Students that know it all
We seem to get alot of students that gp out of their way to prove an instructor wrong. When a student gives me a question that I feel is being used to "stump" me I will usually turn the question over to the students in order to start a dialouge in class. Many times more than one student will have the correct answer. I do this not to embarass the student, but to show him that that I am not the only source of information in the class. I also explain (especially if it is off-subject) that i would gladly discuss the question after class with him.
I have found that being prepared is the best way to address this student. Also, if that student is persistent, I will have him/her ask me questions during the break or after class so they do not take away from class time.
Hi Sharon - As you point out the "know-it-all" can be pretty obnoxious. I have at times put this student to work as a peer tutor, but they need to be watched as they can often turn off the student they are tutoring. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career! Susan
I find that "know it all" students really wind up alienting themselves from their peers. I remember in one of my college courses I sat next to a student who wanted to attend Harvard so he was attempting six undergraduate degrees in order to be noticed by the Admissions Dept. Needless to say he was very obnoxious and when he had issues with my oral project presentation, both students and professor had my back! On the other hand (or the other side of the coin), I've seen students who are very well liked and helpful to their peers even though they filled to the brim with information. I think that it just depends how the student will put themselves out there and what attitude they use - peer tutor perhaps!
Hi Mona- Welcome to ED 103! In addition to being teachers, we also at times are almost psychologists -looking for ways to improve out students self-esteem and get them engaged! Well done! Susan
"I don't know" can be very magic words. Often times, I will use "I don't know"--though I do--and ask the student, "What do you think?" Great way of getting them to analyze what they understand and know. Also the thinking process (nine times out of ten) leads them to the correct answer. Great confidence booster for the student. To understand that with a little thought, the student has the answers and can apply the knowledge acquired.
I often run into this and handle it by stressing that you cannot know everything and use it as a jumping off point for discussions within the class or take the question and show how this knowledge needs to be functional... you can know every hot key in a program but still lack design skills so how does knowing these hot keys make you a better designer etc...
It seems to work... Great post to start this discussion off Robert.
I thank student for bringing additional information to the attention of class which hopefully contributes to subject. Then, I would ask students if any have considered point brought out by classmate as relevant to what is being covered in class, while thanking student by adding that teachers too can learn from student participation. Often I find the student who acts like a know it all simply may be crying out for more attention which could be missing in home environment.
I am sure that it was a scary experience especially as you are a new instructor but congratulations on a sucessful conclusion!
"This is not an area in which I have experience... How is this question relevant to our discussion... You have an excellent question and I'm not quite sure of the answer."
These are excellent questions that I use, as well. I agree that students find you more human when you simply remind them that you are in fact human and not the Google site!
"The student can win the challenge, but must be made to understand that you are still the instructor in charge and that your knowledge base and skills are still much greater than his specific challenge."
This however, I believe is key. Students may have their time to shine, however, it is indeed only a moment. The student is not the teacher/facilitator, as I jokingly remind my students that this is a dictatorship, not a democracy!
Considering that I am a young teacher, students constantly attempt to stump me. However, I believe it keeps the classroom alive. Usually, when a student asks a question all ears are open. I try my best to answer the question, however if I do not know, I do tell them I am not an expert in all things, but I will try my best to answer the question. If I cannot, I proceed to explain that I(or the questioning student) will find more information.
I had one experience where an entire class made it their duty to stump me. Not only were they unsuccessful in their attempts, but they eventually accepted that I was knowledgeable about my content and stopped asking questions. The classroom completely turned around from that particular day!
That was an excellent response to the "Stump the Prof" topic,Eric!
I have been asked/challenged many times by students. One even asked me the spring rate of an air bag. I, using my knowledge, told the studnet that there were too many variables to give him the answer and that I did not know. I told him that I would have an answer for him the next day. Over three hours of research found a formula to calculate the spring rate and it was given to the class. Students that want to challenge the instructor are told different responses based on the challenge. Such as, "This is not an area in which I have experience", "How is this question relevant to our discussion?", or "You have an excellent question and I'm not quite sure of the answer. Class let's all research this and see what we come up with so we can all gain this knowledge." The student can win the challenge, but must be made to understand that you are still the instructor in charge and that your knowledge base and skills are still much greater than his specific challenge.
It's been my experience that some students do this to flex their "mental muscle" in front of the class. If this occurs I will follow up with another question that requires an answer that demostrates a much deeper understanding of the topic to see if this person really understands fully the concept. There are others though that that may just know half-truths and are looking to see if you agree with them. This requires the instructor to have all the facts/basic understanding to derail a student that's trying to catch an instructor that does'nt have all the answers. If that's the case, then admit you don't know and ask the student to research the answer.
i dis like thies kind of students. it makes for a hard class. cuse you are constintly tringnot to get cut up in some kind of mind game with that student.
im ok with this as long it doesntinterfere.i find however,thatthese students tend to ask lots of questions.
All these replies are great.
I also get students that ask questions to provoke affirmation and/or praise from me and/or the other students.
I'm OK with this as long as it doesn't interfere. I find however, that these students tend to ask lots of these types of questions and it's obvious they're not really after knowledge but affirmation.
I find that many times you gain respect from the students but just saying "I don't know". After that you can follow up and ask if anyone in the class has run into that before.
The way I handle it is if a student challenges what is being taught, I have that student put a research paper together and have them bring to class the next day.
thats correct there are some times students with knowledge about some subjects and some other times they are using questions like they got it prepared just to make you feel wrong. i do just like that (get the class involve on that question and that works so good on my class.
