Embracing the silence: Introverted learning and the online classroom – a reflection
I started working as an Associate lecturer in 2021 post Covid-19 . Teaching at undergraduate level was a relatively new experience for me which I was looking forward to. Like many courses, we too had to adapt to the new post Covid way of teaching and learning, which meant smaller in-person cohorts but also online sessions.
I recall thoroughly enjoying the in-person sessions with high levels of engagement, collaboration and active discussion. Covid provided the unique opportunity of working with smaller groups which brought about a quicker rapport with students and more collaboration in sessions – students and staff got to know each other well and quickly during the in-person 40 credit unit, which met twice weekly.
This cohort experienced remote teaching at school prior to higher education, their yearning for collaboration and connection was palpable, at times also met with some social anxiety too. It was all new.
Due to space limitations, we had to deliver the 20-credit unit online to the same cohort. We adapted content and workshops to spark discussion, collaboration and ideas online, which was incredibly challenging as we were met with silent microphones and faceless screens. Teaching online was akin to hosting a TV show, with an audience watching from the comfort of their bedrooms, who were expected to respond and interact as they would in an in-person session.
The staff grew concerned and demoralised as we were unable to recreate the same exciting environment online. We lamented about long pauses, and watching our calls for engagement disappear into the abyss. We associated silence with lack of engagement, which Harris (2022) argues that may not have been quite the case.
Reading Harris (2022) provided some reassurance in knowing that knowledge was being assimilated in some way, and that the online learning environment may be more favourable to students with different learning styles, allowing them to pursue related side quests without being noticed, which can lead to fruitful outcomes.
It also made me questions established practices of calling out students’ names soliciting a response for which they may not be ready to deliver – not because they don’t have one, but because they may not be able to articulate it to their expectation in such a short period of time.
During online sessions I did also observe Nielsen’s (2006) ’90-9-1 Rule’, where one to two students would contribute repeatedly (cameras always off!). I associated this behaviour with active engagement with content, assuming the ‘lurkers’ were not engaging.
Fast forward to the present time, having now taught extensively, designed and delivered content and course curriculum, I have a much broader understanding of designing more inclusive content for diverse learning styles, whilst also being more accepting and encouraging of ‘lurking’ behaviour, resting in the knowledge (and hope) that content is being absorbed on students’ terms and at their pace.
Active participation is not a measure of successful engagement. Moving forward I would like make more time for silence and be more comfortable with one-ended communication.
References
Harris, K. (2022) ‘Embracing the silence: introverted learning and the online classroom’, Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Vol. 5 No. 1, 21 November 2022. Available at: https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/161 [Accessed: 02 February 2026]
Nielsen, J. (2006) ‘Participation Inequality: The 90-9-1 Rule for Social Features’. Nielsen Norman Group. Available at: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/participation-inequality/ [Accessed: 02 February 2026].