http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/archive/CL1/CL/doingcl/DCL1.asp
Great website on how to structure interative ( they call it collaborative) learning, ie getting students to participate. It requires some structure and thought but can work wonderfully if you try these structures, rather than posing questions and hoping students chime in, or calling on people.
What is working so far for me is a structure that asks students to take about 60 seconds to think or write down their idea/answer/whatever....then in a small group, 2-3 share ideas, take the best of all ideas for a group answer ( stressing that it is also OK if the group disagrees, they can have more than one answer) and then pick a person to share the group answer. The group work is fast, usually under 5 minutes. Then go around the room, ask for group answers, lecture from there, for about 5 minutes, to tie concepts together, then, move to the next point of the lecture, 60 second think, small groups ( some times extending to about 10 minutes but never more) and then back to lecture for about 5 minutes to tie points together. As this goes, the class starts to participate voluntarily.
Why does this work? The reading I have done says the time for someone to compose thoughts in the beginning is important for some sorts of thinkers. The group answer means there is safety in numbers, and no one has to feel called out about a wrong answer they had as an individual. The inevitable people who don't prepare end up in groups with people who did. I prepare worksheets for the groups, so it prompts them about the points we will look at. I also use the whiteboard as I lecture, to give a wide variety of visual and aural prompts--I repeat points, talk slowly on the ones they need to get, etc.
Interactive learning prompts better recall for the student. I told them upfront that was why we were doing these sorts of sessions---there was a reason! I remind them of that every so often so they know why. At the start of each class, I do about five minutes outlining what is going to happen, summarising the concepts from the time before, talk about the concepts we will go over, and how they fit together, sort of a roadmap of the concepts so they can see where each piece fits.
I am all carrot and no stick. Sometimes people have turned up woefully unprepared and without their materials. I just let them borrow mine for the session, and point to the page where we are trying to work from. I encourage any answer, all answers, and just try to build from them. No one ever gets shot down for a wrong answer--I just try to say yes, thats good, now let's take that and keep going......etc.
Its tiring for me. It takes prep to know where and what points are, and to be able to rapidly move from group to lecture to cover things. I circulate between groups as they work, to keep them focussed and on task, and sometimes have to guide answers. I try to keep a high level of enthusiasm and energy as I go.
The bit of feedback I have from students is that its working for them! And that is what matters. (up)
