Regressions on class participation
Suzanne Patt
Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: Op-Ed
I haven't run a regression to control for all variables, but the buzz in the forum suggests that class participation is a major factor in students' course selection. The equation goes something like this: the more class participation counts for the grade, the less interested students are in taking the course.
But that's not because students are scared of raising their own hands in class. Rather, it's a fear of all the other students who will raise their hands in class. And the amount of time they will take to reiterate a point that the mid-career across the room already made - twice.
I'm as guilty as the next person. Sometimes the thought that seemed so eloquent in my head just doesn't translate into clear, succinct classroom-appropriate English. But after more than 15 months of participation and observation, I (like a good Kennedy School student) have something to say about this issue: Raise your hand if you have something interesting and relevant to say. If your thought is not interesting or relevant, wait until it is, and then raise your hand.
This may seem elementary, but somehow in countless classes people start babbling, the rest of the class gets annoyed, and we continue passive aggressively along for the rest of the semester. In only one of the several poorly run discussion-based courses I've taken here has a student had a sufficiently developed sense of superiority (read: altruism) to raise this issue in class.
And despite his admirable effort, things really didn't get any better.
Why, in a school of such genuinely intelligent and accomplished individuals, is class discussion sometimes lousy? After investigating why it's so bad in some courses and so good in others, I've segmented the culprits into two main types. First, there's the "raise hand now, think later" student. These folks are driven by the same motivation as those who crowd the microphones at forum events. They want to be heard, and thanks to early and often hand-raising, they will be heard, regardless of the relevance or insightfulness of their comments.
But that's not because students are scared of raising their own hands in class. Rather, it's a fear of all the other students who will raise their hands in class. And the amount of time they will take to reiterate a point that the mid-career across the room already made - twice.
I'm as guilty as the next person. Sometimes the thought that seemed so eloquent in my head just doesn't translate into clear, succinct classroom-appropriate English. But after more than 15 months of participation and observation, I (like a good Kennedy School student) have something to say about this issue: Raise your hand if you have something interesting and relevant to say. If your thought is not interesting or relevant, wait until it is, and then raise your hand.
This may seem elementary, but somehow in countless classes people start babbling, the rest of the class gets annoyed, and we continue passive aggressively along for the rest of the semester. In only one of the several poorly run discussion-based courses I've taken here has a student had a sufficiently developed sense of superiority (read: altruism) to raise this issue in class.
And despite his admirable effort, things really didn't get any better.
Why, in a school of such genuinely intelligent and accomplished individuals, is class discussion sometimes lousy? After investigating why it's so bad in some courses and so good in others, I've segmented the culprits into two main types. First, there's the "raise hand now, think later" student. These folks are driven by the same motivation as those who crowd the microphones at forum events. They want to be heard, and thanks to early and often hand-raising, they will be heard, regardless of the relevance or insightfulness of their comments.
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