1. “W HAT ?! Y OU A CTUALLY E XPECT A LL OF U S TO T ALK IN C LASS ?” E NGAGING S TUDENTS IN A L ARGE L ECTURE C LASS M ELANIE S. J ONES D EPARTMENT OF P SYCHOLOGY, U NIVERSITY OF W ISCONSIN -M ADISON A SSESSMENT OF C LASS P ARTICIPATION To support students in taking ownership of the process of participating in class, we spent 45 minutes in class discussing their questions, excitement and concerns about engaging in discussion in a class of this size. Students created their participation rubric as a class: O NE - POINT C ONTRIBUTION  Providing a simple definition; asking/answering a simple question; making a simple connection  Examples: “What do you mean by the term _________?” “It seems like this is related to the concept of _________.” T WO P OINT C ONTRIBUTION  Application to real life; reference to a connection to other research studies; asking a multi-part and/or insightful question; extending beyond a simple question/comment; analyzing the validity of a study  Examples: “I question the way the researchers operationalized the concept of pro-social behavior for this study because…” “I noticed this type of egocentric behavior in a 3-year-old that babysit. He was not happy that I was reprimanding him and didn't want to look at me. He then covered his eyes and said, “You can't see me.” Just because he couldn’t see me didn’t mean that I couldn’t see him, indicating that he doesn’t believe I am viewing things from an alternate perspective.” T HREE P OINT C ONTRIBUTION  At the professor’s discretion if a student exceeds the above requirements. Assessing classroom contributions is managed through the use of index cards. Using the rubric as a guide, students propose a one- (white cards) or two-point (neon cards) contribution prior to being called on. Students are prompted for additional information if necessary to earn the proposed points. P ROJECT B ACKGROUND “I was totally engaged. I never missed a class and I loved listening to you lecture.” As a teacher, it is rewarding to learn that students perceive your class as an engaging and exciting learning experience. But with a class of roughly 200 students taught in a predominantly lecture-driven format, I continually questioned the opportunities (or lack thereof) for the occurrence of active student participation and deep thinking in my classroom. Extant literature tells us that small classes that support face- to-face interactions and active learning promote deeper understanding and sustain student engagement. Although traditional lecturing in higher education is considered to be an outmoded form of teaching were students are passive members of an audience, the unfortunate reality is that in many institutions of higher education the lecture format is here to stay. The present project challenges the assumption that in the lecture format students must be passive and strives to facilitate student engagement through class discussion. R ESEARCH Q UESTIONS Will the requirement of class participation in a large lecture course impact student motivation and engagement? Will required participation in a class (which will reduce overall lecture time) have an impact on student performance on class exams? P ROJECT D ESCRIPTION Students enrolled in Child Psychology during the Fall (N=196) and Spring (N=196) semesters of the 2011-12 academic year are the focus of this project. Students enrolled in the Fall section of the class served as the control group (taught via my traditional lecture format) whereas the intervention of required class participation was implemented during the Spring semester section. Students in the intervention group are required to participate a minimum of three times during class (at least one 1-point contribution and one 2- point contribution) and may opt to earn their remaining participation points through an online collaborative website. Students are expected to earn a total of 15 participation points throughout the semester. M EASURES OF E NGAGEMENT, M OTIVATION & P ERFORMANCE As part of a class assignment, students in each class are required to complete an anonymous survey related to their engagement and motivation in the class. The survey questions were developed in collaboration with a colleague studying academic motivation (Professor Judith Harackiewicz, Department of Psychology, UW–Madison). All items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale. Examples include: E NGAGEMENT  Participating in class helped me think more critically about the course topics.  Listening to others engage in class discussion helped me think more critically about the course topics.  Participating in class discussion is an important part of my learning.  It is important to me to participate in class discussions even if it is not a requirement of the course.  In comparison to other large lecture courses, I am more willing to participate in class discussion in Psychology 560.  I feel confident asking questions and/or sharing my ideas in Psychology 560.  I enjoyed it when my peers asked questions and/or shared their ideas in class.  I prefer more lecturing and less discussion in Psychology 560. M OTIVATION  I am excited about child development.  I think what we are studying in this course is useful to know.  It is important to me to do well in this course.  I think the field of child development is interesting.  I think this class is relevant to my personal goals. P ERFORMANCE Student performance was assessed through traditional multiple-choice format and short answer questions. A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project is supported by the Office of the Vice Provost of Teaching and Learning at UW– Madison and the UW System Office of Professional Instructional Development.