how to deal with unruly and aggressive students?
Some times there are students, who take your gentle and polite behavior for granted. how do we effectively deal with this problem with out hurting them?especially when they are argumentative and say they are also grown people?
Kenna,
Glad to hear the information you are receiving will be of help to you in your new situation. I wish you continued teaching success and trust things will settle down for you as your students start to realize that you are the learning leader in the class and that you are in charge of helping them move toward their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I just recently started teaching full time, I was a part time instructor for 8 months prior to this. Now that I have switched colleges I have a whole new understanding of unruly students. This thread has given me some new ideas for how to handle such students.
Hi Kathleen,
Thank you for sharing this success story. I always enjoy happy endings. It is great to hear that you have a good support network with your Student Affairs Office.
Gary
I'd hardly call talking during a lecture "unruly and aggressive behavior." I wouldn't get too worked up about people talking during lecture. It happens. Of course we verbally warn them to be quiet and then ask them to leave if the behavior persists, but in the grand scheme of things, talking is nothing! In the era of open enrollment and retention pressure, I've dealt with students who we'd all rather not have in the classroom. Some of them are seriously lacking any and all social skills and some in need of psychological help, one of whom threatened me in class. I demanded that he leave in much the same streetwise tone in which he was speaking and immediately reported the incident to administation officials. Luckily we have an amazing Student Affairs group who got the student the medical help he needed. I'm proud to say that he completed his externship two days ago and is scheduled to graduate next month. He came to see me today to thank me for "putting up with his sh**" That's what being an instructor is all about!
Hi Diane,
Thanks for sharing this student behavior management solution. It is something that we all have to deal with because it can cause a class to go off task very easy.
Gary
This is how I deal with talking during Psych. lectures: I remind them that everyone has paid the same amount to attend this school and to my knowledge no one has gotten a discount or deal. Talking is taking something from fellow students that they have paid for. If the talking persists: (1) they receive a verbal warning,(2) they are moved and then (3)they are sent home. It works!
Diane Tucker
Hi Joshua,
That is what classroom management is all about. Using different strategies to maintain control while not thwarting discussion. Sounds like you have developed a good way of handling the student dynamics to keep the class going forward.
Gary
I agree that an assertive demeanor is certainly important in maintaining classroom civility, although I find that the best way to curb unruly behavior and inane questioning is to *encourage* students to speak their mind.
I have had students take advantage of my own good nature in the past, disputing comments and facts for the sheer sake of being disruptive. In such situations, I calmly suggest that they are entitled to their own opinions, then ask the rest of the class their own feelings on the matter. If you've created an environment in which students are comfortable -- if, in essence, you've already earned most students' trust -- it has been my experience that the rest of the class will voice their oppositions to disruptive students in a calm, collected manner. In fact, many of my best classroom discussions have begun simply because a student was trying to be disruptive.
I think that I would calmly and politly tell them that this behavior is not acceptable in the classroom and I would ask them to stop. I would tell them that if they don't stop I will ask them to leave.
Hi Jhonson,
I'm not clear on what the issue is in relation to your question. Could you expand on this situation a little more and I will be glad to offer my insight?
Gary
