This document provides guidance for handling challenging classroom situations that may arise. It suggests clearly outlining expectations and policies to prevent issues. When problems occur, the document recommends speaking privately with students, understanding multiple perspectives, documenting interactions, and maintaining a supportive approach while upholding standards. Deans or services can assist if issues persist after reasonable efforts to address them respectfully. The overall message is to fairly but gently manage behaviors to facilitate a positive learning environment.

2. Sense of failure, rejection,
threat
 To avoid these feelings
◦ Clarify types of behaviour
◦ Understand some causes
◦ Generate solutions
◦ Separate behaviour from person
◦ Take ourselves out

3. Certain behaviours are
expected
 Punctuality
 Regular attendance
 Performance of required tasks
 Paying attention
 Coming prepared
 Dressing appropriately
 Being polite
 Being respectful

4. If students break these rules .
..
 Poses a problem to instructor trying to
manage a group so that it is functional
 First thing to do—rank those
behaviours in order of importance.

5.  Now categorize each type of
behaviour by what
◦ Makes you angry
◦ Seems senseless
◦ Embarrasses you
◦ Amuses you
◦ Can you deal with easily
◦ Can you understand

6.  Now select the types of behaviour that
make you angry and think about the
last time you had to deal with it
 Analyze what happened
◦ What led up to it?
◦ How did other students react?
◦ How did you intervene?
◦ What were the activities in the
classroom at the time?
◦ What was the outcome?

7. What are the factors that make
learning successful?
 Having fun
 Being involved
 Discovering
 Achieving goals
 Understanding the purpose of tasks

8. What interferes with learning?
 Fear of failure
 Boredom
 Unrealistic goals
 Not understanding the purpose of
tasks
 Feeling tired

9. Prevention is better than
Prescription……………….
 Impossible to avoid all
difficulties
 Clear outline of expectations
and evaluative criteria are
critical.
 Leave you less vulnerable.

10. PREVENTION!
 Clearly state expectations concerning
class attendance, participation, and
the timely completion of assignments
UP FRONT.
 Hand out a document that outlines
these criteria.

11. Tell them Where You are Coming
From
 Communicate your biases so they
know what type of work you
expect.
 Explain
your own critical
methodology and interests to give
them an idea as to what
approaches you prefer.

12.  Be an ally, not an adversary.
 Be accessible.
 Be warm and supportive in
encouraging your students'
participation in class.

13.  Be careful when correcting students in
class—don’t embarrass them or put them
on the defensive.
 Point out mistakes in a positive and
constructive manner that is not
discouraging.
 Help students recognize for themselves
flaws in their argument or response.

14.  Befair and ethical.
Students talk to each other
and compare notes.
 Interveneearly when a
problem arises,
documenting and saving
copies of all your efforts to
reach out to a given student.

15. Make sure that your
attitude in class
serves as a model
of how you expect your
students to behave and
participate in your class.

16. Grading
 Making your grading
policies and expectations as
transparent as possible.
 This will help but will not
totally preclude difficulties.

17. Assignments are late or not
turned in
 Unambiguously state your
policy on how late or
missing assignments will be
handled in the syllabus that
you distribute on the first
day of class.

18.  Speak to student in private to
determine the cause of their failure
to complete the assignments in an
appropriate manner.
 Make the student aware of negative
impact on grade. Remind the
student that ultimately they are in
control of their coursework.

19. Document the
interaction that you
have with your student
concerning the missed
assignment(s).

20.  Communicate by email or
follow up an in-person
discussion with an email
reiterating the pertinent
aspects of the
conversation.

21. Missed Exam
 Discuss how you'll handle missed
exams and quizzes at the beginning of
the semester.
 What will be your policy on making up
missed exams?
 Stick to your policy so as to maintain
total fairness with all students.

22. Student Argues Grade
 Make grading criteria clear
from the outset of the course.
 Use a grading/point system
that is clear and
straightforward so that it is
easily defendable and easy for
your students to understand.

23.  Furnish students with the criteria
necessary for success so that they know
how to meet your expectations.
 If possible, hand out guidelines for a good
essay or examples of a superior exam
answer.

24.  When you grade, give
detailed explanations of why
you found a given point
weak or strong and offer
suggestions as to how the
work might be improved.
 Give the students ideas
about how to study or
organize their ideas more
effectively.

25.  Offer the option of handing in an
initial draft of their work that you
will comment on but not grade.
 Ask the student to explain to you in
specific terms why his or her work
deserved a better grade.

26.  Consider a re-grade policy
whose details you spell out
in your syllabus. Or
formulate a policy for
yourself in advance of
having to implement it.

27.  If you agree to re-evaluate student work,
make it clear that you retain the right to
adjust the grade either up or down.
 Warn the student that you may find
mistakes or problems that you hadn't
noticed the first time around, which
could adversely affect their grade.

28.  Always keep an open
mind to the possibility
that you may have made
a mistake in evaluating
student work and that re-
evaluation might indeed
be in order.

29. Student offers to do extra credit
to compensate
 List all of the assignments that will
accrue towards the final grade on your
first-day syllabus, making it clear that
supplemental work will not be factored
into the grade.

30.  Remind the student that the concept
of "extra credit" has currency in the
arena of secondary education but is
no longer operative at the university
level.

31. Classroom Behaviours
 The late student
◦ Speak to the student in private
◦ Ask that they enter unobtrusively if
necessary
◦ Always start class on time.

32. ◦ Give quizzes at beginning of class
◦ Address the class as a whole, insist on
the importance of punctuality as a mark of
respect not only towards the instructor
and course material but also towards the
other students in the class.
◦ Emphasize that you respect your students
and that such respect should be
reciprocal.

33.  Excessive absence
◦ Make sure that you state your
policy on attendance in your
syllabus, indicating whether a
certain number of absences will
result in the lowering of a grade.
◦ Contact the student individually to
find out what the circumstances
of their absence are.

34. ◦ Warn the student that their grade
will probably suffer as a result of
their chronic absences.
◦ If attendance is not required and
the student is doing well, you may
be better off not addressing the
issue with that student.

35.  Chronically hostile or disruptive
◦ Contact the student. Document
and keep records.
◦ Ask for, listen to, and try to
understand the student's
perspective.
◦ Sometimes disruptive behavior
reflects a desperate need for
attention. Listening may help.

36. ◦You may often discover
that the attitude has
nothing to do with you
◦ or your class and that
the student is not even
aware that they seem
hostile

37. ◦If the student has a
specific problem, ask
them to suggest
possible solutions.
◦ Try to think of ways that
you could help, within
the limits of your role as
an instructor.

38. ◦ Frame your comments on the
student's behavior in terms of
"stress" so as to keep them
from feeling judged or
attacked.
◦ Stress provides a neutral and
safe context within which to
discuss disruptive behavior
and attitudes.

39.  If
the problem persists, talk
to other faculty members
who have had the student in
their classes.
◦ Talk to a dean or to
someone at Student
Services to get further
input and support.

40. Chronically argumentative
student
 Support your position by relying on the
course materials, to which you both have
access.
 Suggest that he/she continue the discussion
during your office hours.
 Remain calm and nonjudgmental. Do not take
it personally.
 .

41.  Listen to and try to understand the
student's perspective.
 Don't assert your authority as the
professor. Avoid introducing your
statements with "I."
 If a student is stubborn and refuses to
postpone a disagreement until after
class or office hours and completely
disrupts a class, remain calm

42. ◦If the student is agitated to
the point of being
unreasonable,
◦ ask them to carry the
grievance to a higher
authority (e.g., the
department head or dean).

43. ◦ Make apparent your willingness to
discuss the issue calmly,
◦ but do not continue trying to reason
with a student who is highly
agitated.
◦ If you remain calm in the presence
of the group, the student may soon
become cooperative again.

44.  In an extreme case, you may have to
ask the student to leave the
classroom, or even dismiss the class.

 Try to respond as calmly as possible.
Avoid making an issue out of a small
incident.
 The hardest part of such a situation is
to maintain your professionalism, and
not to respond as if you feel
personally attacked.