My students speak over each other quite a bit in class. They have this idea that the only voice in class they should listen to is mine. During my warm-up question/discussion section, they will listen quietly while I speak, but I continually have to remind students to be quiet, and listen to their fellow student who is speaking.
The questions I ask for the warm-up are supposed to be gripping, and seemingly lighter or different from the discussion to follow in the class. These questions normally produce interesting responses from the students, but I worry that the toxic lack of interest in what their fellow classmates have to say leads students to…
- Not put effort into their response
- Feel their answer doesn’t really matter
- In turn lead them to not listen to what other students have to say
I attempt to de-center the classroom, and give room for other voices, but my students do not seem interested in any other voice but their own or mine. I see this in both large group and small group discussion. It is obvious that they are not engaged when someone else is speaking. Their faces are glazed over, they are looking at their computers, or staring at the floor. This toxic behavior is disrespectful and creates a vacuum for discussion. Even if someone contributes to the discussion, it dies on the spot because students are not engaging with any voice but mine or their own. There is no flow of discussion, but instead isolated statements.
These behaviors don’t just affect discussion, but also my own mood. When I notice students being disrespectful and talking over one another, I become irritated and indignant. I notice my tone changes when I address them. All at once i want to defend their ideas, and while also reprimanding them for being jerks.
I suspect that this behavior stems from the banking model. They place authority only in my voice, so the only nuggets of value they can receive and store away are ones they receive from me.
How do I teach them to value other people’s ideas besides those of the authoritative person in the room?