Adult Learners, Problem Children, and Your Role as an Educator

Problem Child, Part Three of Five Dealing with Disruptive Behavior

Part One of this series reviewed general aspects about adult learners, and Part Twolooked at some potential causes, along with the disruptive behaviors of disrespect and tardiness. In Part Three, I offer some solutions and techniques in dealing with these students, along with additional disruptive behaviors (speaking out of turn, ramblers, and helpers). Lastly, in Part Four, I will describe other problem students. In each specific example of disruptive behavior, real life examples gathered from my own experiences and those of colleagues follow. Bear in mind, the focus on disruptive behavior exhibited in the classroom is viewed in a behavioral sense. Problems caused by learning disabilities, disorganized study habits, and like issues are not addressed.

Dealing with disruptive behaviors
Prevention is key. Using effective, positive management techniques can go a long way in preventing problems. Taking time on the first day of the course to clearly establish the rules may avoid problems. Rules should be few but strictly and fairly enforced. I actually hand out and discuss a paper titled, "What your instructor wants you to know." The handout clearly lays out the rules, expectations, and consequences.

Setting the tone for the course is equally important. Toward that end, here are some general guidelines for a positive tone.

Respectfulness
Behave in a manner that will garner freely given respect from the students. Respect your students in kind. Things as simple as being prepared to teach and being on time display respect for your students. Never ridicule a student; you will only accelerate negative behavior and generate an untrustworthy environment. Do not discuss one student with another. Aside from the legalities of student confidentiality, you gain a reputation as a gossiper — and respect is never given to those who gossip. Do not discuss the other faculty or your peers, even if they are deplorable instructors. Demand that, and contribute to keeping, your classroom and equipment clean, orderly, and in good working condition.

Leadership
Students expect you to be in charge, so behave accordingly. Demonstrate leadership by dealing quickly, effectively, and unemotionally with problems as they arise. You must be in control even when the student is not, akin to being in control at the scene of an accident. Be like a duck on a smooth lake, appearing to calmly float along even as you paddle like crazy underneath the surface!

Awareness
Communicate that you are aware of everything occurring in the room. When it is clear you are aware of the student's behaviors, not ignoring disruptions, and dealing effectively with them, students will be less likely to continue them or accelerate them to a more serious level. This will garner as well as maintain that respectful attitude.

Preparedness
Demonstrate smoothness, both within a lesson and in transitions between lessons. Be prepared to teach with readily available materials and enough copies of handouts and exams. At the start of each class, briefly cover what you and the students will be doing that session through announcements and a published schedule. When taking a 10-minute break, ensure it is 10 minutes, not 20. Ensure equipment is in good working condition prior to the start of class.

Examples of specific disruptive behaviors
While speaking out of turn may be generated out of disrespect for you as the instructor, many times it's merely a byproduct of the aggressive, predominately Type A personalities who enroll in pre-hospital courses. They have difficulty holding their thoughts on a subject and feel the need to speak out to other students in side conversations or directly to you without raising their hands.

To help contain these high maintenance students without reducing enthusiastic interaction, allow time for students to speak out. Remind students that some conversations are best left to break times, as you have limited time to complete lectures. Remind them that things go smoother and that more students will have an opportunity to be heard when they are orderly and raise their hands.

For those with "war stories," establish a few guidelines, such as, a) they must be pertinent to the subject at hand, and b) they can be kept to your pre-determined time limit (30 seconds or a minute?) or less.

Real life example
Mark was an enthusiastic but linear learner. He was having trouble grasping the knowledge and concepts and would suddenly burst out with questions, sometimes repeating the same questions over and over, during lecture. This caused the lectures to run overtime and began to affect the class as a whole. Other students began to complain that they were tiring of questions they felt were "easy" or that Mark should have known the answers to or could have looked up on his own time. I had spoken to him about how his studies were coming along and what I could do to help facilitate his learning. Mark did not feel he needed any extra help. I told him of the effect he had on the class and advised him to write out his questions. I would look at them at break, or before the next class, and answer them or give him references where he could find the information. I asked Mark to arrive at class a few minutes early so that this could be done without taking time away from the other students.

Another real life example
While this falls into the war stories category as far as the effect on the class, it actually addresses those that stretch the truth or outright lie. Bill (probably in an attempt to self-pump his ego) made up war stories as he went along or used every war story he had ever heard, professing to have been there (sometimes playing a major role). Bill had war stories for every single lecture. Bill was finally asked to bring in written documentation, news articles, and other hard print matter about the cases so it could be hung on the wall for all to read at their leisure. I added that the rest of the students were welcome to do so also and we would make a Tale Wall. Done in this two-stage manner, Bill was indeed targeted and thus put on notice, and yet all students were encouraged to bring in tales for the wall. The war stories from Bill were drastically reduced. No printed tales were forthcoming from him. The Tale Wall, however, did get a significant number of submissions of news articles that were both educational and pertinent to EMS.

If the classroom as a whole becomes noisy with students speaking while you are instructing or when a student is trying to ask a question and cannot be heard, try to avoid embarrassing the group. If you cannot regain their attention by asking for it, simply stop and wait. Never raise your voice to the point that you are shouting to be heard over the crowd.

If two or three students are doing the talking, ask their opinion or ideas on the topic being discussed. Ask a nearby participant a question so that the new discussion is near the talkers. Saunter toward those talking. If all else fails, simply stop and wait, while keeping your eyes directly on those responsible. If this fails and you must directly intervene, walk close to them before speaking to avoid raising your voice to get their attention.

Should you have chronic talkers, it may be necessary to speak to them outside of class and simply lay down the law.

Rambling students are not to be confused with Speaking Out of Turn students. Rather, they exhibit the wandering behavior of speaking to non-related subjects. They use far-fetched examples, analogies, and questions. You can easily recognize one version early on as they frequently start out with, "but what if…"

Quick intervention is imperative, since they can waste a tremendous amount of time during lecture or skills. Refocus their attention by restating the relevant point or direct it back to the group and then get back on the subject. Bluntly request them to summarize their main point. Ask how the topic relates to the topic being discussed, and most likely they will decline to go on or state that they will wait until a break to talk to you.

If they continue rambling, deflect them by engaging yourself in other activities: write on the board, turn on the overhead projector, or simply "become deaf" and move on.

Helper students are the overeager, always at your elbow, dying to help you in class students, requiring much of your time and energy. They use up your pre- and post-class time and entire breaks, and even interrupt other students who attempt to converse with you. They may be self-centered, formerly EMT-trained students. They rarely cross the boundaries on purpose, but many exhibit a lack of awareness of boundaries. At the very least they can be annoying, and at the worst, they can be detrimental to the class as they dominate your attention. They are usually also one of the easier problems to deal with, as they truly want to help, for whatever motivation (from recognition to a kind heart). In some cases, you may want to funnel their energy into assisting you with tasks, being cautious not to allot too much authority. They can assist with copy work, set up, clean up, and other small tasks.

If previously trained, these students can assist with preparing equipment or during skills demonstrations; and, as you get to know them, you can gradually allow them to lead skill groups during practice. Be sure to ascertain that they have the knowledge to be a skill leader by requiring a check of their skills first. Caution: Keep an ear out for any erroneous information they may be passing along and quickly, but gently intervene if it happens. In cases where you feel it would be detrimental to have them assist you in any fashion, simply state, "Thanks, I have it under control." You may have to state this repeatedly.

Real life example
A student had formerly and briefly been certified as an EMT, losing certification due to health reasons. Over-enthusiastic about being in the class again, it was apparent that he craved recognition. A significant portion of his identity in life is centered on being an EMT. He was initially allotted tasks such as copy work, coming in early to help with equipment checks, and passing out materials. His pure skill sheet performance proved to be solid and he was gradually allowed to be a skill leader during open practice time.

The real problem was that he was riddled with misinformation (not the least of which was the "writing pen in the throat for an airway" theory). Gently and immediately correcting the misinformation in front of the class was necessary so that the students wouldn't take the information to heart and would understand that even a former EMT might not have the "gospel truth." It soon became imperative to take him aside and explain that there were some gaps and misinformation in his education. He was also reminded that students had to first focus on grappling with the basics, just as he had at one time. He was asked to refrain from trying to educate in areas not associated with skills. He complied, and was a blessing as my helper.

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