Rethinking Classroom Participation: Listening to Silent Voices » (New Edition)

In education, participation is most often defined as verbal responses that fit into the routine or classroom discourse established by the teacher. So it is no surprise that teachers tend to have limited understandings about how to interpret and use silences. In her new book, Katherine Schultz examines the complex role student silence can play in teaching and learning. Urging teachers to listen to student silence in new ways, this book offers real-life examples and proven strategies for "rethinking classroom participation" to include all students-those eager to raise their hands to speak and those who may answer in different ways.

Foreword: Silence in High Relief Ray McDermott ix

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Participation and Silence in the Classroom 1

Broadening Notions of Classroom Participation 5

Understanding Silence as Participation 11

Considering Perspectives on Classroom Silences 13

Applying Sociocultural Theories of Silence to Classroom Settings 19

Plan of the Book 25

2 Forms and Functions of Silence 27

Silence as Resistance 30

Silence as Power 33

Silence as Protection 40

Silence as Response to Trauma 45

Silence as a Time and Space for Creativity and Learning 50

Conclusion: Expanding Our Frameworks 54

3 Classroom Silences, Classroom Talk 57

Silence as Integral to Teaching and Learning 59

Silence as Classroom Routines 72

Conclusion: Connecting Silence to Learning 80

4 Students Silences, Curricular Participation 83

The Limits of Multicultural Curriculum as a Response to Student Silences 86

Classroom Context and Curriculum Intervention 90

Connecting Curriculum to Student's Lives 93

Addressing Student Silence through Multimodalities 97

Conclusion: Opening up to Curriculum to All Students 107

5 Learning from Student Silence 112

Meanings of Student Silence in Classrooms 115

Silence, Participation, and Democratic Practice 117

Investigating Silence by Taking an Inquiry Stance 120

Tools for Understanding Student Silence 124

Curricular Innovations to Rethink Participation 132

Responding to Student Silence 136

Investigating Silence while Learning to Teach 142

Rethinking Participation 143

Appendix: Partial Transcript of the Author's Chair Event 145

References 149

Index 161

About the Author 173