Handling Disruptive Students

Self-Assessment Question:

Do you know how to prevent disruptive behavior in class, and have different strategies for dealing with it when it occurs?

Quick Take:

Teachers frequently experience various forms of disruptive student behavior, from irritating but relatively minor problems of coming late to class and/or talking during class, to more serious problems, like openly challenging the authority of the teacher. The best strategies are (a) to take preventive measures but (b) be ready to deal with it when it occurs. The best direct set of recommendations on this topic are by M.D. Sorcinelli (1994), and are summarized below.

I. Create a constructive classroom environment

A. Define expectations clearly at the outset
B. Decrease student anonymity
C. Seek feedback from students
D. Encourage active learning

II. Dealing with troublesome behaviors

A. Talking and inattention

1. Make direct eye contact with talking students
2. Direct a question to someone right next to the talking student.
3. Physically move to the area where students are talking.
4. Break the class into mini-discussion groups, or use some other form or active learning.
5. Speak to the students privately after class or before the next class.

B. Unpreparedness and missed deadlines

1. Require evidence of preparation in form of small parts of the assignment, without being punitive
2. Use frequent, short assignments
3. If you have a policy of not accepting late papers, don' accept them. Under special circumstances, accept them but do so in private.
4. Meet your own deadlines, e.g., for returning papers.

C. Lateness and inattendance

1. Establish mutual expectations: students come to class on time, you start and finish on time.
2. Establish a "starting ritual": moving to certain place, dimming lights, getting out your notes, whatever.
3. If you have a policy on or requirement for attendance, follow it.
4. When lateness or inattendance becomes excessive, contact student's advisor.
5. Make sure material dealt with in class relates directly to mastering the subject, and make sure students are able to see the connection.

D. Challenges to authority

1. Don't become defensive; explain, but don't defend, your goals and assignments.
2. Avoid arguments in class; if necessary, arrange to discuss problem with an upset student at some later time, perhaps after class.
3. Let student know that you value his/her good contributions, but his negative behavior is disruptive to you and/or to other students.
4. Be honest when your own efforts don't work as planned. Honesty is often disarming.
5. If student is hostile or threatening, contact the campus ombudsman or the dean of student's office.

References:

1. "Dealing with Troublesome Behaviors in the Classroom," by Mary Deane Sorcinelli, Chapter 28 (pp. 365-373) in Handbook of College Teaching, edited by K.W. Prichard and R.McL. Sawyer. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994. Outlines general strategies and specific actions, both to prevent troublesome behaviors and for dealing with them when they occur.

2. "Problem Situations and Problem Students", Chapter 24 (pp. 251-261) in Teaching Tips by Wilbert J. McKeachie. Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1994. McKeachie has an excellent analysis of why students display different kinds of problem behaviors, as well as savvy suggestions on how to deal with them:

· Angry, aggressive student
· Attention-seekers and students who dominate discussion
· Silent students
· Inattentive students
· Unprepared students · Flatterer, disciple, or con-man (or woman)
· Discouraged, ready to give-up
· Students with excuses
· Students who want the TRUTH

3. Promoting Civility: A Teaching Challenge edited by Steven M. Richardson. New Directions for Teaching and Learning series, No. 77 (Spring 1999). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999). Offers the view that we need to use the classroom to help all students learn acceptable behavior, i.e., how to promote civility. If students arrive late or rustle their newspaper, for example, we can ignore it, but then the behavior still disturbs other students and us. Or we can take that as an opportunity to help students learn "civil behavior." The book contains a series of essays on what we can do to encourage appropriate behavior and how we can deal with periodic lapses.