Addressing Students' Needs: Common Disruptive Student Behaviors and Possible Responses

Reprinted with permission from Honolulu Community College, adapted from East Bay AIDS Education Training Center.

The following are examples of student behaviors that have the potential to disrupt class or successful learning, along with several possible responses.

Rambling — wandering around and off the subject. Using far-fetched examples or analogies.

• Refocus students’ attention by restating a relevant point.
• Direct questions to a group that is back on the subject.
• Ask how the topic relates to the current topic being discussed.
• Use visual aids, begin to write on the board, turn on an overhead projector.
• Say: “Would you summarize your main point please?” or “Are you asking...?”

Shyness or Silence — lack of participation.

• Change your teaching strategies from group discussion to individual written exercises.
• Give strong positive reinforcement for any contribution.
• Involve the shy student by directly asking him/her a question.
• Make eye contact with the student.
• Appoint the student to be small group leader.

Talkativeness — knowing everything, manipulation, chronic whining.

• Acknowledge the comments.
• Give the student limited time to express his or her viewpoint or feelings, and then move on.
• Make eye contact with another participant, and move toward that person.
• Give the person individual attention during breaks.
• Say: “That’s an interesting point. Now let’s see what other people think.”

Sharp-shooting — trying to shoot you down or trip you up.

• Admit that you do not know the answer and redirect the question to the group or the individual who asked it.
• Acknowledge that this is a joint learning experience.
• Ignore the behavior.

Heckling/Arguing — disagreeing with everything you say; making personal attacks.

• Redirect the question to group or supportive individuals.
• Recognize the participant's feelings and move on.
• Acknowledge positive points.
• Say: “I appreciate your comments, but I’d like to hear from others,” or “It looks like we disagree.”

Grandstanding — getting caught up in one’s own agenda or thoughts to the detriment of other learners.

• Say: “You are entitled to your opinion, belief or feelings, but now it's time we moved on to the next subject,” or “Can you restate that as a question?” or “We’d like to hear more about that if there is time after the presentation.”

Overt Hostility/Resistance — angry, belligerent, combative behavior.

• Hostility can be a mask for fear. Reframe hostility as fear to depersonalize it.
• Respond to the fear, not the hostility.
• Remain calm and polite. Keep your temper in check.
• Don’t disagree, but build on or around what has been said.
• Move closer to the hostile person; maintain eye contact.
• Always allow him or her a way to gracefully retreat from the confrontation.
• Say: “You seem really angry. Does anyone else feel this way?” Solicit peer pressure.
• Do not accept the premise or underlying assumption, if it is false or prejudiced; e.g., “If by ‘queer’ you mean ‘gay’...”
• Allow the individual to solve the problem being addressed. He or she may not be able to offer solutions, and will sometimes undermine his or her own position.
• Ignore the behavior.
• Talk to the student privately during a break.
• As a last resort, privately ask the individual to leave class for the good of the group.

Griping — may be legitimate complaining.

• Point out that you can’t change the policy.
• Validate the student’s point.
• Indicate that you’ll discuss the problem with the participant privately.
• Indicate time pressure.

Side Conversations — may be related to subject or personal. Distracts classmates and you.

• Don’t embarrass the talkers.
• Ask their opinion on the topic being discussed.
• Ask the talkers if they would like to share their ideas.
• Casually move toward those talking.
• Make eye contact with them.
• Comment on the group (but don’t look at them individually).
• Standing near the talkers, ask a nearby participant a question so that the new discussion is near the talkers.
• As a last resort, stop and wait.