Classroom Participation Research Articles

Understanding student participation in a Mozambican university: the student perspective

ABSTRACT Student participation in university classrooms plays a pivotal role in student learning and success in higher education. We conducted a qualitative study to comprehend how students navigate complex classroom environments. Our aim is to understand how students perceive class participation and interactions with teachers and how they interpret teaching practices vis-à-vis their participation. Data from 23 undergraduate students at one university in Mozambique were collected and analysed. The findings indicate nuanced views and experiences regarding student participation and interactions with faculty. Deterrents to classroom participation and interactions were identified. Contextual and cultural factors were paramount in revealing the types and qualities of interactions and classroom participation reported in this study. Furthermore, innovative teaching practices and faculty’s caring attitude and behaviour were linked to more active participation and positive feelings about learning.

Pedagogic Excellence in Massified Higher Education: Strategies for Inclusive Business Teaching in Thai Universities

Background and Aim: The rapid expansion of higher education, known as massification, has greatly increased student diversity in Thai universities, particularly in business schools. This increase presents new challenges for educators striving to maintain pedagogic excellence while addressing diverse student needs. The study aims to explore effective strategies for inclusive teaching that can enhance student engagement and improve learning outcomes in massified business education contexts in Thai universities. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to identify key inclusive pedagogical practices suitable for diverse business classrooms. The effectiveness of these strategies was analyzed based on their ability to promote inclusivity and student engagement in higher education. Results: The review identified several effective strategies, including active learning, context-mediated pedagogy, and adaptive teaching methods. These approaches were found to enhance student participation and learning outcomes in diverse classrooms. Achieving pedagogic excellence in massified higher education requires adopting inclusive teaching methods that cater to the diverse needs of students. By implementing these strategies, Thai universities can improve the quality of business education and ensure that students are well-prepared to succeed in a globalized world. Conclusion: Pedagogical excellence in massified higher education requires the adoption of inclusive teaching practices that cater to the diverse needs of students. Implementing these strategies can improve the quality of education in Thai universities and support student success in a globalized world.

Secondary science teachers' conceptualizations and modifications to support equitable participation in a co‐designed computational thinking lesson

AbstractIncreasing access to computational ideas and practices is one important reason to integrate computational thinking (CT) in science classrooms. While integrating CT into science classrooms broadens exposure to computing, it may not be enough to ensure equitable participation in the science classroom. Equitable participation is crucial because providing students with an environment in which they are able to fully engage and participate in science and computing practices empowers students to learn and continue pursuing CT and science. To foreground equitable participation in CT‐integrated curricula, we undertook a research project in which researchers and teachers examined teacher conceptualizations of equitable participation and how teachers design for equitable participation by modifying a lesson that introduces computational modeling in science. The following research questions guided the study: (1) What are teachers' conceptualizations of equitable participation? (2) How do teachers design for equitable participation through co‐design of a CT‐integrated unit? Our findings suggest that teachers conceptualized and designed for equitable participation in the context of a CT‐integrated curriculum across three primary dimensions: accessibility, inclusion, and relevancy. Our contributions to the field of science teaching and learning are twofold: (1) obtaining an initial understanding of how teachers think about and design for equitable participation is crucial in order to support teachers in their pursuit of creating equitable learning experiences for CT and science learners, and (2) our findings show that we can study teacher conceptualizations and their design choices by examining specific modifications to a CT‐integrated science curriculum. Implications are discussed.

Interplay among Language and Home Variables in Lebanese Students’ Science TIMSS Performance: A Linguistic and Economic Capital Perspective

AbstractIn Lebanon, science is taught in an international language (French or English) based on a language-in-education policy rooted in Lebanon’s colonial history. Given the intersection among social/socioeconomic class, educational equity, and science performance, learning science in a language other than one’s own raises concerns around economically-marginalized students’ opportunities for quality science education and their development of science understandings and discourse. Bourdieu’s lens of cultural and linguistic capital was utilized to better understand the interplay among socioeconomic status and science performance. Specifically, we examined how different home context variables (including language) influence Lebanese learners’ science performance in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessment. Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we looked at how students performed in science based on how often they spoke the language of the test at home and other home variables such as parents’ education level. The findings indicate that language and various economic and home variables were significantly associated with science performance. Language had a differing effect for English and French tracks, whereby parents’ education level and other home variables emerged more significantly for French track students. Our study underscores the importance of preparing and supporting science teachers for equitable, asset-oriented, and linguistically responsive teaching that enhances diverse learners’ equitable participation and opportunities in the science classroom.

Classification of Internal and External Distractions in an Educational VR Environment Using Multimodal Features.

Virtual reality (VR) can potentially enhance student engagement and memory retention in the classroom. However, distraction among participants in a VR-based classroom is a significant concern. Several factors, including mind wandering, external noise, stress, etc., can cause students to become internally and/or externally distracted while learning. To detect distractions, single or multi-modal features can be used. A single modality is found to be insufficient to detect both internal and external distractions, mainly because of individual variability. In this work, we investigated multi-modal features: eye tracking and EEG data, to classify the internal and external distractions in an educational VR environment. We set up our educational VR environment and equipped it for multi-modal data collection. We implemented different machine learning (ML) methods, including k-nearest-neighbors (kNN), Random Forest (RF), one-dimensional convolutional neural network - long short-term memory (1 D-CNN-LSTM), and two-dimensional convolutional neural networks (2D-CNN) to classify participants' internal and external distraction states using the multi-modal features. We performed cross-subject, cross-session, and gender-based grouping tests to evaluate our models. We found that the RF classifier achieves the highest accuracy over 83% in the cross-subject test, around 68% to 78% in the cross-session test, and around 90% in the gender-based grouping test compared to other models. SHAP analysis of the extracted features illustrated greater contributions from the occipital and prefrontal regions of the brain, as well as gaze angle, gaze origin, and head rotation features from the eye tracking data.

Using text-scrolling to increase student engagement in the STEM classroom: a collaboration

The benefits of using active-learning approaches to increase student engagement and participation in the HE classroom are well known (Allsop et al., 2020). In STEM disciplines specifically, active-learning approaches can contribute to a reduction in achievement gaps for underrepresented students by promoting self-efficacy and a sense of belonging (Kovarik, Robinson and Wenzel, 2022). Despite these benefits, academics in those disciplines may be reluctant to adopt active learning for reasons such as lack of familiarity or more time spent in traditional, lecture-style delivery (Arnaud, 2021). This presentation reported on the outcome of a small-scale pedagogical innovation in one tutorial of a first-year undergraduate theory module in Chemistry. The aim was to increase students’ classroom engagement in the tutorial by using a text-mapping activity with scrolled research papers (Abegglen et al., 2019), with the additional benefit of introducing tutors to this active-learning technique. The transcript of a professional conversation between a Chemistry lecturer and Learning Developer discussing the approach along with slides outlining a typical session were circulated to tutors a week prior to the timetabled tutorial. Qualitative feedback from tutors was presented to indicate the success of the text-mapping activity as a way of increasing student engagement in the tutorial. Insights were also gained about tutors’ own perceptions of pedagogical value and confidence in adopting such approaches in future. Implications were presented for how the first-year tutorials might be redesigned to include more active learning, as well as how Learning Developers can work in collaboration with academic colleagues in STEM programmes.

Analysis of English Teachers' Multimodal Discourse Construction and Students' Participation in the Digital Age

In the context of the digital age, this paper delves deeply into the construction of multimodal discourse by English teachers and its relationship with students' participation. Through sorting out relevant theories, conducting empirical research, and analyzing case studies, it reveals the importance of multimodal discourse construction in English teaching. The article uses methods such as questionnaires and classroom observations to collect data, analyzes the current situation of English teachers' multimodal discourse construction, including teachers' understanding of multimodal discourse construction, the utilization of multimodal teaching resources, and the methods of multimodal discourse construction. At the same time, it explores students' cognition and participation in English teachers' multimodal discourse construction, covering students' interest and attitude towards multimodal teaching, their participation in multimodal classrooms, and their evaluation of the effect of multimodal teaching. Moreover, it proposes corresponding improvement strategies to provide beneficial references for improving the quality of English teaching and students' participation.

The Adverse Effect of Dehumanizing Practices on Student Engagement and Learning in English Language Teaching Classroom

Knowingly or unknowingly, forgetting our multilingual and multicultural scenario, teachers’ behaviors may create social inequalities and injustices in the classroom; in the name of the dominant language of the school and power relation. Our classroom context is multilingual, multicultural and bilingual where students come from different economic and linguistic background. To some extent, our school system, including textbooks, instruction, curriculum, teaching practices seem to have influenced by the dominant ‘English/Nepali only’ approach. Furthermore, some teachers may not motivate minority students looking their low economic status, uncombed hair, roughly managed shirt-paint, unpolished shoes and low proficiency in English language. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the difficulties and struggle of demotivated (due to teachers’ bias behaviors and friends’ insult upon their appearance and language) Nepali language speaking children’s experiences as they feel insulted in school environment. To fulfill this objective, I adopted narrative research design in line with the qualitative research method. Discussing on the basis of classroom observation and unstructured interviews with the student, this paper analyzes that how the learners are marginalized and forbidden equal access to participate in the mainstream of social and political life that enhances their better learning opportunity and participation in classroom and society to what Bourdieu’s word symbolic violence with some examples of how such social inequalities and injustices are seen in school’s teaching-learning practices. Specially, given the problematic nature of schooling for such learners in some of the schools in Nepal, this paper highlights the need for socially responsive school policies and critical pedagogy, aiming at challenging and changing certain practices having identified a problem; originally propounded by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator; understanding the difficulties of living in poverty, local context entertaining the linguistic and cultural diversity of students. This study contributes to all the educational stakeholders to update and change themselves as human- friendly behaviours with the learners that can maintain social equalities and justice.

Teacher-Student Interaction, Learning Motivation, And Classroom Participation In Private Colleges In China

Teacher-Student Interaction, Learning Motivation, And Classroom Participation In Private Colleges In China

Research on Blended Teaching of College English Writing Based on 'POA' Theory Under the Background of Big Data

This paper discusses the application value of the writing teaching mode combined with the mixed teaching mode in college English writing teaching against the background of big data. Focusing on production-oriented approach (POA) theory, this paper proposes a mixed learning writing model for English teaching and applies the POA mixed learning English writing teaching model to practical teaching by using the cloud classroom platform, collecting students' big data, and analyzing students' seriousness, classroom participation, satisfaction, and English writing performance. Although the overall student engagement is not high, their classroom satisfaction is very high. Research shows that after the teacher adjusted the lesson plan and encouraged students to participate more in class interactions, their scores improved in the second exam but declined in the third exam . The levels of engagement, participation, and satisfaction have significantly decreased across all grades. The POA combined with the blended learning mode has a great application value in practical teaching in the era of big data.

A discourse analysis of blind spots in Sinclair and Coulthard (1992) model of classroom discourse

This study investigates the blind spots in Sinclair and Coulthard’s revised classroom discourse (CD) structure of Teacher’s Initiation, Students’ Response and Teacher’s Feedback (IRF). The study suggests the Initiation (2), Response (2) and Feedback (2) (IIRRFF) pattern which may be suitable for today’s CD. This pattern permits equal contributions by classroom participants. The study adopts a quantitative method for data collection; a qualitative-descriptive research design and Information Processing Theory (IPT). Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to English lecturers and students from three tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The results show a high percentage of participants who confirmed that Sinclair and Coulthard’s IRF model has blind spots; 86% of the respondents agreed that the model may lead to a limited understanding of what is taught; 80% agreed that dual initiations and feedback are rejected in this model, and 70% strongly agreed that the model should be expanded to accommodate other fields of language learning. The study recommends that CD should be categorized into two major types: the teacher’s utterances and the students’ utterances. The IIRRFF pattern that allows teachers and students to have equal slots in every CD should be implemented. This will encourage students’ full participation and interaction.

Enhancing Student Engagement in Learning Management Systems through Exploration of Avatars in Virtual Classrooms: A Systematic Review

The rise of online education has highlighted the crucial need to comprehend student participation in virtual learning environments. With the evolution of online learning platforms, understanding the impact of technological components, especially interactive avatars, on student engagement has become imperative. This study aims to investigate the influence of avatars on student participation in virtual classrooms. Specifically, it seeks to understand the impact of avatars on student interactions, engagement, and involvement within online learning environments. Three primary research questions guide the inquiry: the impact of avatars on student participation, the extent of technology-mediated interaction's effect on engagement, and the nuanced ways in which avatars contribute to or hinder student involvement. The study conducts a comprehensive review of existing literature, delving into the design, integration, and influence of avatars in virtual learning environments. It critically assesses technological advancements, focusing on interactive avatars, and their implications for student engagement. The methodology involves an in-depth analysis of scholarly works, educational platforms, and user experiences to gather valuable insights. The study uncovers the multifaceted impact of avatars in virtual classrooms. Interactive avatars significantly enhance student engagement and participation, fostering interactions between students and teachers as well as among peers. The customization and interactivity of avatars create a more immersive learning experience, positively influencing student involvement. Future research endeavours could explore the integration of avatars with emerging technologies like augmented reality and artificial intelligence, enhancing the depth and scope of virtual classroom interactions. Continued research in this area is essential for refining virtual learning environments and ensuring optimal student participation in the digital educational landscape.

“I enjoy conversing with my professor”: relational maintenance behaviors in the undergraduate student–instructor context

ABSTRACT Scholars of communication, teaching, and learning have been calling for more research on the instructor–student relationship to be studied from an interpersonal perspective. To answer these calls, we conducted a two-step scale development study, first to derive participant-generated responses concerning undergraduate student relational maintenance behaviors and second to construct and validate a scale concerning those behaviors. Of additional interest was to explore reasons as to why students aim to maintain these relationships. A 19-item measure titled the Student Relational Maintenance Scale was created, consisting of making connections, respectful behavior, classroom participation, expressing gratitude, and classroom effort. Additionally, results revealed that both professional reasons and personal reasons motivated students to build these relationships. The results of this study provided further insight into how and why undergraduate college students build positive interpersonal connections with their instructors.

Teaching reading in digital era: Exploring Indonesian in-service teachers’ perceptions and challenges

This illustrative case study investigation was conducted to learn how Indonesian in-service teachers perceived teaching reading in a digital era and the challenges they encountered. The data were submitted by a total of 30 teachers who participated in the subject post for Indonesian junior high schools. Data collection strategies include participatory classroom observation, interviews, and guided written reflection. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. The study’s findings highlight issues concerning teachers’ perceptions and teachers’ challenges while teaching reading in a digital setting. As many as 63% of teachers believe that the proportion of time teachers spend to practice reading skills from online sources is 40%–50% of total teaching hours at school. Furthermore, 40% of them believe that the criteria for teacher success in reading is when pupils improve their reading comprehension skills. The analysis also revealed that teachers encountered a number of challenges: (1) lack of knowledge about models and media for learning to read in a digital context, (2) lack of students’ ability to read multi-text sources, and (3) lack of motivation and awareness among students in reading. The findings of this study impact the understanding and training requirements of junior high school teachers concerning reading instruction methods in a digital context. Future studies should focus on innovation and the development of learning models to improve the quality of reading comprehension in a digital environment.

Examining the cognitive and affective changes in students through the implementation process of the physics curriculum based on an interdisciplinary context-based learning approach

This case study examines the cognitive and affective changes in students through the implementation process of the physics curriculum based on an interdisciplinary context-based learning approach. The study was conducted during the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year with 33 students in one of the 10th grade classes of a high school in the Yüreğir district of the Adana province. A criterion sampling method of purposive sampling methods was employed in selecting the school and the class. In the intervention, the researchers used the physics curriculum they developed based on an interdisciplinary context-based learning approach. The plans and activities prepared according to the context-based REACT model were implemented for eight weeks and the data were collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods. At the end of the intervention, significant changes were observed in the students’ ability to relate their knowledge to daily life, interdisciplinary problem-solving skills, attitudes towards problem-solving in physics, and affective characteristics. During the process, students who encountered challenges in problem-solving, focusing on the lesson, working in groups, and relating information to real-life and different disciplines managed to overcome these challenges by increasing their individual efforts and communicating with their peers and the teacher. Because of students who remained passive, made noise, and frequently changed their seats during group work, the researchers encountered some challenges in instruction and time management. To increase classroom participation, they opted for updating the lesson plan, preparing additional examples, and increasing the number of visual materials. In this respect, teachers and other researchers are recommended to allocate more time to interdisciplinary context-based teaching activities, provide students with more real-life problem situations, diversify group work, and conduct group activities more frequently.

Analysis of the Causes and Countermeasures of Classroom Silence Phenomenon among Students in Contemporary Chinese Colleges and Universities

The college classroom is an important field for talent cultivation and student development in colleges and universities. However, in actual teaching, only a relatively small number of Chinese college students are able to actively participate in classroom activities and speak positively. Most students often choose to remain silent in response to teachers' questions. Classroom silence is generally categorized into negative silence and positive silence. Negative silence has become a major obstacle to improving the efficiency of classroom teaching, which to some extent affects the effectiveness and function of classroom teaching. By analyzing classroom silence, a common phenomenon in Chinese university classrooms, and analyzing the phenomenon of classroom silence and its causes from the perspectives of teachers' teaching and students' learning, we can better understand the characteristics of college students' classroom participation, reveal the deficiencies of teachers' classroom teaching, further propose strategies to improve classroom teaching and reduce the phenomenon of negative silence in college classrooms, and improve the effectiveness of college classroom teaching.

Building disciplinary knowledge upon the knowledge first-year students already have

Introduction: The authors describe how a Fundamentals of Design Lab (LFP) in Interior Design can be an effective learning and teaching venue for combining disciplinary design knowledge with the life experiences that first-year students bring to college. Methodology: In this section, the authors explore the teaching methods and principles of Universal Design Learning (UDL) that include learning by doing, classroom participation, iterative approaches to design, and dynamic teaching methodologies. Results: The section presents data relating to student involvement and participation in the course, acquisition of the study method relating to person/space interaction and finally data relating to the acquisition of skills for concept and project development and communication. Discussion: The authors reflect on the pros and cons of the pedagogical approach. Conclusions: The objectives and learning outcomes of the foundations course were achieved because the teaching approach used a broad spectrum of learning methods, combined disciplinary knowledge with students’ personal experiences, and placed first-year students at the forefront of their Interior Design education.

Exploring The Factors Affecting Classroom Participation in The Saudi EFL Virtual Learning Classrooms During Covid-19 Pandemi

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the sudden shift from face-to-face to virtual learning classrooms impacted students’ performance in the classroom, including English as a Foreign Language instruction in Saudi Arabia. Since students’ learning depends upon their participation in physical classroom activities and discussions, the present study focuses on understanding the factors that influence the participation of King Abdul Aziz University preparatory year students in the full virtual learning environment. Following a quantitative research approach, an online questionnaire with 165 participants was utilized for data collection and statistically analyzed using SPSS software. The analyzed data indicated that eight factors strongly influenced students’ participation: virtual learning environment, learning environment at home, teacher, grades, class activities, internet, instructional support and feedback, and social lockdown. The findings provide valuable insights for EFL instructors who wish to adapt their instructional approaches to create an engaging virtual learning environment that encourages active participation through class discussions and activities. The study offers recommendations to improve participation in the virtual learning environment.

Students’ beliefs, basic psychological needs, classroom participation, foreign language anxiety, and academic adjustment: A correlation study in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

This study aimed to explore the relationships between study variables that directly and indirectly affect students' beliefs and academic adaptation. A measurement tool model was used to assess participants' ‘academic adjustment’ (academic motivation, academic lifestyle, academic achievement), basic psychological needs factors (autonomy, competence, relatedness), beliefs about assessment factors (benefit for learning, fairness), classroom participation, and students' FLP anxiety. Explanatory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were employed to validate the questionnaires. The study sample consisted of 319 university students aged 17–35 years. The findings revealed significant associations among students' classroom participation, autonomy, foreign language anxiety, and relatedness. A significant indirect association with classroom participation through autonomy was also observed. Additionally, classroom participation showed significant correlations with foreign language anxiety, academic motivation, academic achievement, and perceived fairness. Academic achievement was significantly associated with academic lifestyle. Furthermore, classroom involvement was strongly associated with relatedness via foreign language classroom anxiety, and academic motivation was linked to academic lifestyle via academic performance. Academic achievement was linked to fairness via an academic lifestyle. According to the findings, the full mediation model considers all variables directly and indirectly, providing a validated model to guide higher education leaders and staff in developing programs that foster positive associations among the variables. Based on the main findings, limitations and recommendations were provided.

Sharing and comparing languages – how teachers and pupils co-construct language comparison interactions

ABSTRACT By focusing on differences and similarities between languages, pupils can increase their learning of abstract principles, metalinguistic awareness and language learning strategies (Duarte, J., & Günther-Van der Meij, M. (2018). A holistic model for multilingualism in education. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages, 5(2), 24–43; Star, J. R., & Rittle-Johnson, B. (2009). It pays to compare: An experimental study on computational estimation. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 102(4), 408–426). However, research has demonstrated that the possible benefits of multilingual approaches, such as language comparison, might be limited due to the nature of the classroom interaction in which these approaches are implemented (Rabbidge, M. (2019). The effects of translanguaging on participation in EFL classrooms. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 16(4), 1305–1322). By using conversation analysis, the current study aimed to gain more insight into how teachers and pupils co-construct language comparison interactions in whole class conversations. Both the conversational structure and the teachers’ practices to stimulate pupils’ active contribution to the interactions were analysed, demonstrating a dominant conversational structure consisting of two key components. Dialogic and non-dialogic participation frameworks could be identified with the first providing pupils more opportunities to actively participate and contribute their own language comparisons than the latter. This study provides interactional evidence for the role of language comparison in making use of pupils’ diverse languages and has direct implications for teachers’ ways of shaping participation frameworks to stimulate home language use in the classroom.