Pathway 3: Including More Student Voices in the Conversation

Equitable classrooms include a variety of viewpoints and voices in class conversations. Encouraging students from all backgrounds to contribute to the classroom discourse takes a little extra work but brings innumerable rewards. In this pathway, we’ll look at ways to get more students actively engaged during class, whether the setting is the smallest seminar or the largest lecture.

Pathway Steps

Step 1: Prioritizing Unheard Voices and Perspectives

Five graduate students seated at a table in discussion. Projected on the screen behind them are slides that read "Grappling with Big Questions" and then smaller texts beneath.

Prioritizing Unheard Voices and Perspectives

Classes can easily fall into a routine where the same students talk again and again, leaving less space in the discussion for new voices and viewpoints. However, instructors striving to create inclusive classrooms intentionally find ways to bring these missing voices into the conversation.

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Step 2: Calling on Students in Equitable Ways

Professor McCarthy raising his hand

Calling on Students in Equitable Ways

Inclusive instructors looking to cultivate equitable participation think carefully about the ways they structure discussions. One way instructors include a variety of voices in the classroom discussion is by carefully choosing the students they call on to participate.

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Step 3: Expanding Participation Through Cold-Calling

Professor Rakoff lecturing in front of students

Expanding Participation Through Cold-Calling

Intentionally calling on students from different groups helps create equitable discussions, but what happens when students don’t raise their hands? Todd Rakoff uses an age-old technique: “cold calling.”

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Step 4: Using Pre-Work to Highlight Diverse Voices in Classroom Discussion

Jane Mansbridge explains her teaching practice

Using Pre-Work to Highlight Diverse Voices in Classroom Discussion

Another technique to bring different student voices into the conversation is “warm calling,” where the instructor chooses whom to call on (rather than inviting raised hands) but does so knowing that the student is already prepared to contribute to the discussion.  

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Step 5: Moving Around the Room to Encourage Participation

Dan Levy circulating the classroom

Moving Around the Room to Encourage Participation

Instructors can encourage different students to participate not only by calling on them directly but also through physical proximity.

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Step 6: Using Small Groups to Expand Participation and Deepen Thinking

Student group of three conversing

Using Small Groups to Expand Participation and Deepen Thinking

Engaging in partnered and small-group work gives many students a chance to join the classroom discourse at the same time.

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Step 7: Providing Multiple Ways for Students to Engage in Class Discussion

Close up of student with microphone responding to Professor Grotzer.

Providing Multiple Ways for Students to Engage in Class Discussion

Participation in a course is not limited to the time spent in the classroom each week. Providing students with multiple avenues for sharing their thoughts and questions outside of scheduled class time brings more students into the conversation, particularly those who feel uncomfortable speaking in large groups.

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Pathway 3 Conclusion

Pathway 3 Conclusion

Complex factors influence which students feel comfortable speaking up in your classroom and when. Although some of these factors are outside your control, there’s a lot you can do to expand participation.

Go to Conclusion

Billson suggests that allowing for interruption in discussion may only reinforce the dominance of extroverted students in class, while non-interruption, conversely, may afford greater inclusivity by carving out space for quieter students to become more involved and voice their thoughts (1986).

Dallimore, Hertenstein, and Platt find that frequently using cold-calling may make the classroom more equitable for women as it helps increase voluntary participation for women, as compared to low cold-calling classrooms (2019). 

Marrs and Novak describe how assigning pre-work positively impacts student participation in areas such as improved classroom interactivity, quality and quantity of teacher-student feedback, retention, student preparedness for class, student study habits, and cognitive gains in biology college classrooms (2004).

Researchers investigated the experiences of LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual) undergraduates in a biology classroom that incorporated active learning (in contrast to traditional lectures). In active learning courses, small group discussions can be incorporated, requiring students to more actively engage with their peers and instructors. Researchers suggest that instructors consider instructional practices to overcome potential challenges to make their courses more inclusive (Cooper & Brownell, 2016).

According to a research review, assigning students complex, open-ended tasks that require active collaboration and deliberation with others can extend participation and foster an environment where students learn from one another (Webb, 2009). 

This article from the National Library of Medicine offers 21 Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity, with concrete tips like increasing wait time and giving students time to write before they speak. 

This tip sheet from Brown University focuses on fostering equitable participation and includes tips for understanding and breaking down barriers to student participation

The nonprofit IDEA shares strategies for helping students engage in dialogue with peers whose experiences and views may differ from their own.

This resource on promoting effective participation from the University of Waterloo offers guidance on being transparent about your expectations around participation and tips for teaching students the skills they need to participate. 

This tip sheet from the University of Michigan discusses how to include more voices through structured interactions. 

This tip sheet from Brown University includes ideas for fostering and assessing equitable participation at the start of the course and throughout the term

This Iowa State tip sheet on developing participation as a skill helps instructors reflect on their own definitions of “participation” and offers advice for communicating their expectations to students. 

In this Faculty Focus article, instructors from a variety of universities share their favorite techniques for drawing students into classroom discussion

A blog post from Carnegie Mellon University's Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation explores cognitive, social/emotional, and physical factors instructors should attend to in order to elicit participation from all students

IDEA shares why and how instructors should thoughtfully incorporate more interaction with their students outside of class.