Action:

• You can initiate conversations with oversharers by asking them if they can stay after class or come to office hours.
• Express acknowledgement and appreciation for the student’s enthusiasm for the class.
• Express concern that this reduces the opportunity for other students to participate.
• State clearly that to create space for other voices in the classroom you would like the oversharer to contribute less in class and more after class, in office hours, over email, or whatever your preference is.
• Discuss together what number of contributions might be appropriate. If their number is too high, point out that this does not sufficiently allow for enough other voices to enter the conversation.
• Once you and the student agree on a number of contributions per class, state explicitly that you want them to only make that number of contributions.
• Ask the student if they think it will be difficult to contribute only that number of times. If they anticipate that this will be very difficult for them, ask them what you could do to help them.

Reason:

• In many cases students don’t realize that they are behaving inappropriately and it can be helpful to have a conversation with them outside of class so as to minimize embarrassment. Specific, quantified expectations will remove any confusion oversharers have regarding how much to participate.
• Supporting students in limiting how much they speak can help all students in your class have the opportunity to contribute to in class discussion.