When the professor calls on you...

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In my computer science class, I was the only one who knew the answer to the problem. My professor somehow knows I know and so he calls me up to the front to write the solution on the board...

At first, I was doing alright. And then, to my horror, I discovered my legs were shaking vigorously.

My hand then started shaking as well. I was so nervous to be in front of 70+ people. I wrote down the wrong solution (because it was shorter) so I could sit back down.

Does anyone else have this problem? I would have said no but participation is worth a lot of the grade.

I checked your profile before I replied.

I noted that you have confirmed diagnosis of Aspergers. Could you meet with your prof and discuss ways that you can successfully participate in class without having to stand at the front? - Perhaps small group participation would be better for you or preparing a project that can be read or interacted with (rather than physically standing in front of the class). Discuss these and other ideas that you both may have.

By doing this - you are working with your prof so that you can be successful in this course, that you still respect the requirements of the course and your fellow students can still benefit from your contributions.

If you don't want to disclose your status of being on the spectrum, tell your professor in an email or otherwise that you have acute stage fright and need to find ways to participate that don't require you to be in front of the class. It is true (stage fright is exactly what you described) and understandable to almost anyone, and most people will automatically make accommodations for you.

I don't have a solution but I know the feeling I never used to put my hand up at school and one time a teacher asked me a question and I couldn't speak even though I knew the answer, and she made everyone stay quiet until I answered which was horrible coz I couldn't say anything and eventually she sighed and asked someone else. It was really embarrassing. I had a similar problem in English GCSE oral lessons, and had to 'stage' a debate where I'd memorized all the arguments beforehand just to pass the class. I'm studying Creative Writing at uni and every week we have to read out our work, and at first I couldn't do it. I still find it really hard but find that if I focus totally on the words in front of me, I can read it out and the tutor doesn't seem to mind that I'm reading too fast and get the words mixed up. I still get really hot and shaky though.

i always hate presenting stuff in class

in Calculus we are required to present 2 problems a quarter and i almost always wait until some really easy problem shows up for me to do quickly and sit back down.

I've got a French oral lesson this morning I love languages but hate the speaking part. We're supposed to be doing a debate and I've written down what I'm going to say, but I still get it wrong or can't say anything!

I absolutely dread these moments.

When a professor randomly calls on me in class I usually mumble something unintelligible or don't even speak at all, both of which probably make me seem like a complete idiot, until the professor moves on to somebody else.

Planned presentations are not as difficult for me, because I know they are coming up and can plan everything out. I still get nervous, but they just aren't as bad.

This has gotten a lot better for me since I talked to the college's disability services and was able to work out a compromise with some of my professors. For example, one professor only calls on me when I raise my hand, but I do have to raise my hand and participate every once in a while. Another professor allows me to give my presentations to him one on one, but I have to do this earlier than the scheduled due date.

I used to hate being called on in class or speaking at all in class. Now, I am the Professor and I call on people. I don't use it as a punishment, but I teach in the Socratic method, so I am always quizzing student on what they know and challenging their ideas, options ( I HATE opinions, they are like as*holes, everyone has one) or arguments to demonstrate that most things we study are not dichotomous, but are, in fact, multifaceted, complex and more often than not, do not have are not absolutely true or false answer, but are instead relative to an individuals interpretation.

However, honestly, if you are talking in my class and not paying attention, you will get called on and confronted.