The not so new era of the cell phone in the classroom has become, in my opinion, a no win for the instructor of adult students. Understanding that the smart phone is is an extention of thier being. The addiction is way more than I can combat. Classroom distractions of the past are just that PAST! TEXTING, watching videos without sound... . They learn by example - Adults everywhere are talking on phones... stors, elevators, public transit, church, movies... how do we recapture the student within? I sometimes feel like even a car full of clowns and rollerskating seals won't do the trick. Any advice would be welcome.
Kathy, you have a real issue here in that what has been going on for so long only gets harder to control. Have you tried to speak with the student directly to find out why they are so against you? I would schedule a meeting between you, your supervisor and the student and ask some very direct questions. Do not go on the defensive or take the approach of a counter attack. Just focus on wanting to be a better instructor and one phase of this is to build positive relationships with students that seem to challenge you in a negative way. You may find the student was not even aware you find the behavior as offensive.
Regards,
James Jackson
I had a student who disagreed with my classroom policy regarding cell phone usage during class time. When I felt the discussion was getting out-of-hand, I offered to meet with her outside of class time and/or with the Director of Education. She never followed up, but did follow the policy throughout the mod.
During class I had to give a demo on how to do something. I had a student not paying attention and was disrupting the class. I politly said that I need everyones attention to ensure that everyone can understand the procedure. It worked well and the rest of the demo was a success.
In preparation for a final exam I had designed a Jeopardy-like game to review. One of the students exclaimed, "Are we gonna do this the whole time for two hours?" I was stunned in disbelief after all the time i had spent to prepare and write questions all for their own good. I stopped the classroom, made direct eye contact with the student and stated that if she would like to remove herself and head home for the day to review for the exam on her own, she was welcome to do that. Consequently she didn't move an inch, the game went on as planned, and never again did she have another out-of-line comment.
Excellent tips, James! Thank you - and this was a great course :)
Jennifer, great to see you post to the Forum. As you implement the different techniques you learn from the course, keep in mind you do not need to implement all of the techniques at once. Find the ones that seem to be the best fit and focus on one or maybe two at the most in any given quarter. Effective and efficient classroom instruction is developed over time and with each passing quarter you will gain more and more confidence.
Another great technique is to record yourself, video or even just audio. Play it back after a couple of days and take the role of a person reviewing a class presented by another instructor, not yourself. It is also good to sit down with a more seasoned instructor and have the provide you with some tips as well.
You will do great and your students are lucky to have you in the classroom.
Regards,
James Jackson
At my school, I'm a librarian and I try to cultivate a comfortable, easy relationship with students so that they will seek out my help. This informal relationship became a problem when I became an instructor as well; students were so comfortable with me that the classroom seemed unruly. Students wanted casual conversation and weren't in the classroom mode. I had to make clear from the beginning what the expectations were in the classroom, but I am still pretty new at it and haven't felt like I've successfully managed the situation. The tips offered in this module are really great! I can see myself implementing many of the techniques. I like the "I" language tips as well as the tips to keep students focused and on task with group exercises.
I have a current situation with a student who routinely leaves class early, falls asleep in class, yet talks constantly to his seatmate and challenges my authority whenever possible, stopping just short of attacking my credentials to be the teacher. He hands his work in late, but it is complete and well done. He presents me with a challenge every class. Now I understand he is bad-mouthing me to other students outside of class, and egging them on to behave as he does. So far I have not handled it well at all. At first I admit I was a "buddy", but now I am approaching "controller" with a bit of "apathete" thrown in. I wish I had addressed his constant talking immediately. If I had, maybe now he would not be challenging me in front of the class.
Barbara, sounds like you have a solid approach to your learning environment. Do you conduct any type of surveys at the end of your classes to measure overall student satisfaction as it relates to student success? Thanks for anything you can share.
Regards,
James Jackson
I've had a couple incidents that required intervention in the past. I've learned over the years to state my expectations at the beginning of a class, and also what would happen if a situation would occur. I am very calm as I state my expectations because i feel that students know that I will carry out the rules if need be. I also tell them that I always want a good class environment and for everyone to get along. Lastly, I tell them that I will not tolerate the learning environment of other students being compromised by anyone who does not want to learn. If they feel they need to talk to me after class, I will be happy to meet with them.
I can agree with what you are saying. When a student is shown respect you usually receive that back from the individual. We must remember as instructors that students today are not like when we were in school. And some value education and others don't. When we find those who don't it is our job as instructors/guide to lead them in that direction with best intentions always. Some may have never been taught how to behave or respect others.
Virginia, I am glad to hear you have a technique that works well for you. I do feel however that you may want to consider other methods of classroom participation. You are the guide and the classroom leader but there is nothing wrong with students giving the wrong answers, in fact it provides a great gauge to you as the instructor and can allow you to introduce a review or am amplification of a topic that may not be totally understood. Bottom line is you have to go with what works for you. Just wanted to provide another point of view.
Regards,
James Jackson
Donald, I sympathize with your concerns. I agree and am not sure what the attendance policy is really accomplishing. In my classes I always had the attendance sheet signed at the end of class. If the students want to come and go as they please I might suggest they look into Online courses as they are not time bound. If the students are not in your class then when do they learn the materials? I would just focus on keeping the lesson plans as engaging as possible and do what you can to make the learning interesting and hopefully more will say than go.
Regards,
James Jackson
I have had classes in which a couple of students would just get up and leave the classroom when they felt like it. I work at a school that tracks there time in class and each minute is accounted for and goes toward their attendance. I educated them on the policy and began having them sign in and out for each exit/entry in addition to the beginning and end of the day. This practice did lessen the amount of times the habitual offenders left the class from that point on.
I explain on the first day of lab to all students that I am the instructor, my name is Mrs. V and that when asked a question, I am the only one who is to answer. I have found that students love to answer questions asked by fellow students, so I like to take care of this in the beginning. I go on to explain that I appreciate them wanting to answer but my experience has shown students who receive answers from other students will "shut down", meaning they will no longer ask because they become embaressed when a student that they feel is on the same level answers it for me. They want to hear the answer from me. Once this is explained, I get the "oh ya look" from them and they understand and do not want to embaress a fellow student or be embaressed themselves. This has worked well for me.
I did terrible at this. My classroom is full of "type A personalities" and I had one student that continually offered negative comments about the material being "too hard" and "too complicated". The other students rolled their eyes when he spoke and I took the bait.
I called him out in front of the class and told him it was his reponsibility to step up. I ended up spending three hours of my evening "undoing" my blunder as he took it very personally.
After we worked out our differences, I explained the end state and what his role was in private. It took several weeks to reestblish the rapport that I destroyed in about five minutes.
If I could do anything different, I would have maintained my composure and explained the end state during the class. If he continued, I would have asked to see him after class and had the discussion on norms in a more private environment.
lesson learned...emotions can create many more problems than the one for which you are currently involved.
I had a couple of students in one of my classes that like to sit in the back and talk during lecture. This of course is very distracting not only to me, but to the other students. I tried asking the students if they had something they would like to share with the class and this would keep them quiet for a a little while. I spoke with the two students after class and then I changed the classroom around to where I was standing in the back lecturing. This worked for this situation
I had a student who continually challenged me (during class time) in how I instructed the class. I would calmly respond to whatever question/challenge she would make. I then requested to meet with her after class to discuss her feelings and to advise that her outbursts during class were unprofessional and disruptive to the rest of the class. She disagreed with my interpretation of her comments and felt she was not being unprofessional.
In addition, I had several students ask to speak with me after class or on break in which they would complain regarding her disruptions in that it made the learning process difficult for them.
This student did not change her behavior, even after a few meetings with me. And, in light of the other students' complaints, I took the matter to my supervisor who in turn scheduled a three-way meeting.
The meeting proved successful to a point, no further outbursts, but there still was a "slight attitude" to her demeanor in class.
She was successful in completing my class and has continued on through the program.
I will say, during my short teaching career I have not had a problem with any other student being disrespectful toward me or disrupting my class as she did.
It taught me that you can't always make everyone happy in your teaching style, no matter how hard you try. However, you can still lay your boundaries and expect them to be followed in your classroom in order to facilitate your other students' success.
Winnifred, you bring forward a very important point in your comment. The best way to diffuse a potentially disruptive situation in the classroom is to remove the disruptive person but to do so in a respectful way to them and to the rest of the class. Taking class time and to showcase the situation in front of peers is rarely an effective methodology. This is also a good reason to always have an assignment you can introduce that can be of value to your students and give you time to handle any situation that could arise. I always have an exercise that was easy to introduce and had value to the students that I could use if I had to break away from the classroom for any reason. I did not have to use them often but when they were needed, I was very glad I had them.
Regards,
James Jackson
