The Importance Of Classroom Participation

Susan Cain in her book, “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Won’t Stop Talking” writes, “There’s zero correlation between being the best talker and having the best ideas.” This idea is especially relevant in today’s school systems where so much pressure is put on classroom participation. In recent years the question has been posed of whether or not grading based on classroom participation, which has been the norm in many classes for years, is really the best way to engage students. There are many problems with grading participation, the main issue being that, with the recent influx of research done on the differences between introverted and extroverted learners, it has become apparent that grading for something as subjective as classroom participation may not be the best method to …show more content…
An example of this comes from participation grades that make up a too large portion of a student’s final grade. When a grade is large enough that students who do not understand subject material but talk a lot in class are achieving the same marks as students who have a good grasp of the content but struggle with speaking up, the grade overall does not show an accurate representation of a student’s proclivity for a subject (Klein). Another potentially detrimental example of class participation is the use of ‘cold-calling’ in the classroom. Cold-calling involves a teacher asking a question to a student with little to no warning and requiring an answer on the spot. This method has had some ardent disagreement author Alfie Kohn gave his disapproval stating, “The goal is to produce a certain observable behavior; the experience of the student is irrelevant” (Kohn). Introverts, who require time to process information internally before sharing their thoughts, are naturally less equipped to deal with forced participation such as