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Newsletter: Fall 2004

Difficult Students

by: Janet Miles

How can I involve, tame and encourage difficult students to provide a positive learning environment for everyone?

The apathetic student. The belligerent student. The well-meaning, but overbearing student. All of these and others can contribute to a classroom culture where no one else wants to participate.

Try This: Most student problems can be addressed through communication. The Penn State Teacher II: Learning to Teach; Teaching to Learn (1997) recommends meeting with the student in person and outside of class, and then focusing on the disruptive behavior and it’s affects you as the instructor and the other students. A student who enthusiastically monopolizes class time could be asked to restrict his/her comments to not more than two per class session; a student who argues with classmates could be instructed to maintain a calmer tone and argue with ideas rather than people.

Not every disruptive behavior requires a formal meeting; some can be redirected in class. The University of Guelph’s TA Handbook (2001) suggests strategies for dealing with problem students: thank the monopolizer for his or her comments, then say you’d like to hear from other students (a strategy which may also work with the know-it-all); redirect the questioner by stating that his/her questions will be addressed later in the material or that s/he can meet with you after class. Barrett et al. (2001) also recommend communication as a means to deal with a silent student (who may be apathetic, afraid to speak up, or more familiar with a cultural norm in which teachers lecture and students listen respectfully). Specifically, they suggest grouping students into smaller clusters so they get to know one another (reducing fear), asking openended questions with multiple answers or requesting anecdotes of personal experience, and getting to know students individually.

Technology also offers possible solutions. For example, students can be assigned to groups using the features available in Online@UT. A shy student may feel safer in a smaller group; alternatively, a know-it-all may not get as much reinforcement for showing off. A student who is unwilling to speak up on the spot might feel more comfortable in an online discussion forum, where s/he can take as much time as needed to formulate ideas and refine their expression. That same discussion forum can moderate the effect of a belligerent or monopolizing student: no matter how much s/he writes, the instructor and other students can carry on unimpeded.