Everyone is familiar with the stereotypical characters found in a class, from the class clowns to the quiet kids, all contributing to the participatory nature of a classroom. Yet, since the return from the pandemic, teachers have noticed a concerning decrease in student participation and are left thinking: how am I supposed to teach a class of people who seem utterly uninterested?
“Ever since COVID, there has been a downfall of participation,” said Calabasas High School social studies teacher Craig Moore.
During the pandemic, a majority of students currently at CHS spent more than a year in virtual learning, taking classes on Zoom. As a result of the lack of classroom oversight, some developed poor work habits. With participation not as heavily mandated, students could get away with being non-engaged in class, going as far as keeping their cameras off or not even joining lessons. Two years after lockdown, some students still struggle to get reacclimated to pre-pandemic study habits– something many teachers attribute to a current lack of participation in classrooms.
“Kids got used to turning their camera off and sitting in their room with their PJs,” said Moore.”It was a nice little break for them in terms of being held accountable and I think that behavior has carried over into classrooms.”
On top of subpar study habits, teachers notice a correlation between the increased device usage among students and diminishing participation in class. They identify items such as phones and computers as easy distractions for students.
“Cell phones, computers and technology are all very distractible devices that steal the attention away from the kids,” said Moore. “Headphones are the worst.”
Participation is not an issue in all courses, however. Participation in class depends on which course is being taught; an honors or Advanced Placement course sees stronger student participation than regular courses, teachers have observed.
“In general, honors students are more willing to participate,” said science teacher Lucas Flugum. “[College preparatory] students generally want to be there and get through the day with the least amount of participation possible.”
CHS administrators such as CHS Assistant Principal of Safety, Facilities, & Athletics Tyler Lee have argued that both teachers and students bear the weight of creating an active learning environment.
“Teachers can only do so much, [students and teachers] need to meet halfway,” said Lee. “Teachers can only do so much engagement and I know that they’re [teachers] are actively trying to improve every year”
While teachers have found a lack of participation to be a legitimate issue at CHS, students are divided on the topic. Not all students believe in-class participation makes a difference in comprehension of a lesson, which prevents them from volunteering.
“[Student participation] doesn’t affect me,” said junior Julian Saab. “It’s more important to me that the teacher is engaging”
Some students, however, find value in student participation. They believe it gives an additional source of learning and enables them to stay more focused in class.
“Having classmates who participate in class really helps me,” said junior Kaden Dorafshar. “It keeps me clocked in while I’m learning.”
Although creating an engaging and active learning environment can prove to be a difficult task, some teachers and CHS administrators have found solutions. English teacher Christina Heredia utilizes popsicle sticks during low engagement moments in the classroom.
“I do popsicle sticks,” said Heredia. “When we’re challenged with participation, or if we’re going to take part in a play and people don’t want to participate everyone’s name is on a popsicle stick and when I draw a stick that’s what they’ve got to do.”
However, some teachers take a more natural approach to getting students to participate such as history teacher Brian Edelman.
“Class discussion, you’re only going to get so much participation out of that,” said Edelman. “Built in class activities, group activities, are things that facilitate discussion. Even having your seating not in rows but in pods, organically when kids are working are going to have discussion.”
On a school wide scale, Lee argues that Professional Learning Communities (PLC) meetings held during traditional days play a major role in improving classroom environments, thus improving student participation in classrooms.
“On late starts, its professional development time. Teachers have these PLCs where they collaborate, work together to improve our practice,” said Lee. “Teachers are always working to improve, in any school.”
