Teaching Tools: Dealing with Difficult Students (Men and Women)

Presenter: Ximena Keogh, PhD candidate and Lead, Spanish & Portuguese

We have all had those students: the student that is constantly late to class, that challenges every single assignment...that hits on you after class. Part of graduate student teaching is dealing with difficult student behavior—both in, and out, of the classroom.

Ximena Keogh is a PhD candidate and Lead in the Spanish & Portuguese Department. In last Monday’s workshop, Keogh walked us through some of the most common student behavior issues, where they come from, and strategies to help you deal with them.

In general, difficult student behavior can be broken down into three main categories:

• Lack of interest: Expressed by poor attendance, poor attention, tardiness, and non-participative behavior.
• Threatening behavior: Aggressive and/or threatening communication to you and/or the other students.
• Disrespect: This can include flirtation, plagiarism, and monopolizing the conversation in class.

When you encounter any of these behaviors in the classroom it can be hard to not take it personally. Especially, if it’s still your first or second semester teaching. It can be helpful to keep in mind that the sources of difficult behavior often have nothing to do with you. Common sources include:

• Physical discomfort
• Ignorance
• Boredom/disinterest
• Fear/worry
• Perceived (ir)relevance

While it might be tempting to assign the sources to you, try and take a step back and know that encountering students who have a long history of education. A lot of them have have long ago formed opinions about the subjects they like and dislike, the kind of relationship they have with their teachers, their classroom personas, etc. Instead of taking difficult behavior personally (thinking about what you did wrong), it is much more constructive to focus on solutions that address the issue.

Early coping strategies focus on the first few weeks of class and setting expectations. In this time frame it’s super important to establish your behavioral expectations, lay the groundwork for respectful interactions, and position your classroom as a space for active engagement. Walk through the syllabus and explain that it’s a contract for the class. If you break the contract (disrespectful to another student, late for class) then your grade will suffer.

In terms of the lack-of-interest students, a big part of getting them to participate is simply showing your own enthusiasm for the class and subject matter. They don’t have to walk away from English 3000 loving Shakespeare, but it will help them learn and engage if you show why/how the material interests you. Be personal about it. If you love watching telenovelas in Spanish, say so! It will help show them how the material can be relevant.

Let us say you do all this and are still having trouble with students. In particular, they’re very resistant to participating and actually working in the class. They may be feeling overwhelmed and one strategy to help cope is to make very clear what your goals and grading rubric is for each assignment. Make it clear what you’re looking for.

It could also be that the kinds of assignments and activities you’re bringing to class don’t fit with a certain learning style. Always evaluate your activities and try and vary them as much as possible. A writing assignment one day, an in-class debate the next.

Ximena also recommends checking in with your students. It can be really valuable to have you student (anonymously, of course) give you feedback on the class so far. This can help pinpoint ways that you can tweak the class.

And remember, your fellow graduate teachers are an excellent resource! Check in with the other graduate teachers in your department, talk to your Leads, and—of course—attend GTP Workshops!

Tagged under: gtp, student behavior, teaching tools