Student Skills: Classroom Participation

[Note: The links in this post go to helpful pages on each topic. Follow them!]

The classroom is the space in which a teacher gets all their impressions of you. The first thing that has to be said is PAY ATTENTION! (The only way that I can ever pay attention is if I'm in the first row of the classroom. Any further than the second row, and my mind will be all over the place.) And why pay attention? So you'll be great at TAKING NOTES, of course. There are many different strategies for note-taking, but sometimes, it's important just to jot down a few of the buzzwords your teacher throws out. Knowing what strategy to use totally depends on the class and how much you think you need to work to retain the information.

There are also the ever important CLASSROOM DISCUSSIONS where you get to demonstrate your intellectual prowess and show a teacher what you're all about. Even if "Classroom Participation" is officially only a small part of your grade, performing well can make things in the class run a little more smoothly. In fact, there are lots of little things that you can do to INFLUENCE TEACHERS that will make them believe you are the most interested student in the class (even if it's not exactly true).

Heck, a teacher's high opinion of you might even translate into things like a little boost if you're on the borderline between a B+ and an A- or that extra day you need to finish an essay.