dealing with challenging students
When I have students that can't get invovled with the class asignments I work with them one on one till they can apply them self alone.
Usually when starting a new term in takes roughly
2-3 weeks to discover a challenging student by work submitted.I will sit down with student out of class and attempt to find out out what they are lacking.Sometimes from previous schooling this behavior was accepted or ignored or at one time they were embarrassed in front of class by instructor.I offer my services for tutoring or help of other departments.I try not to let student monopolize my time in class or lab as this causes resentment with other class mates.
Hi Kyla,
Good for you for holding your ground! Never let students disrespect you, nip it in the bud immediately. Students want you to have a backbone so that they can utilize as much of your knowledge as possible instead of you having to deal with disrespectful students. Do not let them run over you.
Patricia
My first term of teaching was by far my most challenging, since I had a vision impaired student, a low functioning student, and approximately 3 students who felt they knew more than I did about the course material. I accomodated the vision impaired student by enlarging every handout, which was somewhat of a challenge when it involved premade sheets. I tried to encourage the low functioning student to participate in class as much as possible, but often it was difficult and more of a distraction for the rest of the class. She was often off task and attempted to take the surrounding students down with her. I would listen to her statements and questions as much as possible, but when they averted from the class material, I told her we could discuss that topic after class or during a break. Finally, the last 3 students were the most trying because they questioned every grade I assigned them & would have side conversations about everything. I'll be honest & share that I did lose my temper with them once; however, it gained respect from other students because they felt the same 3 student always tried to "bully" other teachers into giving into their demands. I stood my ground & although I may have been disliked by them, I earned the respect of other students.
Hi Michele,
I understand. I've experienced this with a student a few months ago. This is extremely challenging. I even went so far as getting the admissions representative and director involved. Unfortunately, the student dropped out of school. The student had a real serious problem that was beyond our scope.
Patricia
I recently had a very challenging student who would not participate or even one-on-one would not talk. Finally I just tried to make a more personal connection with him and he is very slowly coming around. It makes for a very difficult class when you have one student who you can identify as not wanting to be there.
Hi Gail,
I fully understand. These type of students can be very exhausting, but we must give them the attention that they are seeking. We never know what one's story is that is causing them to want to have so much attention, however we need to bring this to their attention in a tactful way because in the workplace employees do not have time to baby you.
Patricia
Some students are challenging students because they want and/or need extra attention. They like to be noticed in any way they can to get the attention they want. So if the intructor can give the challenging student that extra attention at times it is beneficial to both parties. It will help to maintain the student's attention and to keep on the task at hand.
Hi Roy,
Sometimes you do have to give some students that one-on-one attention. There are some students that simply do better this way, and once they grasp the concept they can perform.
Patricia
