Drop It in the Bucket: Engaging Students in Discussions Without Words

Drop It in the Bucket: Engaging Students in Discussions Without WordsStudents enter classrooms with varying levels of academic preparation and individual academic mindsets.Academic mindset includes self-efficacy, motivation, and a sense of belonging.Students with a positive academic mindset are likely to have improved academic performance (Farruggia et al., 2018).Instructors may positively or negatively influence student academic mindset based on classroom experiences.Some students enter classroom settings with no prior knowledge of the content while others are well-versed in the content.Some students believe they can excel in anything they attempt and others are unsure if they are capable of performing at a high level.Students may be highly motivated with a strong sense of belonging or may have little motivation and feel like a fraud in a classroom setting.A common activity used to assess academic preparation and academic mindset is classroom discussions.When students share facts, opinions, or pose questions during a discussion, it helps an instructor identify which concepts the students fully grasp and those that are murky.What happens if the students are shy or do not feel compelled to verbally participate in discussions?How can the students' level of understanding be assessed if they do not speak during discussions?A simple activity that assesses academic preparation and positively influences academic mindset is a discussion without words.