Encouraging and Evaluating Class Participation

Abstract

Many faculty interpret student responses to faculty questions as evidence of an actively engaged classroom. Because of this conviction, class participation, whether graded or ungraded, appears in many course syllabi in colleges and universities and is often promoted as the responsibility of students to contribute to the learning environment. Class participation provides faculty with some confidence that learning is taking place during a course and that students are reading assignments. While faculty may debate that attendance should not be used as a stand-in for class participation, this may not be a universally held belief or practice. Some faculty create rubrics which structure student participation and often delineate the tasks students should perform. Rubrics often list points, percents, and scales indicating levels of performance. This scoping review of the literature identifies themes encouraging and grading class participation and provides examples to increase class participation.