Have you ever thought you might be too quiet in class? Don’t worry ladies, you’re not alone. Actively engaging can be tough, whether it’s in a large lecture or personal tutorial. Despite the temptation to sit back and keep quiet, it’s time for all of us to start participating and reaping the benefits.
1. Eventually, your prof will recognize you.
Forming a relationship with your professor can be super helpful throughout your time at university, especially when your classes start to get smaller. Profs are great people to go to for academic or career advice, and many of them will be on the hunt for next year’s TAs. Plus, your prof is much more likely to help you if they’ve seen you putting in an effort to participate and learn the course material. The only downfall is knowing that they recognize you when you awkwardly run into them at Starbucks, or even worse, at the gym. Cringe.
2. Knowing you’re going to speak in front of the whole room forces you to come prepared.
If you consistently plan to ask questions and speak up during class, it stands to reason that you’ll prepare the material beforehand. While there’s no such thing as a stupid question, we all still want to avoid asking something really obvious in front of our peers. Preparing for class will ensure that you can comfortably participate without saying anything that might make you sound like you’ve spent the last five hours binge watching Gilmore Girls (even if you have).
3. We’re paying for it; we may as well make the best of it.
We definitely aren’t as bad as some other countries (cough – America), but university here is still expensive! Regardless of who’s paying for it, students should aim to get everything possible out of each lecture during their time at Queen’s. It’ll be that much more satisfying for you (or your parents, or that generous alumni) knowing that hard earned cash isn’t being wasted. Sitting through a tutorial without engaging in the conversation is basically throwing money away, right?
4. It will encourage dialogue, which will help you learn.
If you start speaking more in class, it’ll be that much more likely that other people will also start participating. It might not seem like it, but this is actually great news for you. Other students throwing their ideas and thoughts out into the world can help you to better understand certain topics. Or, if you’re lucky, another student might ask a question you hadn’t thought of but definitely wished you had.
5. We’re disproportionately represented, and it’s time for that to change.
In 2003, several prominent psychologists decided to research different factors that affect the class participation of undergraduate students. Their research, published in The Journal of Higher Education, took place at a Canadian University and involved over 500 undergraduate students. The study was titled, “Students’ Perceptions of Their Classroom Participation and Instructor as a Function of Gender and Context”, and it found that male students perceived significantly higher participation rates than their female counterparts. These findings are consistent with several other studies that have found higher rates of interaction and interruption from male students. Whatever the cause of the disparity, the only way to change it is to speak up in class more often!
Disclaimer: we’re only encouraging more participation in classes you’re supposed to talk in! Try to avoid these tips if it’s a silent lecture hall or if your prof prefers to rant on their own.