Managing Your Classroom: Handling Disruptive Students

Managing Your Classroom: Handling Disruptive Students

Teachers may interact with many different types of students – some of which may have behaviors that are disruptive to the classroom. These students can disrupt classes by talking at inappropriate times, not waiting turns, and interrupting others. They may interfere with other students’ participation, and lead the lesson off topic.

As this behavior hinders equal student participation and negatively impacts the overall harmony in the classroom, it needs to be kept in check. The following are some methods by which teachers can effectively handle disruptive students.

1. State Your Expectations: Teachers should clearly state their expectations of class behaviors at the start of the school year. A list of expectations can be displayed on the class bulletin board to serve as a visual reminder for students. When students exhibit unacceptable behaviors, have them read through the list to monitor and correct themselves.

2. Discussion Rules: To help distribute student participation equally during discussions, teachers can implement the following rules:

• Time limits: Each student will be given around 2 minutes to state their opinions or impressions. Timers and alarms can be used to indicate the end of one’s talking time.
• Taking turns: To encourage students to wait for their turns and to avoid interruptions, teachers can implement the “talking stick method.” This permits students to talk only when they receive the stick. Another method is to provide students with tokens (3-5) symbolizing their chances for speaking in class. Each time a student speaks, they must give a token to the teacher, implying that when tokens are all used, the students must become listeners instead of speakers. Teachers can also “cold call,” calling out students randomly, or instruct students to nominate another to continue the discussion.

3. Grade Student Participation: Inform students that they will be graded on their participation during                          discussions and other class activities. A grading rubric can be framed covering points like: contribution to the              discussion, turn-taking behavior, acceptance of other perspectives, and disagreeing on views respectfully.                      Students can also be asked to grade each other using the same rubric, providing instant feedback to each other            about their participation. This feedback system can help students who were being disruptive to reflect upon                  and correct their behavior.

4. Talk to the Student: When disruptive behavior persists, talk to students in private. Appreciate their contributions, but gently remind them to allow other students to participate. Discuss and identify meaningful ways by which students can control or modify their behaviors.

Teachers need to remember that when dealing with disruptive behavior, the goal is not to completely shut down students’ participation. Instead, they can use the above methods to help students develop acceptable class behaviors and group dynamics, promoting class harmony and equal participation.

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