Validating Student Responses During Class

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We’ve all been there… It’s the start of class, let’s say week 5, and you’re engaging students in a pre-assessment activity–asking them to recall what was shared in class last week before moving on to new content.

Let’s imagine you’re teaching a class about the digestive system in the Practical Nursing program, and you pose a question to the class near the start, such as: “Alright, so even though our focus is on the digestive system today, there’s another body system I mentioned in class last week that’s associated with it. Who can remember what that secondary system is and what it does?“

There are a few seconds of silence, and then one student tentatively raises their hand. You’re grateful at least someone seems to remember what you taught. You nod at them to share with the class.

They clear their throat and say: “I just know that it has something to do with energy.”

Another pause.

This is not the answer you are looking for. This is far from the “right” answer, and you’re not even sure exactly what the student is saying or how it relates to the course content.

What do you do?

You start to sweat.

This one student and 35 of their peers are looking up at you waiting to see how you’ll respond…

This hub post will provide an overview about why validating student responses while teaching is a key ingredient in creating an inclusive classroom environment. We’ll define what “validation” means, discuss it’s connection to student well-being and academic success, and differentiate between 3 types of validation (confirmation; elaboration; and affirmation). We will also share strategies for navigating your way through some tricky situations such as the one described above, so that a student who has offered up the “wrong” or incomplete answer can save face and still feel safe participating in future, while you can also ensure that any misinformation shared is corrected so students don’t leave class feeling confused.

What is “validation” and why is it important in learning environments?

Swanson & Cole (2021) define validation as a “proactive process whereby students’ worth and value is affirmed” (p.3). They note that while receiving validation from instructors is important for all students, it is especially important for students who are marginalized (e.g. who come from low income backgrounds; are racialized; and/or are first generation post-secondary students) as it can have a direct positive impact on academic performance, students’ self-efficacy; their sense of belonging within their higher education institution; and even program completion and student retention rates (Barnett 2011; Brown, 2017).

Rendon’s (1994) description of instructor-student academic validation is even more specific. She defines it as : “faculty-initiated interactions, that aim to develop, facilitate, and help students trust their innate capacity to learn and to acquire confidence in being a college student” (Rendόn, 1994, p. 40).

As we know, it can feel risky for some students to speak up in class for a wide variety of reasons, so the stakes might seem particularly high when they do make the brave choice to participate, and are awaiting your response. Some faculty also may feel hesitant to incorporate participatory components into class meetings because they aren’t sure how to react when students ask an unexpected question or give the “wrong” response when answering a question they have posed. But student participation in class meetings is vital for learning, and a key component of constructivist pedagogy at the college and this is why it is important that you feel well equipped to respond in a validating fashion when students do participate.

Types of Validation

There are generally 3 different ways to validate student contributions in class: confirmation; elaboration; and affirmation. The approach you take will always depend on what the student has offered.

Generally, confirmation is used when a student says something that is correct, and you want to confirm their response.

Elaboration comes into play when the student contributes some aspect of a response that’s true, but they may be missing a few key details. So you’ll either fill in the blanks yourself, or call on others in the class to help contribute to a more robust response.

Affirmation is typically the trickiest to handle. This approach is necessary when a student has shared a response that is incorrect, and/or seems to be disconnected from the question at hand, but you still want to find a way to thank them for their response, find out more about their thinking, and creatively connect their answer to the one you were looking for.

Let’s re-consider the imagined question asked at the start of this hub post to work through all 3 types of validation.

Let’s imagine you’ve just asked: “Alright, so even though our focus is on the digestive system today, there’s another body system I mentioned in class last week that’s associated with it. Who can remember what that secondary system is and what it does?”

Confirmation

If a student were to raise their hand and say the following correct answer, your job as instructor is easy!:

“It’s the Enteric Nervous System. Like a separate nervous network in the digestive tract. Kind of like the gut having its own brain.”

In this case, you could simply respond by confirming that this is correct and add a few more details to deepen the learning. Using the student’s name in your confirming response can also help them feel further validated:
“That’s right. Thank you, (student name). That is the system I was hoping you’d remember–it’s why even someone who is paralyzed from the neck down can still digest food, because just as (student name) has shared, the enteric nervous system is its own quasi-autonomous network.”

Elaboration

If a student responded to your question with an answer that was partially correct, then in your response would validate and celebrate that contribution, while also seeking more.

“Um… I think it’s a system that… didn’t you call it the ‘little brain’ last week?”

You might say something like:

“Yes! Thank you, (student name)! Good memory. This system is often referred to as the ‘little brain’. Do you remember why? Or what it does?”
If that particular student doesn’t recall more information, you might then turn to the rest of the class and include them in further elaboration.

“Okay, so (student name) really got us started on the right track here. What else might we remember as a group? Where is this ‘little brain’ in the body? We watched a short video about it in class last week too. Does anyone else recall its official name and what it does?”

Affirmation

The trickiest validation response to master is “affirmation”– this is needed when a student got the answer “wrong” and you want to honour their contribution, while also steering learning in the proper direction.

Let’s return to the answer provided at the start of this post and imagine a student responded to your question by saying:

“I just know that it has something to do with energy.”

It would not be validating if you responded by simply saying:
“No, not what I’m looking for. Anyone else?”

Ideally, you’d start by thanking the student for sharing and then ask them to tell you more.
“Thank you for that, (student name). I want to know more about your thinking here. Let’s unpack it together. You said the word ‘energy’–can you tell me more about this?”

They might then say something like:

“I think it’s in the name, no? Energy system? Or related to energy in some way?”

“Ah, I see where you’re going here–thanks for clarifying. The digestive system and this other “little brain” separate network associated with it does indeed help the body manage energy. And you’re right that the name of the system I am looking for here does sound a bit like the word ‘energy.’ Class, (student name) has given us some great hints here–who else can help us out?”

Sometimes, it can also be helpful for a faculty member to take ownership over the confusion to help a student save face.

e.g. “Hmmm…. I think (student name) has just reminded me of something very important. Sometimes I don’t announciate very well, and so last week near the end of class when I introduced this system, I may have rushed through my explanation and what I said sounded like “energetic system”…

Or

“Okay, if no one else in the room remembers more details about this system to add to what (student name) shared then I am realizing I must not have taught this clearly enough at the end of last class! So let’s go back to that 1 min video, because I do want to make sure everyone has grasped this clearly before we move on to today’s content.”

Beyond the Individual

The example provided above, where the instructor asks the class a question hoping for a particular answer in order to assess whether students retained information previously shared is a direct instructional strategy. This is not the only approach to getting the answers you seek, however. Especially at the start of the semester and/or if you have students from cultural backgrounds where there are high power dynamics or where face saving is particularly important, you may opt not to single out individuals at all, but instead make the learning/ review more participatory and interactive. For example, you might ask the same question, but have students work together in small groups or as part of a think-pair-share activity to generate answers.
This approach can help diminish fears that individual learners might have about saying the wrong answer in front of the whole class. It can also help alleviate stress you might feel about putting an individual student on the spot, and validating their incorrect response. Once students see that you, as instructor, have mastered the art of validating their contributions in groups and pairs in ways that help them save face and don’t cause shame, they will likely feel more inclined to participate individually and share their thoughts (or half understandings!) in future.

References

Barnett, E. (2011). Validation experiences and persistence among community college students. The Review of Higher Education, 34(2), 193–230. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2010.0019

Brown, C (2017). Faculty Validation: An Exploration of Validation Theory Through a Survey of Faculty Attitudes. PhD Dissertation. Immaculata University. Retrieved from: https://scholarsphere.psu.edu/resources/fe086ad1-debc-4bb1-ab87-e4ac712d9cff

Hurtado, S.; Cuellar, M.; & Guillermo-Wan, C. (2011). Quantitative Measures of Students’ Sense of Validation: Advancing the Study of Diverse Learning Environments. Enrollment Management Journal. Retrieved from: https://www.heri.ucla.edu/ford/downloads/Students_Sense_of_Validation.pdf

Rendon, L. (1994). Validating culturally diverse students: Toward a new model of learning and student development. Innovative Higher Education, 19(1), 33–51.

Swanson, E. & Cole, D. (2022) The Role of Academic Validation in Developing Mattering
and Academic Success. Research in Higher Education. Vol 63, 1368-1393.