2013 Teacher Forum

Kathy Schultz

March 3, 2013

Silence: A Form of Classroom Participation with Kathy Schultz

We explored the significance of student silence with Kathy Schultz, author of "Rethinking Classroom Participation: Listening to Silent Voices" and dean of the Mills College School of Education.

She discussed:

  • The meanings of students' silence in classrooms

  • Understandings teachers have about participation

  • Conceptualizing a democratic classroom without insisting on student talk

  • How silence figured into conceptions of classroom practice

Title Slide: "Silence as a Form of Classroom Participation"

The “Room 110 Pledge”

In this clip from the 2013 Mandel Center Teacher Forum, Kathy Shultz gives a case study from A 1st grade classroom in Philadelphia where a teacher through her own silence and trust, sets the stage for stronger student participation.

Kathy Schultz is dean and professor of Education in the School of Education at Mills College. Her work as a scholar, educator and activist has centered on the problem of how to prepare and provide on-going support for new teachers in urban public schools. She is particularly interested in how teachers can use listening, including listening to students' silences, as the center of their pedagogical practice. Her recent books are "Listening: A Framework for Teaching Across Differences" and "Rethinking Classroom Participation: Listening to Silent Voices," both published by Teachers College Press.