Instructors make many decisions all the time directly impacting students. They commonly make choices around how their students will actively engage in their own learning. A widely used engagement practice is to invite students to voluntarily participate by having them ask or answer questions in small- and large-enrollment science classrooms. However, it is unknown how both students and instructors of large-enrollment science classes perceive the impacts of voluntary participation. Is there alignment between what students and instructors think are the benefits of voluntary participation? Are the benefits actual or perceived? Do benefits outweigh any potential costs? Who benefits? This dissertation provides and integrates findings from three studies regarding both student and instructor perceptions of voluntary participation in large-enrollment science courses at a large research-intensive university. Overall, my findings show that both students and instructors perceive positive and negative aspects of ask and answer, and their views are similar (i.e., both perceive benefits to learning) despite overwhelming evidence that those practices drive participation inequities with little to no evidence that those practices lead directly to learning. This work highlights that making engagement practices more equitable and inclusive, requires a deep investigation of both student and instructor needs and values, especially in spaces that are large, highly intertwined, and are influenced by many external factors simultaneously. The final chapter provides ways in which future research can draw on perception-based work to empirically test the impact of both letting students ask and answer as pedagogical practices in light of what pedagogical practices actually drive student learning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]