Abstract

Reconceptualizing active learning in the higher educational classroom needs to include the variable of silence rather than only the conventional behavioral standard of participation as present research attests to the silence of high-performing female and Asian students in higher education. Their outstanding performance suggests that their silence may be a neglected component when defining active learning. Therefore, this research examined the constitution of students’ silence in order to offer appropriate pedagogical recommendations. One recommendation asks teachers to employ gender- and culturally-sensitive persona that respects difference rather than mislabeling it as wrongfulness, selfishness, or inequity. Teachers are also recommended to invite their students to establish classroom participation expectations, and to openly discuss the reasons for silence of these minorities so that simulations can be enacted to demonstrate the differences between the Eastern and Western classrooms. In the end, this research hopefully will dispel any misperceptions about silent students.