It’s a well-documented trend: college students are increasingly reluctant to participate in class discussions. Especially during the early weeks of the semester – like now – creating the sort of classroom environment that fosters discussion is a huge challenge. I turned to this classic book by Derek Bruff for ideas. He advocates using an electronic system where the instructor’s questions and the students’ answers appear on a screen. Students use a device to enter their answers to multiple-choice or open-ended questions. This way, every student engages in the discussion — even when it’s quiet. This can spark curiosity and maybe a conversation.
Bruff, Derek. Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments. Jossey-Bass, 2009, p. 9.