ParticipationintheClassroom 　　Takingpartintheclassroomisnotonlyacceptedbutalsoexpectedofstudentsinmanycourses.Someprofessorsbasepartofthefinalgradeonthestudent’stakingpartinorallyAlthoughthereareformallecturesduringwhichthestudenthasapassiverole,manycoursesareorganizedaroundclassroomdiscussions,studentquestions,andinformallectures.Ingraduateseminarstheprofessorhasa“managing”roleandthestudentsmakepresentationsandleaddiscussions.Thestudentsdotheactualteachingintheseseminars. 　　Aprofessor’steachingstyleisanotherfactorthatdeterminesthedegreeandtypeofstudentparticipation.Someprofessorsprefertocontroldiscussion,whileothersprefertoguidetheclasswithoutdominatingit.Manyprofessorsencouragestudentstoquestionandchallengetheirideas.Studentswhomakeopinionsthataredifferentfromtheprofessor’spointofviewshouldbepreparedtosupporttheirpositions. 　　Intheteachingofscienceandmathematics,thedominantmodeofinstructionisgenerallytraditional,withteacherspresentingformallecturesandstudentstakingnotes.However,neweducationaltrendshaveemergedinthehumanitiesandsocialsciencesinthepasttwodecades.Studentsineducation,sociology,andpsychologyclasses,forexample,areoftenrequiredtosolveproblemsingroups,designprojects,makepresentations,andexaminecasestudies.Sincesomecollegeoruniversitycoursesare“practical”ratherthantheoretical,theystress“doing”andparticipation.