https://chroniclevitae.com/news/945-getting-them-to-stop-talking

This article highlights a common problem in the college classroom–some students participating more than others, and some not at all. Often what happens is that a few students begin to dominate discussions that discourages shyer students from speaking up for fear of being ‘wrong’ or even worse, of drawing an opinionated response from one of the frequent contributors. The article provides a set of approaches for dealing with these types of students, such as ‘cold-calling’ on students to contribute (there is evidence that suggests this is a solid strategy: http://jme.sagepub.com/content/37/3/305), having a one-on-one discussion with said students about why over-participation is an issue, or having students write their thoughts down at the start of class and giving them something to draw from during discussion. Other ideas include using an anonymous Twitter or Google Doc (http://mikegwaltney.net/blog/how-to-make-a-class-backchannel/) for students to post their thoughts/questions during class (I personally love this idea!). Definitely some excellent pedagogical strategies to address one of the most common issues in the college classroom.