Managing Classroom Incivilities Spring 2011 Faculty Teaching Workshop Series UNTHSC Center for Learning & Development

What classroom management issues have you encountered? Please list them in order. What are the issues?

What’s behind incivility? – Today’s learners Physical & emotional problems Personal/family problems Adjustment/developmental issues Pressured to succeed General academic difficulties Cultural issues Generational issues Consumer perspective

What’s behind incivility? – Research findings Anonymity (increased class sizes) Teacher’s – Unclear expectations – Choice of motivators (fear, embarrassment, punishment) – Number of immediacy behaviors (verbal & nonverbal signs of warmth and encouragement)

1.Annoyance, minor disruptionsAnnoyance, minor disruptions 2.Aggressive challenge of teacherAggressive challenge of teacher 3.Cheating/plagiarismCheating/plagiarism 4.Dominating discussionDominating discussion 5.Excuse makingExcuse making 6.Needy studentNeedy student What is class incivility?

Annoyance - Symptoms Chronic tardiness Inappropriate cellphone and laptop usage Side conversations Reading newspaper, sleeping, yawning… Inattention/non-participation

Annoyance – Prevention Clear behavior expectations Code-of-conduct contract Learn student names Large class  designated area for late/ early students Smaller class  require advance notice Encourage active learning

Annoyance – Coping Refer to the problem behavior in general For persistent offenders: – Pause & wait/make eye contact – Private talk – ask, do not accuse – Walk close – Direct question to a neighbor – Politely, not sarcastically, ask talkers to share with entire class. – Directly ask to stop the behavior

Aggressive behavior - Symptoms Violate rules Manipulate professor/students Grade grubbing Sniping remarks (f2f or online) Threat of physical harm

Aggressive behavior - Prevention Professional appearance Publish/explain clear behavior and academic expectations Organization and clarity Model and promote civil behavior – Teach the language of disagreement – Use civil language – Show respect Notice in advance if not available Inform student grievance process

Aggressive behavior - Coping Private talk, but not in isolated place Maintain all communications Practice good communication: – Listen respectfully and acknowledge opinion – Be calm and non-judgmental – Use evidence when disagreeing – Do not respond as if you feel personally attacked – Do not continue trying to reason with a student who is highly agitated Reassure the rest of the class Know and use the chain of command & campus resources

Cheating/plagiarizing - Symptoms Purposely engage in cheating Unknowingly violate plagiarism rules

Cheating/plagiarizing - Prevention Post university’s academic code Provide definition and examples (appropriate and unacceptable) Vary assessment forms Academic honesty contract

Cheating/plagiarizing - Coping Turnitin Keep all the records

Dominating discussion - Symptoms Know everything Think out loud Do not consider themselves as uncivil Perceive themselves as helping Wander around or off the subject Use far-fetched examples or analogies

Dominating discussion - Prevention Set ground rules before discussion Begin with icebreaker questions that the majority can answer Design discussion in a way that encourages more people to participate

Dominating discussion - Coping “Thanks, [name]. I’d like to bring more people into this conversation. I’m going to ask you to hold your comments for a while.” Make eye contact with another participant and move toward that person. Use time limit. Give the person individual attention during breaks. Stop discussion, ask class to write briefly on the discussion topic, then call on people to share what they’ve written. If the problem persists, have private communication with the student.

Excuse making - Symptoms Miss deadlines Can often be very creative, supplying instructors with detailed excuses for not submitting their assignments Can easily turn into aggressive student

Excuse making - Prevention Provide clear deadlines for assignments Provide late work policy Build a series of graded penalties based on how late a paper is Require advance notice/proof Make yourself available

Excuse making - Coping Listen carefully and show respect Refer to late work policy Respond in positive manner Avoid using accusatory remarks

Needy students- Symptoms Require an unusually high amount of feedback and interaction with the professor. Dominate the professor’s time, flooding with s, pressuring for immediate feedback. Has potential to turn into angry, hostile student

Needy students- Prevention The instructor should keep an eye on this type of student, because he/she has the potential to turn into the angry, hostile student.

Needy students - Coping Attend to the student’s needs within reasonable boundary Maintain all communications

When things escalate… Get help – Colleagues and chair Refer to support services: – Health services, counseling and psychological services, academic development, student affairs Campus police

To summarize State & communicate clear and detailed behavioral and academic policies Set the tone on the first day of class Be consistent Deal with discipline problems as soon as they occur Document everything; have witness Mid-term evaluation with qualitative input

Positive/engaging class climate Effective communication: support, encouragement, respect, empathy Motivator: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, Satisfaction Active learning

Final words Do prevent Do not laugh it off Do not ignore Do not bear it alone

References & Resources Carnegie Mellon University – The syllabus The syllabus – Make the most of the first day of class Make the most of the first day of class – Addressing problematic student behavior Addressing problematic student behavior Indiana University – Passive vs. aggressive student incivilities Passive vs. aggressive student incivilities University of Minnesota – Managing conflict Managing conflict University of California, Santa Cruz – Classroom incivility Classroom incivility Morrissette, P. (2001). Reducing incivility in the university/college classroom. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 5(4),

Contacts Vanneise Collins, PhD Kun Huang, PhD