Assessing Participation in Class Discussions

James Lang’s answer to the participation grading question is that we should stop doing it and shift to inclusive strategies to ensure that all students participate anyway. He suggests providing opportunities to think and write and using “invitational participation” to bring all voices into the discussion.

How do students experience discussion? This validated engagement scale invites students to rate their skills, confidence, ability to participate “without feeling inhibited or intimidated by peers and instructors,” and openness to “engaging with individuals from backgrounds or values different from theirs.”

Gillis’s method helps students think about participation as skill-building. Instead of instructors tracking student participation, students set goals and reflect on their progress; they are assessed on their reflection.

This review of 45 articles on “assessment of class participation” in higher education published between 2005–2023 summarizes research on “innovations,” “criteria-related issues,” and “the issue of fairness.” It also highlights the role of educational technology in fostering non-oral methods of participation.

Robert Talbert presents the idea of “engagement credits” as another alternative to incentivize and grade what has typically been considered class participation. There are many ways for students to earn the credits, and Talbert’s method is straightforward to implement.