Grading Classroom Participation in Higher Education: A Review and Proposed Taxonomy

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore the practice of grading students’ classroom participation in higher education environments. The author sought to synthesize current scholarly research to determine the definable characteristics of classroom participation, the assessment barriers it presents, and the current practices employed in the classroom. After exclusions, 126 articles were collected from the Scopus, ERIC, Sage, and ProQuest databases. The articles were systemically coded and analyzed to integrate, organize, and prepare the article’s review. According to the reviewed literature, the defining characteristics of classroom participation encompassed emotional engagement, cognitive engagement, and behavioral engagement. Barriers to assessing classroom participation pertained to student challenges, instructor challenges, and environmental challenges. Current grading practices encompass grading criteria, rubrics, syllabi, policies, weightage, assessment methods, technological integration, and teacher professional development. Synthesizing the reviewed literature, the author proposes a taxonomy for classroom participation suitable for practical application.