This document summarizes strategies for dealing with common challenges that may arise during teaching sessions: 1) For students who arrive late, it is best to focus on those who were on time. Whether to allow late students to join depends on how late they are and the audience. Registration should clarify start times. 2) To engage undergraduates, use humor, give problems to solve, involve students through questions, and personalize material with passions. 3) For international students struggling with language, clarify terms, provide written materials, use visual tasks, and form mixed groups for support. 4) When someone interrupts to tell you things, let them speak briefly, continue discussion later, or get group feedback

1. Difficult teaching situations: workshop summary

2. How do you deal with students who arrive late - up to half way through a session? We said: Focus should always be on those who were in the room on timeResponse depends on the audience and also how late the student isIf <10 mins may be possible to recapIf it is a workshop which students have booked for, when confirming registration, explain to students that the session will be starting at a specific time and they are expected to be there by thenIf necessary, tell them it is too late to come in (disagreement about this) or suggest they come to an alternative sessionIf not too disruptive, allow them to come in but to sit at the back and wait for handouts etc until a natural break.Do students get credit for attending? If so, cut off time should be clearly defined.

3. What techniques do you use to engage undergraduates with IL activities? We said:Playing very short, humorous, “old” (in their eyes!) video clips really engages attentionGive students problems to solve (maybe in a fairly unstructured way) is a good way of getting them interestedPlan teaching around student responses eg put numbers under seats so they know they will have to contributeUse small groups with summary to larger groupDevelop Q&A techniques which work with different learning stylesGive them opportunities to chatPersonalise it by showing you are not just a “teacher” - use your own passions for demos etc (chocolate, guinea pigs etc)

4. What do you do if there are international students in a session who appear, due to language problems, to have no comprehension of what they are being taught or asked to do. We said:Make sure you know about the composition of the group in advance ( not always easy for library workshops)Discuss and clarify key terms at the beginning of the sessionLink the above to a handout/ glossary of unusual termsHave tasks written down so that those who cannot understand what you are saying (too fast/accents) might be able to follow the text versionUse visual, closed tasks, but is this as effectivePut students into small, mixed ability groups where stronger students can guide the weaker

5. How do you deal with someone who thinks they know more than you and keeps interrupting to tell you things (which may or may not be correct and you may not be sure) We said:Let them speak…up to a pointInvite them to carry on the conversation afterwards (with anyone interested)Ask people to write down comments/ questions rather than interrupting you and deal with them at the endAsk rest of group what they want to do (if you’re confident they agree with you)In extremis, have a quiet word during a break.Show that you value their contribution by asking them to send you full details afterwards and promising to circulate this information to the rest of the group (giving you time to check accuracy)

6. How do you ask questions which people want to answer (rather than watching tumbleweed blow across the room)?We said:Use SRS handsets – these add an element of fun, allow you to save data and mean responses can be anonymousStart with closed questions, then develop…Break into groups, or pairs in a large group, observe the group dynamics and then ask pairs who seem to have something to say to report backAsk them to write an answer down and swap with neighbour, neighbour reads out responsesUse technology such as Twitter or mobile phones for instant feedback – again seen as fun, easy to participate, can be anonymous. ( we need to learn how to do this)If you know the group, pick on people to answerPre prepare some right and wrong answers on cards which are distributed amongst the group and ask them to read them out and vote on the correct one.

7. What do you do if students are continually talking while you are talking, or alternatively, appear to be asleep?We saidThey may not realise how loudly they are talking, so don’t assume they are being intentionally rude Ask them to be quiet or give them the opportunity to take the conversation elsewhereUnless they are being disruptive (eg snoring!) ignoreFor other disruptions eg typing , use resources such as NetSupport School to take over PCs and avoid this.

8. How do you cope when the technology lets you down?We said:Plan ahead, have an alternative readyDo not panic!Try not to rely so much on powerpoint slides for prompts – do we really need them?For live demos, if connections don’t work, have some screen shots prepared or even use software such as Lotus screencam to create videos of demos

9. What do you do if you get through all the material quickly and there’s lots of time left at the end? We said:Consider where any points might need more explanation/ practiceEncourage questionsInvite them to stay on and speak to you individually – make it seem that you have designed time in for thisBe flexible about finishing a little earlier