As Elon University students venture into the beginning of spring semester, it is time for the excruciating first-day traditions: flipping through the course syllabus. With this tradition, we see the familiar phrase — “class participation.” This portion of the grade can apply to how often a student contributes to class discussion or a student’s attendance record.
How professors quantify class participation has always been frustrating. Although it often accounts for up to 20 percent of a student’s final grade, participation can’t be measured objectively like a quiz, homework assignment or project.
With the exception of the number of absences, the grade often subjective. Of course, some classes are more discussion-based than others and will have higher standards in terms of what is considered an appropriate level of participation.
Basing a grade on how often students speak is not effective because it favors more outgoing students over those who are either shy or unaccustomed to speaking in a classroom environment.
One solution is to do away with participation grades by focusing only on a student’s attendance. This approach is simple and unbiased to a student’s personality or learning style, but it removes the incentive for good classroom discussion. While a focus on attendance is good for classes that offer little to no exchange, it could be considered the inferior option in other cases.
Basing the grade on quality of participation could be much more beneficial. Students are rewarded for providing relevant insight and discussion, while those who offer distractions or unrelated tangents are penalized. The age-old maxim “quality over quantity” should be the primary basis of determining participation grades.
This issue deserves more attention than it receives. There are likely more solutions to the problem than those suggested here, but they are clearly not being developed and implemented by professors. To provide the best possible learning environment for students, the guidelines for what are considered good and bad measures of participation should be clear and concise.
After all, in college, there can surely be no greater lesson than when to speak and when to listen.