In the world of business, those who understand the opinions and attitudes of others are said to know how to “read the room.” Every effective salesperson senses when an approach is working and when not, which features of a product or service are attracting or dissuading a particular listener, and when silence will be more effective than continuing to try to sell.
Effective teachers, too, know not only their subjects but also their audience. Years ago, I taught an introductory philosophy course in which I eventually found out that many of the students were nursing majors, required to study philosophy. Had I known from the beginning, I would have at least tried to accommodate their interests.
In another sense, however, knowing the audience implies being aware of how the class is reacting to what you are saying and doing. Are you moving too rapidly through an argument? Has a particular example piqued their interest? Have they become bored with your presentation? Are they lost? The answers to such questions are crucial to a teacher’s success, and the ability to recognize student reaction is thus a key part of offering successful instruction.
How can teachers enhance their ability to read the room? Herewith a few suggestions (mostly adaptable mutatis mutandis to a fully remote or hybrid situation):
Look at your audience, not at the chalkboard, the floor, the window, or the ceiling. Only by keeping your eyes on the students can you recognize their response.
Use notes if necessary, but don’t bury your head in them. Consult them occasionally if you prefer, but don’t read them at length, thereby losing the ability to assess the audience.
Look at all the students rather than concentrating on a select few. Try to engage everyone, not just those who regularly volunteer. A few students may display interest, but how about those who don’t? Their lack of involvement is a significant feature of the situation.
Don’t ask questions without providing the opportunity for responses. And if the first answer is unsatisfactory, encourage other students to react rather than immediately answering the question yourself. After all, if no one knows the answer, perhaps the question was put ineffectively or the students are not grasping all you had supposed.
Listen carefully to each student’s answer. A mistake may be revelatory, because it suggests a misunderstanding that may guide your further attempts at clarification. When a few students complain they are confused, the same will be true of others.
Be patient. However unsophisticated students may be, if you treat them with respect, they will be encouraged to participate. If you denigrate them, they will tune out.
One final suggestion. While office hours are often supposed to be for the benefit of students, they also serve the interest of faculty by offering them the opportunity to receive informal feedback.
If students are not coming to your office hours, announce that you would like students to visit, that they needn’t have a problem, but that you welcome the opportunity to chat. If this invitation is issued on several occasions, so as not to seem begrudging, students will appear, and teachers then can ask such questions as “How’s the course going for you?” “How do you find the readings?” “Are you following the lectures”?
Listen carefully to the responses and don’t argue but learn. After all, you may demonstrate your philosophical skills by refuting opposing arguments, but you demonstrate your pedagogical skills by reading the room.
Steven M. Cahn
Steven M Cahn is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Among the recent books he has authored are Teaching Philosophy: A Guide (Routledge, 2018); Inside Academia: Professors, Politics, and Policies (Rutgers, 2019); Navigating Academic Life: How the System Works (Routledge, 2021); Professors as Teachers (Wipf and Stock, 2022), and, most recently, From Student to Scholar: A Candid Guide to Becoming a Professor, Second Edition (Wipf and Stock, 2024).
