Teaching students with bad attitudes
How do you prevent a student from infecting the class with a negative attitude?
Jennifer,
I don't have a clear answer to this question because it is a "it all depends" question. I trust my judgement and experience as to when I talk with such a student. For some it is immediate because they are going to drop or fail if I don't get right on them and for others they have some time before they drop off. So be observant and then make the call.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Is there a line to draw between negative enough to talk to the person or a wait-it-out situation? I can imagine some students have a bad few weeks or might just need to make connections. When would you recommend intervening?
Talk to the student to see what the problem is. Offer solutions to correct what is wrong. Be positive!
Eliza,
I like this approach. This is one of things I treasure as an educator. Getting to know a student and establishing rapport with that individual to the point that I am helping him/her move toward their career goal.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I think one of the most important things to do is to maintain a positive attitude yourself. It's so easy to get sucked up into negativity or to avoid the student as way of not having to deal with it.
Instead of maginifying the negativity I like to sit down with the student and try to find out a little bit about them. This serves two purposes: firstly it helps me figure out what's going on with them and secondly it shows the student that I'm interested and care about them as a learner. Usually a "casual" chat with tons of encouragement snaps them out of it in my experience.
Kimberly,
This is a tough one. In cases like this after I have addressed the situation outside of class like you did I strive to ask questions, or have such a student demonstrate something that involves a high degree of success. I slowly try to add to these successes so the students starts to see that they are better than they think they are. The problem is I only have such students for 15 weeks and this problem was not created in a day. So I have been able to help some but not solve the problem completely in this short time span. Though, I have had students with such problems come back to me later and show me their grades and successes from other classes because they started to see they could have success and build on what they had accomplished in my class.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Had a very bad case of a student who routinely was self-deprecating in class. It frequently disrupted the class despite my efforts to address the behavior outside the classroom. Any advice?
Laura,
This is a professional and gentle way of approaching a challenging student. You are letting them save face while giving them respect in terms of listening to their responses. This sets the stage for success if there is going to be any.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
I speak to the student privately and inquire about their personal goals in relation to their current life situation. Is there something going on outside the classroom that is causing the bad attitude, or is something going on during the class that I can modify to facilitate learning? Usually bad attitudes stem from some type of frustration. If this source can be identified and managed, the attitude usually improves.
Eric,
Well said. I use this same approach. Some students have acquired behaviors that as you say have gotten them this far in life and these behaviors or near impossible to change in the short duration of a course. After trying everything you can they need to be removed from the class for the good of everyone else. Thank you for sharing this example with us I know it will be of help to other instructors facing the same situation.
Gary
As I am thinking about this question I keep remembering the most challenging student I have ever had. This student was an older adult learner and very set in her ways. I was newer in the teaching field and less seasoned them I am right now. Looking back on the situation, reminds me of that old saying “I wish I knew then what I know now†or was that a song? This student always used things as a crouch, like some students do, but her more so then others. Some examples were her age, her weight, that no one liked her….. and so on. I am going to say that she was probably like that her whole life and that poor me attitude has gotten her where she is now in life. So needless to say there were a lot more to the dynamics that were ingrained in her. Long story short, I exerted so much of my energy trying to help her but the truth of the matter was I could not help her. For the longest time it was a very hard thing to admit but it was defiantly an eye opening and learning, experience.
So getting back to the question, How do you prevent a student from infecting the class with a negative attitude? If talking and reestablishing classroom policies and procedures do not work, kick them out. That is the only thing that I didn’t do with this student that I should of. If I would have, things would have been so much more for the other students and myself.
Hi Tamara,
If this was an on-ground student, I would pull the student out of class immediately and speak with him/her about their negative attitude. I would then ask the student to refocus for 2 minutes outside and then return to class. If the attitude does not change, I would ask an administrator to have a word directly with the student.
If this is an online student and the negative attitude is shown through either discussion board or a note(s) sent directly to me. I would discuss with the student via email/telephone and remind them of netiquette. If the student attitude does not change, I would then refer the issue to their online campus advisor.
The start of each Mod, I always have the students introduce themselves to the class. After going over classroom rules, I also tell them about attitudes, which is part of the rules in class. I tell the students when they come into the classroom to leave everything that does not pertain to the class outside the door, and to come into the class with a fresh sensation on the brain. In order to be focused on your career, you have to be able to balance your family and you career.
I have found that the best way to access information about why the student has a bad attitude is an indirect approach. Quite often these students want to lead the class, or as many of their classmates as possible, away from learning. This has been my experience. I can talk to my program director or other instructors that have worked with the student in the past. Then I may be able to use what I've learned to soften the attitude.
Hi Tracey,
Good suggestions for working with a challenging student. Thanks for sharing these insights with us.
Gary
I would try to discuss privately with the student the cause of the negative attitude and try to turn it around to a positive approach. Maybe some one on one toutoring time if that seems to be the cause of the probelm. Maybe they are feeling overwhelmed in the course work or in life in general and its spilling outinto the classroom. If they were given a little more attention they might respond better. Like a child. When they are naughty, its usually because they are lacking in attention. so by spending a little extra time with them it might help to make them feel more included.
Hi Edward,
You make a number of very good points about how to work with and hopefully help students that are challenges in classes. I agree that at times a student that disrupts the learning of others to the extent that the instructor is not allowed to do his/her job and the students aren't able to learn what they need to has given up the right to be in the class. I have removed students from the class which has resulted in enhanced learning and respect from the other students because the situation was handled rather than ignored.
When working through such a situation try everything you can to retain the student and document all communication with such students. In addition, make sure to keep the college administration informed each step of the way. This will save much hassle later on if the students decides to take the complaint further.
Gary
Hi Tamara,
First talk with that student individually and see if you can determine why he/she is so negative. If you can learn that you may be able to develop a plan for incorporating them into the class in a positive way. Seek their cooperation so they will help you help the class be successful. This often works because the student then see him/herself as being special within the class, even though they really are just like all the other students.
Another way is to develop a behavior contract with the student outlining specific expectations.
If that doesn't work I would remove the student from the class. This sounds harsh but I will not allow one student to stop or slow down the learning of the other students. If the student is so disruptive that he/she affects other students then that student has lost the right to be in the class once the above steps have been taken.
Gary
Good question, and the possibilities are many, ranging from a friendly chat with them, to a more stern discussion, and also may include dismissing them if they are harmful to the class. There may by no way to appease or satisfy their grievance. Thoughts?
