Universities IDENTIFIERS *ASHE Annual Meeting

This study investigated the extent of student interaction in undergraduate classrooms and the relationship between instructor techniques and interaction, as well as differences in interactions experienced by freshmen compared to those of juniors and seniors (upperclassmen). Survey questionnaires were completed by 36 instructors, 226 freshmen, and 566 upperclassmen enrolled in social science and humanities courses at 2 public research universities. Analysis of the questionnaires indicated that freshmen viewed classroom participation more favorably than did upperclassmen; they felt somewhat freer to ask questions in class and believed, to a greater extent than upperclassmen, that their teachers tolerated different opinions. Both freshmen and upperclassmen named praise, humor, and a supportive classroom atmosphere as the conditions most encouraging to their participation, while criticisms and "put downs " for wrong answers were most discouraging. Faculty cited the use of student ideas in class and asking fo