“Class participation component”, is an essential tool used by B-Schools to encourage classroom discussions and evaluate the performance of the students during every class. A few days into the course and it transforms into something which incentivizes those who come prepared for the class and penalizes those who don’t. It may also become one of the myriad of things which students start fiercely competing for at B-Schools.
Apart from these, the “CP” component also works in separating students into personality types. Like they say “Your actions define you”, students can be identified depending on their involvement in class participation. So, check which one you belong to:
The Hoggers: Students who invariably hog the CP time with content which makes absolutely no sense (the traditional “globe”), while others are waiting, face-palming or rolling their eyes. They are the easiest to spot, since they would have, at least for once, annoyed the majority of the class (including the Professors and Teacher Assistants). They are usually labelled the “CP Queen/King”.
Me! Me! Me!
The Top Dogs: The best of the performers usually belong here. They too indulge in dominating the class discussions, but unlike the hoggers, they make sensible arguments. At times, they succeed in grabbing the attention of the entire class by sharing certain interesting insights and puzzling the professors. They are less hated when compared to the hoggers. But, they can be disliked by the ones who enjoy dozing off during lectures, especially if they are sitting next to them.
The Level-Headed: Students who indulge in moderate class participation, but almost always make reasonable/rational comments. They usually score average or above average in terms of CP. A majority of the students belong to this category. They are very aware of the drawbacks of wasting class time, and appreciate listening to others’ arguments. These students particularly detest the hoggers and at occasions indulge in mocking them, in order to discourage their practice. But, such attempts always go in vain, for the hoggers are known to be stubborn.
hmmm.....
The Spacemen: The last category of students, who spend most of their time spacing out (or daydreaming) during class discussions. They are comfortable mentally staying out of the classroom space and in their own imaginations. These students are hard to spot since they do get mistaken for the level-headed (not that they aren’t smart). The spacemen are indifferent to the arguments taking place and refrain from participating even if they are capable of adding valuable comments. For obvious reasons, they eventually score low in CP.
I'm listening...I guess.
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About the Author:
Nikhil Murthy is a second year student at IIM Indore and a part of the InsideIIM’s student team 2016-17. He is also a part of IIM Indore’s campus radio and captain of the basketball team. His interests include writing, travelling and DJing.