Impact of Cold-Calling on Student Voluntary Participation

Abstract

Classroom discussion is perhaps the most frequently used “active learning” strategy. However, instructors are often concerned about students who are less inclined to participate voluntarily. They worry that students not involved in the discussion might have lower quality learning experiences. Although instructors might consider whether to call on a student whose hand is not raised (“cold-call”), some instructors resist cold-calling fearing that the student will feel uncomfortable. This study examines the impact of cold-calling on students’ voluntary participation in class discussions and their comfort participating in discussions. The results demonstrate that significantly more students answer questions voluntarily in classes with high cold-calling, and that the number of students voluntarily answering questions in high cold-calling classes increases over time. Furthermore, students in classes with high cold-calling answer more voluntary questions than those in classes with low cold-calling; this also increases over time. Finally, in classes with high cold-calling, students’ comfort participating in class discussions increases while in classes with low cold-calling, students’ comfort participating does not change. Research findings show that cold-calling can be done fairly extensively without making students uncomfortable. Thus, the research reported here provides support for using this instructional strategy to engage more students to participate in discussions.

The Effects of Practice-based Training on Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Classroom Practices

“…We did not observe an increase in total volunteer rates after exposure to Cold Call, as had been previously reported (E. J. Dallimore, Hertenstein, and Platt 2012). However, we did find that students became more likely to initiate contact with their GTA during group work time as the term progressed.…”

Encouragement for Faculty to Implement Vision and Change

“…Cold calling effectively flips the class, because students come to class prepared and they actively reinforce in class what they have already studied (Gross et al ., 2015; Jensen et al ., 2015). Cold calling, on groups or individuals, is a very effective method of ensuring that students not only read before class but also make an effort to understand what they read (Dallimore et al ., 2012). Holding students accountable each class facilitates students’ construction of their own knowledge, which is how people learn best (NRC, 2000; Tanner, 2009; Moravec et al ., 2010; Smith et al ., 2011b; Freeman et al ., 2014).…”

Assessing in-class participation for EFL: considerations of effectiveness and fairness for different learning styles

“…Peng, 2012;Hsieh, 2014) -while a sufficient condition for receiving a high score for participation -is not a necessary condition. Alongside the ten criteria adopted in Table 1, previous research suggests participation rates increase when a participation score is included in the assessment rubric (Dallimore et al 2004(Dallimore et al , 2013Carstens et al 2012). Dallimore et al (2004) found students' level of participation increased when participation was overtly included as part of the grading criteria, while Dallimore et al (2013) found an increase in the participation of those who were randomly called upon to participate in in-class discussions, constituting an element of 'surprise'.…”

“…Alongside the ten criteria adopted in Table 1, previous research suggests participation rates increase when a participation score is included in the assessment rubric (Dallimore et al 2004(Dallimore et al , 2013Carstens et al 2012). Dallimore et al (2004) found students' level of participation increased when participation was overtly included as part of the grading criteria, while Dallimore et al (2013) found an increase in the participation of those who were randomly called upon to participate in in-class discussions, constituting an element of 'surprise'. We also note that in certain EFL curricula types (such as task-based curricula),-participation in the tasks themselves is the focus of the total course assessment, yet these curricula lay outside of the scope of this paper.…”