Class Management
Because I foster an interactive learning environment, sometimes the class will break down with many people talking at once. There is a fine line between active, enthusiastic exchange of opinions and chaos. When I observe that communication has broken down into chaos, I call for complete silence and try to direct the discussion in a more orderly fashion.
All my students have their own laptops, and of course every once and a while they'll get sucked in to some video. My technique of dealing with this has been to get the link from the student and broadcast it to the whole class. That way, after the video is over you can turn to the class and ask their opinion of the video and then segue back into class.
It's recommended you use good judgement, aka don't put up anything offensive. If you come across something like this, explain to the class your standards or why it's offensive.
In either case you get to close the browser window and redirect their attention to the class at hand.
i try to let students know that it's their class too, and they get to decide what kind of behavior they are willing to tolerate from each other. i tell them that they are paying good money to come there and learn, so it's up to them to be sure they understand the material. i ask many times if everyone understands and am available to my students outside of class hours. i've found students often live up or down to our expectations.
Hi Joanne,
The instructor has to lay the ground rules, otherwise things will become very chaotic, and effective learning will not take place.
Patricia
I think that in order for active exchange to occur without chaos. I think that the instructor needs to set the boundaries. When the instructor informs the students prior to the discussion that we need to take turns speaking; show respect for others, and wait for that person who is speaking to voice their opinion without interruption. Then I think it will be more orderly and interactive without students not feeling engaged in the discussion process.
