Understanding the Quiet Student: Perspectives from Instructors and Students.

Abstract

A significant proportion of students in a given course may choose not to participate verbally. Instructor concerns about these "quiet" students include lack of participation in social aspects of learning and difficulty in assessing student engagement and understanding. Instructors and students at a college of veterinary medicine completed anonymous surveys. Instructors perceived a greater percentage of the class as quiet in lecture settings with more verbal participation in laboratory settings and clinical settings. Instructors in this program regularly asked questions during class but rarely cold called on students. Students enjoyed small group work and were very uncomfortable with cold calling. The primary reasons that students chose not to participate verbally in class were judgement by classmates and fear of being wrong or not knowing the answer. Suggestions for universal course design to better incorporate quiet students include giving all students time to formulate a response and using methods that minimize singling out of students, such as small group discussions and polling tools.