Constructive contribution during class can help your grade
Do you wonder why many (all??) of your teachers tell you that you need to talk more in class?
Do you really wish you could slip into class unnoticed, take notes, pass the tests and assignments and then leave the class without making any ripples whatsoever?
I get that. I was like that once. The problem is that once I became a teacher, I realized that behavior really did not benefit me.
Why???
Keep reading. Hopefully, I will at least get you to think about modifying your behavior, at least a little bit.
Way back when, in ancient history, more commonly known as public school, or grades K – 12, we got into trouble if we were caught talking in class. In college, students can be penalized for NOT talking in class. There is a fine line on this.
We have all been in classes in which someone starts talking and does not know when to quit. In the worst-case scenario, that person might be the instructor.
From the Instructor’s side of the issue:
Yeah, I know. I have been told, more than once, that if someone asks me for the time, I give the person the history of clocks. That is a bad habit in “civilian life”, I know, but as an instructor, I try to give everyone as much information as they might want. Granted, some do not want all the details, but there are a few who actually want the additional information. The question then becomes whether I provide the information and bore some students or give some students a reason to think they are getting good value for their tuition. I generally opt for the latter.
There are those times that I get the sense that students want me to talk because they hope I will not do something else, like give them a quiz, or ask about the material they were supposed to read but did not. In that case, I tend to be very succinct.
The downside of being verbal usually comes at the end of class. That is when I ask, “Does anyone have any questions?” It did not take me long to realize that almost no one does. Well, maybe someone has a question, but no one will raise a hand or ask any questions. They are afraid I will answer the question with a long explanation and keep them from leaving the class. I get that. I will still ask, however.
Why do instructors want students to talk in class?
“Instructors want to hear the student’s voices.”
I guess there is someone, somewhere who has this goal, and only this goal, but that is usually not the main reason we encourage student participation.
Listening to what students say is one of the few ways we instructors can assess if a student actually understands the material.
That is what tests are for, right?
Not really.
Most tests allow students to repeat what they have been taught. They do not assess whether a student actually understands the material.
I am going to use the business MetroPCS as an example. You may or may not be familiar with the company, but when you see the name on a store, or in an ad, or some other business-related item, an adult would tend to conclude that MetroPCS is a business and that is the business name.
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