Some of my challenging students have been in two groups: Those who use their cell phones (whether out in the open or under their desks) and those who have the heart to do well however they have great difficulty with the concepts and techniques of the Lab.
I combat the problems of "distracted" students by first telling them all the ways they can sneak their cell phone usage. (Let me say here that we have a very strict policy which consists of a verbal warning, then written and finally probation with possible dismissal). This alerts them that when I show a video or need to close the lights for media----I am aware of the lights that go on below the desks which give them away. I inform them that I am aware of the need to have their phones on vibrate for family reasons (childcare, etc.) and they know the rule is to quietly leave the class to answer their phone without disturbing others. I also tell them if there is a special need to speak to me confidentially about it...to show accountability so that I may accomodate them and their need for that evening. This one sentence came to me one evening early on in a class when I noticed a great deal of texting....I told them that their friends who are texting them have no respect for what they are trying to achieve and obviously do not support them. This stopped all texting immediately---a very simple statement with a great impact.
My second group of challenging students are those who have a difficult time with lab concepts, ie, sterility, aseptic technique. These students benefit greatly from one-on-one tutoring with a follow-up written assessment. Most of the time these students have excellent didactic grades---as we know hands-on does not always match academics, however having the written assessment at the end of a tutoring session pin-points their needs and they are able to find their success point. They usually require a great deal of extra time and patience however they rise to a level of success.
Hi Fran,
I like to also make this type student a helper as well as a leader. This student has to be kept busy at all times.
Patricia
the most challenging student is the center stage student. I agree with the idea of having that student become an observer. Have them take notes and recap. Great idea..
Hi Rebekah,
Awesome on your part! You are right the answer is not always kicking students out. We as educators need to follow your lead as to how to come up with ways to make a student better. Outstanding! It is also very big of you to evaluate yourself in the situation.
Patricia
Hi John,
You are right! They have to go for it and be confident. We cannot go to work with them. They must learn how to perform on their own.
Patricia
Your technique about cell phones and text is a good one. I will try it.
- Leslie
This quarter teaching has been a learning experience. I had a "Y generation" (early twenties) student have an outburst in class after I responded to her tone of sarcasm in a response to me with also a slight tone of sarcasm. Needless to say I was tired of hearing the same question for that day for the fourth time even after I clarified understanding from the whole class. Unfortunately it just came out of my mouth and also partially because this student had displayed very self centered behavior and one of aloofness and subtle disrespect for classmates and myself as well as talking sporadically as lecture was occurring. This is in my massage therapy class and even though she has excellent academic skills her soft skills are very very low. Well she had an outburst after I let my tone respond to her sarcasm a little later on break when I said we needed to talk. She chewed me out in front of everyone saying I don't know who you think you are not my mother how dare you dis me in front of everyone. Well no accountability for her tone only mine. I calmly asked her to go out in the hallway with her and we talked. She was so angry she was shaking and said she couldn't even look at me. Well to make a long story short regardless of her behavior (which is also a disrespectful and challenging in other classes but excellent grades) I had to take a hard long look at myself and how my responding to her the way I did not serve her in learning soft skills. I have a responsibility to teach her the soft skills necessary to be successful with client-centered communication. So what I did was to incorporate lots of soft skill activities and group work constantly rotating different people in different groups and I also paired her up with students who were calming on her overly aggressive and defensive nature. This has worked beautifully and was so subtle that she had no idea it was planned to move her in that direction. In addition she had a little click of 5 other students in the class that were the same way (disrespectful, talkative) I began to view what had been happening in the classroom as not a "classroom management" problem but a need to increase soft skill activities always relating the importance to the real world. I had them (class) do Positive Affirmation activities and a Vision board of their future life/career. The affirmations were revealing in terms of what they did not like about themselves. The ones who were disrespectful, talkative , challenged authority actually were aware of that behavior and did not like that they did that. They were also hard on themselves and expected nothing but perfection. These activities have helped to the point that other instructors have noticed a change in their behavior and asked what I was doing. I have lost some sleep over this quarter brainstorming solutions in my dreams on what to try the next day but it is working and I am proud of myself for recognizing that reprimanding and kicking out a disruptive student isn't that answer and you can get excellent results in a subtle way. I have also learned and grown in how to respond and not be reactive to students who are often expecting you to have an outburst towards them.
Hi Cindy,
You are right, cell phones are a big challenge these days! I like how you share this point of view with your students from a job perspective. We have a no cell phone policy at my institution, thus allowing us to have very minimal cell phone concerns.
Patricia
Hi David,
I agree! This is certainly a challenge. With this type of student you have to help them see that they can succeed to instill confidence in them, and also you need to be their biggest cheerleader. Make a big deal out of everything they do right! Be encouraging!
Patricia
Some of my most challenging students are adult learners who are not confident in their abilities as students; in other words, those students who create additional anxiety for themselves because they believe they are "bad test takers" or "don't learn from textbooks" because they did not consider themselves successful in school when they were younger. Many of these students may have also had an authority figure who told them they were "poor test takers" or have a "learning disability" even though they were never tested for such. These situations can be self-debilitating for the student and it is difficult to help them work through it.
Some instructors are just negative nelly. They have been there for sometime and are not happy so they themselves blame all around them. I encourage students to be responsible and I would hope faculty is also. I stay away from the constant complainer.
On the first day of class I speak of cell phones and texting in class. This is not exceptable. I want the students to treat their class as if it were their job. Some don't buy into this. I let them know that in some offices the boss does not allow employee's to bring phones with them. Why bring in a phone when there is an office full of phones?
The inability to follow directions is a key issue in the IT field, because that's all a lot of it is -- directions. How to install a piece of hardware, how to configure a routing table, how to write an SQL query, how to image a hard drive, how to operate a "sniffer" -- it is all directions.
And the 'directions' are not trivial in mass if you expect to gain the sort of mastery which makes and keep you employable. Yesterday, for example, I downloaded the 'official' manual for MySQL in preparation for a class -- it is over 1,300 pages long! Certainly much of this is in examples, but there are still lots of directions, and the students have to follow them independently, because I am not going to be standing at their elbows for the rest of their lives.
Well, the ones with a self-limiting excuse are those who cite a grandparent's death -- you can only use this about 6 times in a class before it starts to wear thin.....
Teaching IT. I would say my most challenging students fall into two categories:
1) The ones I want to ask "What are you doing here?" -- they are completely unmotivated and disengaged from any class content or activity. Some of the classes I teach are 100-level introductory classes, so I can see some disengagement might actually be rational from the student's viewpoint. It turns out that IT is just not their thing, and they expect to change majors at the end of the term. But once we get to 300-level classes, presumably you are in it because you want to get a job in this area, and to do this you need to learn what is in the class. Most of the time, I don't have to establish relevance -- people understand that if you are working in networking you will be concerned with routers and switches, or security. If you aren't engaged at this point, you never will be, and you need to rethink your career objectives -- IT is not for everyone, nor is any other career field!
2. The students who are simply hoplessly badly prepared academically. These are the ones who write me a single sentence e-mail which I sometimes have to call in a colleague to help me decipher [and even then, sometimes we fail]. These are the ones who have severe incapacities in reading and writing, to the point that effective diagnostic is beyond anyone not specialized as a remedial educator.
For the first group, the strategy which works is to challenge them about what they are doing, and what they think they are doing. Either they recognize the situation, and look to another field, or they buckle down to actually 'getting it'. For the second group, the only strategy which has a hope is referral to the remedial educational folk, which is often resisted by the student(s) in question.
My most challenging students are a combination of the blamers and the center stagers. Many of my students are nontraditional students with children. It is easy to become cumbered with the requirements of school.
I maintain an open line of communication with all students, letting them know that I care. I do go over the syllabus early in the class so they have a knowledge of the course requirements and the consequences for noncompliance.
Another idea that seems to work in my classes is I have a "I am my brother's keeper" philosophy, where each student is responsible for another student. This gives the center stagers an opportunity to help someone else. This also gives the students who are familiar with the course/school an opportunity to mentor. This works well in small classrooms.
Hi Mary,
Your frankness and enforcement of policies are the only ways to handle this. I like how you stand by your policies. Students have to realize rules are made to be adhered to not broken. Keep up the great work! This student will appreciate you in the end.
Patricia
My most challenging students seem to be those with a chip on their shoulder, who are unmotivated, and expect me to bend my rules and my schedule around them. I have been ignoring their behavior for the most part and it hasn't been disruptive to the class. This week, however, one of the students challenged me when I wouldn't break my make up policy to accomodate her. I ended up being frank with her and explained that she can't come to class an hour late on a regular basis, and then arrive ten minutes before the end of class and demand to take a make up quiz. I'm not sure my frankness was the way to handle it, and I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.
I speak with students individually when I find them challenging in classes. I try to identify what the students specific needs are and address them invidually and not feel like they have to standout in front of peers.
Most challenging students can be assisted during the first week of class and not waiting until class has been disrupted.
Hi Branetta,
Unprepared students want to be adult like whenever it is beneficial and convenient for them, otherwise they can tend to have very childish acts.
Patricia
