Texting, Talking, and Tardiness… Oh My!

1. Texting, Talking, and Tardiness… Oh My! • Classroom Strategies to Curb Disruptive Behavior- Spring 2014 • Not all faculty members agreed with all these strategies and some faculty disagreed with what was considered to be annoying or disruptive behaviors. The following strategies, however are aligned with best practices in higher education: • Provide clearly written policies in your syllabus • You may want to discuss these policies the first day of class • Ask students if they have other policies to add to help create a stronger learning environment Suggest to students that you will consider any additional policies they bring forth • Ask that students use peer pressure to help enforce these policies • Set etiquette expectations • Give reasons why appropriate behaviors are expected and essential • Equate classroom etiquette to appropriate behaviors at their future job site in their chosen career • Discuss cell phone usage and texting specifically, but include appropriate ways to use all electronic devices during your class time • Have policies about cell phones, texting, laptops, and other electronic devices stated in your syllabus • Speak privately to a student such as during office hours when there is a policy exception • When dealing with late assignments, it might help to have a policy in your • syllabus of one exception, or one late assignment allowed during the semester. After using your one “late assignment privilege” there will be no more opportunities to submit work after the due date. • To avoid tardiness when homework is due, a policy stating that work is due when class begins • is beneficial. Otherwise, the assignment is considered late • Use a seating chart if necessary. (Be respectful of students with accommodations or those who specifically ask to be seated near the front). • Differentiate instruction to keep students interested and engaged • Even in large lectures rooms our professors do an excellent job of providing interactive discussion to keep students engaged. One key is to ask questions and wait for student responses • As an instructor move around the room, if possible • Use small group work. This could be as simple as turning to a partner for a “think-pair-share” • Use visible timers in class for group experiences with short amounts of time allotted • Hold students accountable for group work in class • Directly ask for disruptive behaviors to stop. BE ASSERTIVE. The research points to this strategy as being the most effective in curbing disruptive behaviors. You must enforce the policies you have set. • File a MAXIENT report and ask for the support of Student Services • Another point discussed during these CTL sessions was the possibility of adding a classroom etiquette segment to COL 101 and GUD 136 sections. Faculty could then refer to the points discussed in these classes.