Voluntary participation

This article is about a format used within an exposition for the explainer to get feedback from the learner(s), and/or for learner(s) to self-assess.
View list of in-exposition feedback formats | View summary table of learning techniques (not limited to in-exposition feedback formats)

Definition

Voluntary participation refers to a situation where students (typically in a class setting) voluntarily participate, typically through oral responses from their seats, and in some cases by writing or presenting to the whole room from the front. Voluntary participation could include:

• Voluntary questions or comments: The student asks the teacher a question or makes a general comment or observation in front of the whole class. The question is not explicitly solicited from the student specifically, though it might follow a general questions or comments? prompt to the class.
• Voluntary answers: The student responds voluntarily to a question asked by the teacher of the whole class. This is distinguished from cold calling where the teacher selects a student to answer the question.