LEESA PRESCOD

Defining & Assessing Classroom Participation

What question or problem did you examine, and why?

For my thesis, I decided to ask the question: “How do we define participation, and should students be graded for it?”

This question was inspired from my time in the course ENL 631: Teaching Technical and Professional Writing. Most of the material that had to do with assessment did not mention grading participation. I thought it was odd that graded participation was barely suggested for student assessment; it was the exact opposite of my time as an undergraduate. In most of my undergraduate classes, participation was graded heavily on classwork and open discussions. Since I’m only familiar with this assessment approach, I asked myself: “If I can’t grade their participation, how would they know they’re doing well in class?”

As my time teaching and learning new pedagogy continued, I realized there are many ways to assess students individually, and that the definition of participation varies between students and instructors.

The indistinct definitions of what participation leads to complications in-class expectations and student progression. I examined this problem as a question because I wanted to know what participation was, how instructors and students define it, and if graded participation is ethical.

What excited you most about your research?

What excited me most about my research was learning both pros and cons of participation. Another aspect that excited me about the research was discovering there are no rules or guides to how an instructor grades participation; it’s a very subjective way to assess students.

I liked how my research shared many pros and cons of grading participation. While graded participation would help some students with public speaking and class preparation, this may cause stress and anxiety in other students.

Lastly, another exciting part of the research was interviewing different professors on their definitions of participation. It was insightful to know how they felt about graded participation when they were undergraduates to what they feel about now. Learning how to use strategies they use to assess their classrooms.

How does this research reinforce or change your work as a professional?

My research changed my work as a professional. Before this project, I was definitely on the side of grading participation because it was that best practice to assess students. My line of thinking was: “how would I know that my students are actually doing their work and know the material?” Similarly, this was a common concern from other instructors.

However, my perspective on grading participation changed after researching the problem. Grading participation could potentially hinder a positive classroom environment; it could damage a student’s self-esteem and create an anxious working environment. Things like note taking, group work, coming to class, and going to office hours are better reinforcements of participation and assessment. For my class, the practice of setting going over class expectations and outlining together what counts as participation has worked out very well.