A Student’s Disruptive Behavior

The daily plan of a teacher to facilitate a discussion of a certain subject in the classroom is faced with several disruptive behaviors of the students. One of the main challenges is that some students are talkative. Tattling, power struggling, and retorting to teacher are also common among many students. For instance, a teacher gets to class and finds students seated and excited, which indicates that they are ready to discuss the subject. The teacher asks an open-ended question, which covers the area of interest of the students. Among all the members of the class participating in the discussion there may be one student who dominates, whose character trait is well-known by the fellow students as “know-it-all”. The student usually answers the questions with high precision and cites arguments that are not known to other classmates. Although the questions may well be discussed by a particular student, others are denied the opportunity to present their arguments concerning their areas of interest. This does not only hinder students from participating in the discussion, but also makes them feel unequal among themselves.

Following this scenario, there is a need to understand the behavior of each student and set up approaches that can control the disruptive behavior. This is important since the over talkative behavior affects the efficacy of teaching plan, and negatively affects other students. For example, if a particular student dominates a discussion, the teacher may not tackle all the scheduled areas, while other students are denied an opportunity to speak. Such behavior may also encourage laziness among some students since they rely on certain students to discuss all the questions (Hempel, 2003).

The teacher is supposed to manage the behavior to eliminate the abovementioned negative results, which affects the learning process. One of the behavior management approaches is to ensure the participation of all students in the discussion assigned in class. This allows students to discuss the ideas they have pertaining the subject, and promotes a stimulating learning environment. In addition, the discussion is lively since there are different arguments presented in different ways by different individuals (Cornelius, 2008).

In order for this management approach to be successful, several strategies are employed as discussed below. In some instances, the talkative students may give views that are not connected to the question under consideration, and when the teacher disagrees with them, they tend to insist on the point. The student may continue disrupting the discussion, and seek attention, which affects the smooth running of the discussion. To curb the problem, the teacher should point out the reason for disagreement as a failure to correlate with the subject under discussion. The act of disagreement should be accompanied by evidence. This not only involves the student who has expressed the opinion, but also activates the whole class. Again, since any point from the teacher is proved to be right, the teacher should use the reference materials relevant to the course and not to use ‘I’ structures since this may make students feel inferior. In case the student is highly agitated, the teacher should calmly discuss the matter and not to provide any more reasons. The act of remaining calm in a discussion makes the student become cooperative and helps on the session progresses (Hempel, 2003).

Secondly, the teacher should manage the behavior of over talkative students who tend to deaden a discussion. This happens if a talkative student dominates a discussion. The teacher should involve other students by calling upon anybody to give their responses even if those over talkative student make attempts to volunteer responses. In addition, the quality and not the number of the responses should be considered among the group members. Students also understand that the group work is communal and not a field of competition. This is achieved by private talks to students who do not value the ideas of other students. When a large group discussion is involved, the instructor should express the appreciation for the contribution, but is to inform them that he or she may not call on them every time in a discussion to encourage others to participate (Hempel, 2003).

Thirdly, the teacher should put into consideration the group of students who are silent in class by making sure that all members know each other by name. This creates a friendly learning environment, since they can interact freely. Further, there should be small groups composed of two students, which allows a shy student to open up and gain confidence. After this, they can contribute in large groups, and never feel inferior even in the presence of over-talkative students (Hempel, 2003).

Fourthly, the teacher should be concerned about the careful thinkers who take time to give their responses. Exercises that allow maximum time for reflection should be encouraged since it favors the quick responders and careful thinkers. The students should be encouraged to talk to the teacher during office hours. In this way, both talkative and silent students are alleviated and put at ease (Cornelius, 2008).

Lastly, the teacher should be aware of those students who complain when rewarded lower grade than they expected. To minimize this, the guidelines of what is expected of them in the papers should be provided before the exam. When rewarding the grade, both weak and strong points should be noted and teacher is to give suggestions of what is expected of them. This promotes better performance in the next paper. These grade grubbers are commonly the most talkative students who have the courage to face their teachers, and even may tend to discourage them (Cornelius, 2008).

In conclusion, the strategies discussed above help the talkative students appreciate and listen to the responses of other students, and in return, the silent students gain confidence and bring the two groups of students at ease. The discussion also becomes lively since the responses are given by different individuals.

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