Don’t Stop Talking to Your Friends
By Pam Nussbaumer
When I was young, I was painfully shy. I didn’t raise my hand in class, I dreaded giving speeches, and I was terrified to talk to other students in my school. Making friends was one of my biggest obstacles as a college student. According to Mayo Clinic (2009), I’m not alone because “up to 13 percent of people in Western countries experience social anxiety disorder at some point in their lives.” Another figure proposed is that 45-48 percent of the general population consider themselves to be shy (Carducci et al. 2001). This made me wonder, are almost half of my online students shy? If this is the case, what can I do to help?
The Internet offers a wealth of information on how to work with shy students. Almost every website and article lists ways for teachers to engage shy students and two reoccurring recommendations are grouping students and teaching effective communication skills. Some methods include pairing the shy student with a more confident student, having one-on-one conversations with the shy student, and including the shy student in a social group to practice and enhance their communication skills.
Group work is beneficial to all types of students and shy students will especially benefit from belonging to social groups. Shy students often benefit from the social structure provided by fraternities or sororities (Shirkey, 2009). As an instructor, I need to provide a social structure for the shy students to make them comfortable, engaged and involved in the class, but how?
Social Grouping in an Online Course
Most college students are familiar with or participate in social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace. The results of a study conducted by Carducci and Klaphaak (1999) “suggest that a principal purpose of Internet usage by shy individuals is to meet new people and pursue social relationships.” Social grouping can be used in the online classroom to benefit shy students.
Shy students have problems initiating friendships and in-class social groups can help. They can also give students the sense of belonging, which can positively affect their participation in the class and overall grades. Social groups can also help shy students feel more confident about themselves and, in some cases, help overcome their social-aversion. For these reasons, instructors should use social grouping to help the shy student be a part of the class.
Social Grouping Initiated by the Instructor
In an online class social grouping can be done in many ways, but I suggest that the instructor initiates the group formation process. As a shy student, I dreaded when the teacher announced that they were going to let us pick the groups. The feelings of panic, insecurity, and fear were overwhelming every time I had to force myself into new social situations. It would have been a huge relief if the instructor initiated the groups.
One way to identify a social group is through icebreaker activities done at the beginning of the semester. Some examples of online icebreakers are:
• Department Store Shopper: Students name their favorite store and list five items they would buy that reflect their interests.
• Haiku: Students write a haiku on any topic that interests them.
• Favorite Movie or TV Show: Students share their favorites.
• Design a T-Shirt: Students design an image of a t-shirt that reflects something about them.
• Dream Vacation Destination: Students share where they would like to go and why.
After students complete the icebreaking activity in the first week of class, instructors can read the responses and find common interests among the students. For example, if three people answer the Department Store Shopper with Bass Pro Shop and all list camping/outdoor items, the instructor can group them together since their common interest is the outdoors.
Another way to find commonality among students is by using a survey. A survey can also be used as an interest inventory to identify common interests among students. Instructors can use the survey tool within the Learning Management System (LMS) or an online tool such as SurveyMonkey. Survey questions may include:
• Where do you live?
• What are your hobbies?
• What is your career or intended career?
• What is your favorite food?
• What are your favorite books?
After gathering the responses to the survey, instructors can identify common answers among the students. For example, if a few students live in the North East, they could be grouped together based on geographic commonality.
After the instructor decides on the grouping method and assigns individual students to a group, the group members must be notified and given an explanation as to why they are being grouped together. This gives the shy student a conversation starting point. If the group knows they are grouped by geographic location, easy conversation starters are asking about weather, geographic sites, places visited, or location of relatives. As a shy, self-conscious student, I would have greatly benefited from a social group and a conversation starter.
End Result of Social Grouping
Why go through so much trouble for the shy student? The answer is because everyone can benefit from having friends in class. The instructor benefits by having students who are actively engaged in the course, willing to participate in the learning adventure and excited about group discussions. The shy student benefits from the decreased amount of stress caused by initiating social interactions, the support of friends with similar interests, and gains confidence to continue their educational pursuits. Even non-shy students enjoy belonging to a social group, and may even act as a mentor or social surrogate, helping ease shy friends into a social network.
Conclusion
Shy students are found everywhere, even in online classes. I was one of those shy students and now I stand in front of adult learners and teach them about my passion. How does this happen? The answer is that I had social groups filled with supportive friends.
The ultimate goal of social grouping is that the friendships last long after the semester has ended. We often tell students to stop talking to friends during class, but let’s start telling them to not stop talking to your friends during class!
References
Brophy, J. (1996). Working with shy or withdrawn students. ERIC Digest. Retrieved July 25, 2009 from http://www.ericdigests.org/1997-3/shy.html
Carducci, B. J., Hutzel, K., Morrison, K., & Weyer, C. Y. (2001). Social phobia and social anxiety as components of shyness. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved from Poster Session Presented at the Annual Conference of the American Psychological Association: http://homepages.ius.edu/special/Shyness/SocialPhobia.html
Carducci, B. J. & Klaphaak, K. W. (1999). Shyness, internet usage, and electronic extroversion: Patterns and consequences. [Electronic Version]. Retrieved from Poster Session Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association: http://homepages.ius.edu/special/Shyness/InternetShy.html
Shirkey, R. (2009, May 13). Fraternities, sororities provide social structure for shy students. Royal Purple. Retrieved from http://media.www.royalpurplenews.com/media/storage/paper1225/news/2008/03/05/Lifestyle/Fraternities.Sororities.Provide.Social.Structure.For.Shy.Students-3250459.shtml
Social Anxiety Disorder. MayoClinic.com. Retrieved July 25, 2009 from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/social-anxiety-disorder/DS00595
Souma, T., Ura, M., Isobe, C., Hasegawa, K., & Morita, A. (2008). How do shy people expand their social networks? Using social surrogates as a strategy to expand one’s network. Asian Journal of Social Psychology, 11. Retrieved July 25, 2009 from http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119418061/HTMLSTART