Term 3 Week 4: Participation and Contribution

-
The notion of participation is so well entrenched in the collective mind of the teaching profession that I wonder if we have not consciously stopped considering what we are after when we work with a class. (p. 15)


Dennis Gioia thinks that most of us are after lots of different students answering and asking questions.

It really feels good to see a substantial portion of the class joining in. Indeed, success at achieving class participation is a seductive sort of accomplishment—so seductive that it often leads to a de facto presumption that the class is successful simply because so many people are more actively involved in it.
(p. 15)


He's got a point. Sometimes it's so difficult to get anyone to participate, that on those days when there's a good amount of discussion, we can't help but feel the class is going well. But if our concern stops with the number of students who speak, we may be valuing quantity over quality.


Gioia makes an interesting distinction between participation and contribution. "Participation connotes involvement, sharing and simply taking part..." Contribution, on the other hand, implies much more, including "...intellectual involvement and sharing of knowledge and knowledge construction." (p. 16) "Concentrating on contribution causes people to think about what they are going to say, instead of simply blurting out ill-considered opinions, superficial observation, and irrelevant personal examples." (p. 16) And haven't we all heard some of those types of comments in our classes?



So how do we encourage students to go beyond participation and make contributions to class discussions? Gioia starts us off with a list that describes what students do when they make a contribution:

  • provide recapitulations and summaries;

  • make observations that integrate concepts and discussions;

  • cite relevant personal examples;

  • ask key questions that lead to revealing discussions;

  • engage in devil's advocacy; and

  • disagree with the teacher in ways that promote further exploration of the issue. (p. 17)



His best suggestion is a bit more challenging to implement. He recommends that your "agenda" for the day shouldn't take up more than 50 percent of the period. Students are responsible for generating and sustaining the rest of the class discussion and no, they don't get out early if they fail to do so.


Encouraging contributions is harder than getting students to talk. It requires that teachers move among a constellation of roles: facilitator, coach, cheerleader, iconoclast, questioner, integrator, supporter, referee, Socratic muser, occasional anarchist, and feigned dunce, according to Gioia (p. 19) That's quite a list, but then good discussion requires sophisticated leadership.



See; Gioia, D. A. (1987). Contribution! Not participation in the OB classroom. Journal of Management Education, 11, 15-19.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Term 4 Week 6: Collective & Individual Intelligence

-
Thank you for your collective contribution to the discussion on Friday – it had me thinking about the power of collective thought which led to this article: Is Collective Intelligence Like Individual Intelligence? by Tom Atlee (2003). The article follows. The capacities I explore here are perception, communication, memory, reflection, problem-solving, creativity, implementation, and feedback. They are listed in a loose order (we perceive first, then think about what we saw, then implement what we decide, etc.). Keep in mind, however, that these capacities are not really separate or linear. Most of them are deeply involved in each other's functioning. But I think you will find it interesting to explore them separately with me here... PERCEPTION - Seeing, hearing, feeling, etc. -- these are different ways we absorb information from our environment, or gather it from within ourselves. This information is the foundation for everything we do with our intelligence. HOW DO WE DO THIS CO...
Read more

Classroom Focus: Learning Styles, revisited

-
As teachers we recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. Learning styles group common ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor are learning styles fixed. Students can develop ability in less dominant styles, as well as further develop styles that they already use well. Traditional schooling tends to use mainly linguistic and logical teaching methods. It also uses a relatively limited range of learning and teaching techniques, although this paradigm is changing as we move forward. Many schools still rely on classroom and book/document/website sourced teaching, much repetition, and pressured exams for reinforcement and review. A result is that we often label those who use these learning styles and techniques as "bright....
Read more

Classroom Focus: Making considered choices

-
Taking action in ways that address identified issues. This competency is about being actively involved in communities. Communities include family, whānau, and school and those based, for example, on a common interest or culture. They may be drawn together for purposes such as learning, work, celebration, or recreation. They may be local, national, or global. This competency includes a capacity to contribute appropriately as a group member, to make connections with others, and to create opportunities for others in the group. Students who participate and contribute in communities have a sense of belonging and the confidence to participate within new contexts. They understand the importance of balancing rights, roles, and responsibilities and of contributing to the quality and sustainability of social, cultural, physical, and economic environments. The future of this competency is to reflect on the sorts of learning students might need to access if they are to be and become "confiden...
Read more