Embracing the silence: introverted learning and the online classroom, by Karen Harris, Intercultural Communications Trainer and Language Development Tutor, Language Centre
This article discusses the challenges of online teaching in relation to introvert student profiles. Harris explains how online education brings new and more complex circumstances to engage introverts and encourage their participation. In a physical classroom, Harris explains, even if a student is silent, “they are still a tangible, visible, live presence”; in the online space, by contrast, the lurkers of the group can hide in the background: they are “literally muted, literally invisible, devoid of movement and geographically remote”. In such situations, tutors are no longer in control of the room, they cannot see let alone sense the room as they would in a physical classroom.
The underlying question is: could the digital classroom be an opportunity to accommodate those who have a more introverted learning preference – and even to embrace their silence? Far from limiting online teaching to a challenging and disadvantageous setting for education, Harris challenges some common assumptions suggesting a number of initiatives or “provocations” that aim facilitate introverts’ participation.
- Might the pressure to actively participate actually be counter-productive?
First, she questions the effectiveness of putting the student on the spot, pushing them to actively participate, considering that the pressure might be counterproductive. Avoiding putting the student on the spot, forcing an involuntary participation might offer the space for the student to absorb content and remember it and think about additional questions. It spares them the pressure from the prospect of being called out and asked to contribute before they are ready – that dread is counterproductive since it adds a distraction.
Offering opportunities for students to sit without distraction helps them absorb content and remember it and think about additional questions. They can process the feelings and ideas expressed by their peers and consider the importance of other perspectives. (Weeks, 2018)
- Do we need to recalibrate the notion of “active participation”? When it comes to learning, is “active/passive” a false dichotomy?
It differentiates the learning process and experience from what it is happening in the online –or physical- room in that learning is an individual process happening at an individual level. This means that those periods of apparent “inactivity” might actually be when a learner is at their most intellectually active – these could be spaces where they are processing, considering and reflecting, rather than formulating and uttering superficial thoughts as a token of their mental alertness.
Harris quotes Fox-Eades (2015): “Silence, a quietening of mind and body, helps us to flourish, to think clearly and creatively”, who in support of this cites Alerby and Elídóttir: “It is in the silent reflection that our thoughts take shape and make the experience into learning” (2003, p.46, cited in Fox-Eades, 2015). This could actually be seen as a spiritual perspective: silence as a powerful transformative catalyst.
Thus, this second provocation introduces the importance of not just accepting, but welcoming and even initiating silence. Instead of made to feel under-achievers, just tolerated or even humiliated, introvert students would feel “part of an authentic, reflective and mutually respectful community” (Harris, 2022).
- What advantages might the online classroom offer for nurturing a profound, transformative silence?
Well-managed, the online classroom could offer the ideal circumstances to the kind of community-building mentioned above. It offers a space where, being all participants present, everyone is located somewhere else, which could help mitigate the anxiety that might arise in a totally quiet, nowhere-to-escape, physical classroom.
The online classroom features such us muted/unmuted or camera off/on allow for some sense of privacy, which could reduce the sense of vulnerability and awkwardness among the less confident and increase their sense of agency. Other features, like the reactions through emojis and the chat box reinforce the feeling of presence and connection – ready to share and receive ideas at their own time and free of pressure.
Having concluded that silence can actually be advantageous and worth embracing in the online classroom, Harris opens the question of “if and how some of these advantages might be transferred to the physical classroom”, and identifies that “deciding what is and isn’t feasible or desirable, and the exact strategies required, will require ongoing discussions and adaptations”.
Listening without anticipating and articulating an immediate response provides space for understanding ideas, perspectives, and experiences that may differ from one’s own. In this way, deep listening and silent reflection can help eliminate fear, bridge perceived divisions between individuals, and serve to support conflict resolution.” (Weeks, 2018)
References
Fox Eades, J. (2015) ‘Silence and stillness in the classroom’. Available at: https://jennyfoxeades.com/2015/02/12/silence-and-stillness-in-the-classroom/ (Accessed: 28 February 2022)
Weeks, D. (2018) ‘The value of silence in schools’. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/article/valuesilence-schools (Accessed: 28 February 2022).