Class Distractions
Using all these practices are wonderful suggestions of how things should be done in theory in a perfect world of student who want to learn. How do you direct your presentation when you have a classroom full of immature students who feel their disruptive behavior is acceptable. Is there an exercise available to make them understand the importance of qaining a quality education other than telling them that this behavior would not be acceptable in the working world.
We are in the same boat. I'd like to know of a way to discourage disruptive behavior and encourage learning. One thing that has helped is to call on the specific student that is being disruptive or is not paying attention and ask a specific question. When other students see that they can't answer your question they start paying attention.
Gary,
I think this is a good way to remind all students to be involved & paying attention; it does so without embarrassing the student which is important too.
Dr. Ryan Meers
One of the newest distractions is cell phones. Some students use them for information sources but that is a fine line for using them for information versus checking facebook, etc. There are always requests to put them away and on vibrate; this is a distraction for all of society. How often do you check your phone for whatever new item is being displayed?
Patricia,
I think in these situations you just have to lay down the law that cell phones are not allowed in the classroom.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I teach in an environment where kids aren't always motivated to push themselves to learn, and I have some disrupted students. My tactics are from day one to let them know that participation is graded. I find alot of them care about getting a certain grade, so this announcement does influence them. I also speak individually to the more disruptive students outsides, and ask them to respect the class and the learning environment I'm trying to create. By letting them know they are affecting the class, they seem to bring down the disturbance.
cristina,
I like this approach. While its true that not all students will respond to this, I do believe most respond well to the individual conversations & the extra accountability of participation grades.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
I find that incorporating an abundance of activities helps in dealing with class distractions and the difficult student. Keeping students active distracts them from being distractive because their minds are busied. An activity might simply be a formative or summative assessment at the change of a topic or 2-3 person group work 4-5 minutes in length, etc. Often I attempt to make a game out of questions relating to the lecture and toss candy out for correct answers or creative group work shared in class. It doesn't always work but it does prevent long dull lectures ;)
Carrie,
you make an excellent point here about keeping students active. When I taught high school my principal always challenged us to ask: if my students are out of hand, what have I done to contribute to that? Great question.
Ryan Meers, Ph.D.
