A Question of Participation: Time to Fish!

Were you one of those kids that sat in school dreading the moment you would be called on to answer a question?  I most definitely was one of those kids and of course I grew out of it for the most part, but participation in school was literally torture for me growing up.

With that in mind, I face a dilemma as a teacher.  I teach in a school in which my department expects students to participate in class discussions on a frequent basis.  I tend to agree with the philosophy in principle, but I cannot help but feel major empathy for those kids that are literally terrified of the prospect of speaking in front of everyone. 

I believe that participation can take many forms other than simply contributing to the class discussion.  Opening up the opportunity to blog back a response after class has been very effective the past few years.  Heck, I would even consider tweeting back a response would be considered a form of participation.  Even if if is not technically done in class, does it not show that the student is clearly thinking through the question at hand?

One method that I have found to benefit all students most is the fishbowl discussion method.  Honestly, I cannot remember where I first heard about it, but basically the class is put into 4 different groups.  A discussion question is posed and the small groups each discuss it for a few minutes.  At the end of the time a representative is selected to participate in the fishbowl.

The fishbowl has five chairs around the table.  Each group sends member to the fishbowl where they discuss the topic based upon their small group discussion.  The rest of the students observe as silent participants.  If for some reason, someone that is not in the fishbowl wants to contribute, they may sit in the fifth chair and throw out their idea and then vacate the spot for another contributor. 

With this method, every student is participating is some capacity.  For those that are very introverted, the small group is ideal and I have found that even the most quiet of students find comfort in the small group setting.

I would welcome any feedback from anyone on how you engage those students who would rather take the "C" than speak up in class.  This former "C" kid would love your comments!