Exploring College Students’ Classroom Participation: A Case Study of A Developmental Literacy Classroom

Abstract

This case study examined postsecondary students’ participation within a developmental literacy course, Reading 100. The study involved five weeks of observations and two student interviews. Findings indicate students utilized oral participation when they felt comfortable as a way to demonstrate interest and keep class moving forward while students employed silent participation as a less public manner of engaging, particularly when they did not feel confident in their knowledge or understanding. These findings suggest silent participation may provide students with a lower-risk method of engaging within a new class.