Student Participation Online

 

 

In a situation where students are either not motivated or anxious to participate, it can be difficult to know what to do to encourage them to participate. There are many ways to respond to these students. Some of these ways include calling on students who aren’t participating, designing instruction to include things the student is interested in, providing a safe classroom environment, and a one-on-one conversation with their instructor about their lack of participation. Sometimes all a student needs to participate is the knowledge that they will not be judged for a wrong answer. Alongside all these strategies, the most important thing to do for your struggling student is determine the cause of their disinterest, whether it’s a deficit in their skills or performance.

               A skills deficit is when a student does not have the skills needed to complete the assignment they are given. An example of this could be when a student in the 5^th grade cannot read. Their skill deficit in reading would make it more difficult to complete assignments and make them less motivated to learn. We can support students who have a deficit in a skill in many ways. Alternate assignments can be given that better suit a student’s skillset or work on improving the skill they are struggling with. Another method that can be used to support students is through methods of intervention. Additional instructional time with an intervention specialist or in special education setting can give students with a skill deficit a way to practice and develop their skills in a nonjudgmental setting. An online alternative could be through providing educational tutorials through Kahn academy or a similar educational site. 

               A performance deficit appears in students that have the skills necessary to complete an assignment but lack the motivation to do so. An example of this could be a student who is bored with the content they are presented with because it is not intellectually stimulating to them. Some ways to help get performance deficit students interested and motivated to participate include a discussion over email or video call about why the student is uninterested, giving assignments with content the student finds interesting, environmental changes, and pairing the student with another student who is motivated to do well on the assignment. These can be harder to accomplish in an online setting, but can be adapted to each student.