Chatty Kathys of the classroom
I find in most of my classes there is one student who I refer to as the Chatty Kathy. Not only is it a problem for me but also I find the other students get very annoyed. I would like to learn how to stop the student from talking so much without stopping his/her constructive questions and comments.I have found when I ask them in private to cut down on talking and give other students the opportunity to answer my questions, they do not speak the rest of the class but then the next class the excessive talking is back. How can I manage this type of student without losing their wanted participation?
I like the idea of inviting other students to comment on Chatty Kathy's insights. Students would much rather have a discussion than a lecture from the teacher.
Every now and then I offer a piece of candy to students who comment, which always motivates other students to comment. Sometimes I'll "ban" everyone who has already received a piece of candy so that different students have to chime in.
Hi Mark,
Nicely stated! These are great ways to deal with chatty Kathy.
Patricia Scales
Hi Michelle,
Try the sandwich approach. Start positive, then tell her what her faults are, and then end positive.
Patricia Scales
Hi Tammy,
Knowing your students is very important. Some students need multiple explanations to understand.
Patricia Scales
I totally agree! Some students do not react well to just one solution. Know your students
Hi Michelle,
Don't let students control you. You have to be in full control.
Patricia Scales
Thank you so much for your great reply. I will try all of your suggestions.
I think you need multiple approaches to this problem.
1. After the 'Kathy' says something, ask other students for their comments on what she said, and politely avoid letting her comment until others have had a chance to say something.
2. If there is going to be a lot of discussion from multiple students, you can implement the raising of hands so "everybody can have a chance to contribute and people won't accidentally talk over others." Then, when 'Kathy' raises her hand to discuss, if she's already had some discussion time you can tell her that since she's contributed already, you'd like to give other students the opportunity to contribute.
3. If 'Kathy' starts discussing something off-topic, you can politely interrupt saying that it sounds like she has an interesting comment but you'd like to save it for a time when that particular topic is being discussed so you can spend adequate time on the topic currently being discussed.
