A true teaching challenge
Working for a career college has opened up a whole new array of challenges for me which I mostly enjoy tackling but there is one student I just can't seem to work with. This student has real psychological diagnoses already & I feel ill equipped to deal with him. He is the "center of attention", "know-it-all" and does not respond to social ques. These seem to be all a part of his Aspergers, Turrets (sp?), and bipolar issues - yes he has all three! I don't see how he is going to make it in any work environment dealing with the public but his grades are fine on anything written. He is very disruptive. I will try all of the suggestions here & see if any work well. The cards didn't work for another instructor but I'll try that one again too.
Aimee - good luck with this, I can't directly relate, but will tell you that my wife teaches students with autism. Sometimes you may never see or know your impact...the mother of one young man told my wife after the first day of class in my wife's classroom (he had just recently moved to our community), he said "mom, Mrs Armstrong believes in me." (When I reflect back on this, it brings me to tears. I have met this young man, he cannot communicate without a voice machine, he constantly drools, and is wheelchair bound. It would be easy to overlook this young man, but it is clear his mind is still functioning, just not like most of the folks we encounter.) I just want to encourage you, I hope that this young man appreciates you and your job as a teacher. Thank you for what you do...
i wonder if making him a class observer and having him review the information outloud at the end of class would help control his disruptive behavoir, while also allowing him to have his spot light.
Hi Patricia,
No, the student would not be able to take a self directed study with very many of the classes. Some classes it would not work. It just happened to be a good option in the class I mention. That student was able to work at a faster pace and had individual attention from the instructor.
Hi Ronda,
I am just curious to know, will the institution give this student a self-directed study class for every class he/she has to take?
Patricia Scales
I recently had a situation similar to that. A disruptive student with diagnoses compariable. The students that had shared classs previously with this individual were frustrated and it was becoming a true hindrance to the learning process for those students. So,I had the disruptive student in a self directed study class with me and the rest of the students had a regularly scheduled class time. Worked out wonderfully, the disruptive student was able to do more of the work on their own time and excelled and the other students felt more relaxed in class.
would it help if you gave him a chance to be an instructor for a day and you play out the role of this student!give him a topic and time frame to complete it,with of course you being the disruptive student.
