How can I learn to get good at making comments in class?

Teachers that require students to make comments in class are looking to hear that you’ve done the assigned reading and that you’ve given the material some thought.

Listen to other peoples’ comments. Think about what they have said and then try to build upon that. If you disagree, explain why. Based on your individual life experiences, your understanding of the material is going to be slightly different from everyone else’s. Talk about how things look through your lens.

If you feel like you’re not making good comments in class, try writing about the readings the night before. Write out your thoughts and examine some particular point that you think is important. This preparation will help you figure out what you have to say about the material.

Your teachers are also a good resource for tips; you can go to them for advice on how to comment in class. Generally, though, here are two tips:

1. Try to connect the material to the overall theme(s) of the course.

2. Is there an important point that hasn’t been brought up in discussion? Bring it up, especially if it’s connected to the discussion. Is there a point in the reading which is being misunderstood? You can clarify that point, doing so in a way that helps make the overall argument of the material clearer.

I teach high school and I consider a good question “making a comment” as well. I believe my professors in college did as well. The answers above are GREAT! and I would also say, Just Do It! Once you start making comments, you’ll get more used to it and will find it hard to stop. Have fun!

Can you pick the class you like best or the teacher you feel most comfortable with and start there? Comments in Physics or math would be very different than English or History. All terrific suggestions above, and parkmanz (what subject do you teach?) has a very good point. To ask a question takes less courage than to make a long statement. A good place in which to begin. How are you at social chit chat or talking with your friends (and how old are you?)

And what do you find interesting to listen to in class?

Whatever you do, make sure you don’t drone on and on…. nobody likes someone in a seminar or class that monopolizes the entire discussion, or a know-it-all (but the fact that you asked this question indicates you have a great deal of self-awareness). For some people that means doing some pre-work to make sure that what comes out of their mouth is coherent, but one of the most important skills you can learn is how to make a succinct point… people will respect your words much more.

I also think that listening to what was said before you is crucial, in all walks of life – and if you need to prep some comments, prep a few of them – so you have the confidence to not say something if it’s not related to the current conversation, and you’re not merely waiting for your turn to dole out a precious piece of knowledge.

Ultimately, though, if you can find things that genuinely interest you in the lesson and you want to learn more, you’re set.

Is this for college? What types of classes are you primarily taking?

I believe the most useful kind of question a student can ask is one that ties the discussion into a new, real life area, something useful in the students’ everyday lives, or that questions the validity of some of the assumptions/assertions made by the instructor (college professors especially are notorious for making statements with huge logical gaps as if they were natural laws).

As an example, one of my economics professors stated the “luxury tax” passed by Congress two years previously would “only tax the extremely wealthy, who can afford it,” “would keep rich people from spending so much money on useless things” and “would have no effect on the middle and lower classes.” One of the students spoke up and said his family owned a small business handcrafting sailboats and the new luxury tax had put them out of business, resulting in the unemployment of their 25 employees, all middle class, with specialized skills that were now useless, as the U.S. small shipbuilding industry had gone completely belly up. He also noted the tax did not prevent any of their former customers from buying new sailboats, as they were sufficiently wealthy they could travel to other countries to pick up their new boats. He then summarized as far as he could see the only people hurt by the luxury tax were the lower and middle class people who made the products, not the wealthy consumers of the products, and ended with “but since we can’t afford my college tuition anymore, I will be out of here at the end of the semester, and I won’t be able to sit here and pay a lot of money to hear stupid people who have never had a real job in their life say stupid things about things they know nothing about.” Or words to that effect. Then he stood up and left. We just all sat there with our mouths hanging open. I think all of us, hopefully including the professor, learned something about taking a moment to examine unintended consequences, something our Congress, by the way, needs to be taught.

Wow, great answer, hossman.