The Role of Oral Participation in Student Engagement

Engagement has received significant research attention in recent years in an effort to better understand student achievement and the lack of it. Oral participation is generally highly valued in American classrooms and is often thought to be a good indicator of students’ engagement in learning. As a result, many college instructors require and/or grade oral participation. Two studies were conducted that tested the relationship between students’ engagement and oral participation and other variables. The relationship between oral participation and engagement was weak. Oral participation was found to be associated with motivation to study and learning indicators. It occurred more frequently when graded and with teachers perceived as nonverbally immediate, and less frequently among highly apprehensive students. Student nonverbal attentiveness was positively associated with engagement. These studies question common assumptions about oral participation and create a new measure of oral participation.