Hi Julie,
We have to be our students biggest cheerleader and try to motivate them and encourage them as much as we can. Complimenting students is a great confidence booster.
Patricia Scales
I deal with adults in a wide age range. I find that age bad learning habits are hard to overcome. Other than poor attendance the most frustrating are the students who think they are not doing well, when actually they are doing quite well. As a result, I have tried to short stop this behavior by spreading my Final tests over a 4 day period and presenting the graded results at the beginning of the next day. I also show the students where they can keep tabs on their online training. If the student still indicates they feel they are behind I break out their grades from the rest of the class, showing them where they stand at present with what they have accomplished. This works very well except with the student who shows no indication of concern or frustration and just does not show up the last day of class. I am still workng on that one. With classes only lasting 8 days it can be sometimes be a challenge catching on to this type when the grades are all running over 90%.
It seems that they are mostly the students who have low self worth, who have invariably, been 'laughed off'.
If I can help them KNOW they are worth it and so much more, that challenging attitude often gives way to a positive, gentle spirit.
I generally find the most challenging students to be those that are withdrawn or quiet. They tend to be very good at fading away into the background. I use group/peer activities to draw them out and ensure that I don't put them in embarassing situations. As I build their trust and confidence I vary the activities.
most challenging students are the students that no confidence, students who doubt there abilities and skills. What works best for me is always being consistant and continuing to have a positive learning enviornment so that they will gain the confidence.
The most difficult are the ones that don't seem to care. They come to class late, miss tests, etc. I have found that speaking to them one on one and showing them that I care seems to help. Some students have no encouragement at home, they work long hours and have children. I also make sure I speak to them often so they don't thing I have forgotten them.
My most challenging students have been the ones who give up at the start of the course before we even really get going with the material. For some of these students, I find doing more hands on activities and "real world" trouble shooting tends to help some of them glean nuggets in the material. The only remaining challenge is when the negativity that they speak becomes too noticeable by the other students.
My most challenging student is always giving me excuses for there actions. What I do is encourage the student that this is a career that they are trying to attain. And if they really want to be here they will not give me excuses but will just get it done. I also tell them that these are lives that they will have to do these procedure correctly.
I have truly identified my most challenging students. One is negative and extremely confrontational and the other 'ring leader' basically feeds into the negativity which only sets the tone. I am reading on to learn how to handle this situation, but it is taking its toll.
The most challenging students in my situation are the students with learning disabilities that they will not tell you. I cannot ask a student if they have such disabilities but, I can see it in their daily progress in the class. They do not want anyone to know for fear of being degraded by their peers.
I have found that if I take the time to discuss their daily progress on a one on one basis that normally, at some point, they will open up to me. Once they do I can faciltate getting them the assistance that they need and making their classroom experience a much better one.
They students can become challenging in many ways. You can have the quiet, uninvolved student. The one who blames others and says other distract them. Sometimes you get the Apple Polisher. Even the one who is disruptive to take attention away from what is really going on.
Hi Georgiajo,
Do not allow your students to disrupt your course. After I have spoken with the disruptive student, I will have the student removed from the class if the student continues to be disruptive after being spoken to.
Patricia Scales
The students that talk out too much are definetely the most challenging for me. I teach in a college with 5 week rotating courses and they are 2 hours a day, so very accelerated. The disruptive talkers take away from the other students learning.
I have tried the small groups, but that doesn't always help. I have tried assigning them a task as well.
This new class start I will be testing out the Use it Wisely Cards, it sounds genious.
Most of my challenging students are the student who are in the transition of swithching their career and they are adult. In my opinion counseling them on one to one basis is more helpful. I believe these category of student have a fear in them. A fear of switching their career and the need of new learning phase which is coming along the line of their new curriculum.
I also offer extra help so that they can catch up on the things they lacking.
Hi Beverly,
Hang in there! Utilize the material learned, and also go to your seasoned instructors for any type of help.
Patricia Scales
My most challenging students are one's with learning disabilities. If I know a student is lagging behind due to a possible LD I speak to them privately and extend my support and understanding and let them know there are resources available within the school. This approach has been very effective so far.
I am only in my third term as a new teacher and I found a lot of useful information in the class course that I intend on using this next term. I was able to relate to a mojority of the challenging students but was not quite sure how to handle them. I am anxious to try some of the suggesions in the course material.
Hi Heather,
I hear you loud and clear! We must be real with our students and force them to rise to the challenge because in the real world they will either sink or swim.
Patricia Scales
I maintain that whatever emotional response I am having in regards to a student is about me - The student may be disruptive, showing off, inattentive, etc...but when I look at my own response - I see that the real issues where mine. Once I "reground" myself, I can see the situation more clearly without my emotions getting in the way. Then I can change the dynamics and not have "power-struggles".
My most challenging students are those who are resentful that they are required to take an introductory psychology course. These students feel that psychology has nothing to do with their chosen field (e.g., IT, Medical coding). By the end of the third week these students are usually following me down the hall (on break) asking me questions about course material. All I need to do to get them interested about psychology is to give examples of how understanding human behavior is beneficial in any career and any part of their lives.
I really enjoyed reading the different kinds of challenging students and their behaviors & characteristics. As I read each kind, my mind automatically pinpointed those students under each category. I realized that I've already met all these kinds of students in one class, in just one semester.
Having these students in one class was really a struggle for me. I even told myself: "What in the world have you gotten yourself into?" My conclusion was that graduate school did not prepare me for this.
Because I did not want to quit, I had to remind myself that I am still the teacher. So, I had to set limits to my apple polisher students who always volunteered to do something in exchange for extra credits.
When my student failed to do his presentation in class because his "computer crashed" and he was not able to save his work, I gave that student a deadline to present or get a zero.
To catch the attention of my inattentive student who sits at the back row so he can sleep, I stand behind him as I lecture and call his name once or twice.
I am still learning to deal with challenging students. I find it very rewarding when these students really start listening and participating. Thank you very much for the suggestions and recommendations. I will surely try to apply them whenever applicable.
