A recent Australian study shows that social media applications are a great way for those who are shy, insecure, or afraid of public speaking to still great a great education in which they can participate right along with students more comfortable in public forums. Educators have traditionally on tricks of the teaching trade to help in the classroom. However, the ability to communicate online via learning management systems (LMS) like Blackboard or Moodle, or through social media like Twitter, means that there is a protective barrier between the student and direct interpersonal interactions that can also help shy students. Online education and social media in courses allows shy students, who are often reflective learners, to take the time they need to process the interaction and pace themselves according to their emotional responses before participating. This reduces the panic and stress such students often feel in face-to-face classes.
What is Shyness, and How Can It Hurt Students?
Everyone has shy moments, but chronic shyness is a little bit different. Psychology Today defines shyness as “the awkwardness or apprehension some people feel when approaching or getting approached by other people. Unlike introverts, who feel energized by time alone, shy people often desperately want to connect with others, but don’t know how or can’t tolerate the anxiety that comes with human interaction.” Shyness is also considered a form of social anxiety, and can in some instances be even more debilitating and prevent those who suffer from fully enjoying their lives. For example, Avoidant Personality Disorder is an illness recognized by the medical profession that includes “a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation, and avoidance of social interaction.”
These issues can derail the entire academic careers of students who suffer from them. I once sadly watched as two very intelligent graduate students had complete nervous breakdowns and withdrew from school. They lost thousands of dollars, ended their dreams of becoming educators, and had no idea what to do with their lives. Why? They were so shy that some of their graduate course demands, including participating in discussions and giving presentations, caused them great distress. One of them nearly collapsed during a brief presentation in class: he began to sweat profusely, his face flushed, and he started crying. It wasn’t funny; it was heartbreaking. His shyness was completely debilitating.
How Can Online Education and Social Media Help Shy Students?
While many educators have already seized upon the benefits of online courses and social media as a learning tool, there has been reluctance on the part of some educators to adapt social media tools like Twitter for use in the traditional classroom, the Australian study confirms that online coursework or the inclusion of online tools can benefit shy students. The researchers discovered “strong benefits for the use of Twitter by students too embarrassed or uncomfortable to ask teachers questions in the time-honored raised-hand method.”
In the study, students sent anonymous tweets to their teacher, who shared the questions and provided answers with the whole class. The shy students were able to sit in class with everyone else and still participate, without worrying about the potential for embarrassment or ridicule from fellow students when they do not understand something in class. And online courses are perfect for those who wish to enjoy more time than the traditional face-to-face classroom allows for reflection and interpretation of material and revision of comments. Elements of online courses such as discussion boards and chats, and the ability to enroll in asynchronous courses in which students can participate at any time, provide the flexibility that shy or introverted students need.
Are There Drawbacks to Online Courses and Social Media Use for Shy Students?
As much as I think that any avenue toward learning is valuable, as a professor I wonder if the integration of technological tools such as Twitter into the traditional classroom might create more problems than it solves. Aside from the obvious potential for abuse by students who spend their time pretending to tweet me for course purposes but are actually chatting with their friends, and the distractions that can be caused for some learners who have to sit and class and listen to lots of typing sounds, there also may be substantive losses in important skills development. After all, college courses are not just about learning content. They also help students develop important social skills, public speaking experience, and general communication skills that will be helpful as they navigate their future careers. In other words, shouldn’t faculty be facilitating ways for students to overcome the challenges of interpersonal interactions, so that they can enjoy more success with them throughout their lives?
Teachers have many tools to help manage the needs of shy studentsin the classroom. For example, desensitization has been one of the long-standing “cures” (it might more appropriately be termed a “coping mechanism” than a cure.) This means that repeated exposure to situations in which students feel shy, in this case the traditional classroom, and the slow integration of participation, can help shy students overcome their fear of speaking up and participating in class.
I’ve seen this work in my own classes. Early in the semester, I go around the classroom and ask students to answer the same question, one at a time. I comment positively on their answers, and ask them to elaborate. After doing this several times throughout the semester, I end up with a high rate of student participation, as students have become more comfortable in the environment. In this way, I provide students with the opportunity to develop interpersonal skills as they learn the course content.
My approach may not work for all instructors or for all subjects. Ultimately, faculty may find that their students most benefit from a combination of techniques and technologies. And there certainly are those for whom classroom participation creates such distress that any potential benefit is lost in the pain, anxiety, and stress created for them. This was certainly true for my two fellow graduate students who dropped out. I don’t know what happened to those smart, funny, and interesting students, but I wish that online education and social media tools had been an available option for them.
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