In a recent article for Inside Higher Ed, Benjamin Rifkin (Fairleigh Dickinson University) discusses how making student engagement expectations more transparent can enhance class participation. Rifkin describes several of the methods that he uses to incentivize student participation, including opening class with a short, open-note quizzes based on the day’s material and previous class discussions and using a points-based system with feedback for evaluating participation. He notes that providing feedback helps students improve their participation and protects instructors from accusations of subjectivity. He concludes that a redesigned approach to class participation triggers learner motivation, which is a paramount in deepening student learning.
