial at least in including each student, as well as seemingly minimizing the sometimes chaotic waving of hands or excitement that some discussions can create (312). These response card/boards can be used to answer simple yes or no questions or for answering with one or two word responses; regardless, they will help to build and monitor comprehension (319). I felt that this suggestion, as well as some of the others, seem really helpful in facilitating effective discussions and inciting student participation, and are some different strategies that I will surely consider when planning my language arts lesson and instructional conversation.