Discussion in the College Classroom: Triangulating Observational and Survey Results

Abstract

Introduction At the college level, would expect find inquiring . . . minds being challenged by the intellectual and perceptive questions of learned professors - extensive Socratic dialogue and an active interchange of ideas (Barnes, 1983, p. 79). Prior studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between student participation in classroom discussion and learning, motivation, and problem-solving ability (McKeachie, 1970; Smith, 1980). Nonetheless, learning appears be a spectator sport at the college level with little time spent in discussion (Smith, 1983) and only a few students involved (Karp & Yoels, 1976). Master teachers have offered much practical advice on to stimulate participation (for example, call on students by name, ask for elaboration, praise students for their contributions) (Eble, 1976; Gullette, 1984; McKeachie, 1986; McKeachie, 1994; Neff & Weimer, 1989). However, we have surprisingly little systematically collected empirical data on the impact of faculty members' behavior on students' participation; many of the strategies suggested for increasing student participation are based only on anecdotal evidence (Auster & MacRone, 1994, p. 289). Hence, educational leaders have called for the systematic verification of the effectiveness of these techniques at the college level (Bonwell & Eison, 1991; Mentkowski & Chickering, 1987). Ellner (1983) emphasizes the need for such verification in Piercing the College Veil. Furthermore, observational studies of classroom interaction at the college level are infrequent, the few existing studies are dated (for example, Fischer & Grant, 1983; Karp & Yoels, 1976; Smith, 1983), and most studies were conducted in small private liberal arts colleges. The current study, which was conducted in a large public university and triangulates data from observations of actual classroom behavior with self-report surveys of faculty and students, provides important information regarding interaction in the college classroom. Research Questions Questions addressed include: How much student verbal participation occurs? Which techniques do teachers use in eliciting student participation or in responding it? Is there a relationship between these teaching techniques and the amount of participation that occurs? Do students and teachers hold similar views about classroom interaction, and how do their views compare with observational findings? Interaction Patterns in the College Classroom In an observational study of 40 classrooms representing a variety of subject areas at two large public and two small private colleges, Fischer and Grant (1983) found that professors' talk occupied nearly 80% of the time. Smith's (1983) observations of 12 classes (in humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences) at a small liberal arts college also revealed that 80% of class time was spent in lecture, 14% in student participation, and the remaining 6% in teacher questions, praise, and criticism. Interestingly, this participation pattern was found persist in introductory and advanced classes, in the natural and social sciences, and in classes observed at the beginning and end of the semester (Ellner, 1983). In contrast, high-school classes appear be more interactive than college classes, with student participation accounting for 17% 26% of class time (Flanders, cited in Amidon & Hough, 1967). Each of these studies used a time-sampling approach (Suen & Ary, 1989) for data collection based on Flanders' Interaction Analysis System (Flanders, 1970). At the college level typically only 10 students in a class of 40 participate in discussion, and interaction is dominated by 5 of these students (Karp & Yoels, 1976). The vast majority (80%) of the questions asked by professors are at the lowest cognitive level - that is, recall of facts (Barnes, 1983). Because these observational studies revealed that little participation occurs, few students are involved, and teacher questions focus on recall rather than critical thinking, one must conclude that learning at the college level is indeed a spectator sport. …