Managing Challenging Classroom Situations

Engaged students and spirited classroom discourse are the cornerstones of active learning. However, interactions must be respectful to others and shouldn’t interfere with classroom decorum. Disruptive classroom behaviors can become recurrent if not addressed early on, impeding the instructor’s ability to teach and other students’ ability to learn.

Signs:

• Challenging or constantly interrupting the instructor or other students
• Monopolizing discussion  
• Exhibiting excessive emotional reactions  
• Late entrance or early exits without permission 
• Engaging others in unwanted conversations during an ongoing lesson  
• Talking on the phone during the class
• Sending an inappropriate email that makes an unreasonable request or demand
• Seeking unreasonable flexibility or pattern of making requests or excuses for poor attendance, participation, assignments, and/or extensions

What to do:

Prevention: 

• Set clear classroom expectations and reasonable boundaries in your syllabus eg. for cell phone use, respectful discourse, handling disagreements, etc.  
• At the beginning of the semester, discuss the rationale for these classroom expectations while inviting suggestions from students. Also, discuss how you will handle disruptions so it is not a surprise when you do so.

Intervention: 

• If disruptive behavior occurs, address it immediately with the specific student by referring to the syllabus regarding expectations. 
• At the moment, if you need to ask the student to leave, do so clearly and directly. 
• Set up a time with the student to discuss behavior expectations for future classroom engagement and consequences for continued disruptions.
• Document the conversation with factual information for future reference.

Consultation: 

• After handling the incident, inform and/or consult with your program director.
• If the behavior continues, consult with the department chair to formulate a plan of action. 
• Consult as needed with Student Conduct & Community Standards.

Important to Remember: 

• Allowing the behavior to continue can potentially make it worse.
• Avoid making one student’s behavior a class issue – address only the student who is causing the disruption directly.
• Do not blame or ridicule the student, or use sarcasm when addressing behavior.  
• Above all, be consistent and fair in enforcing your expectations and boundaries.
• Consult with your program coordinator, department chair, and other colleagues.
• Consult early and often with resources on campus that address student disruption and distress.

Suggested Statements to Manage Classroom Disruptions:

• "Thank you for sharing your views. I'd like to hear from someone who hasn't yet spoken. Who else would like to share?"
• “Student X, your talking during class is disrupting the lecture and I need to ask you to stop.”
• “Student X, if I need to ask you to stop talking again, then I may need to ask you to leave the classroom.”
• “Student X, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion at the end of the lecture, so let’s go through the class without further interruptions.”
• “Student X, thank you for your input but we need to bring this debate to a close and move to other topics.”
• “Student X, your behavior is disrupting the classroom and it is time for you to leave. I will contact you via email to set up a time to discuss future class sessions.”