1. Effective Classroom Management
Dr Linda Brown
Academic Developer
Welcome and many thanks for the contributions all of you have made to the policy, guidance, and referral grid. This presentation seeks to provide a concise overview of that work.
Anglia Learning and Teaching
Inspiring Academic Excellence

2. Some basic goals:
Explore what research defines as disruptive and uncivil student behaviour
Examine personal perspectives on behaviour and etiquette
View recent strategies, policy and referral grid for serious disruptions
Review ongoing support and resources for teaching and support staff
Collect a sampling of your tried and tested strategies

3. Poll 1—Changes, challenges, problems
???
Please go to menti.com and use the code provided at the top.

4. Disruptive Student Behaviour,
according to Wright State University, is “an action or combination of actions by an individual [or group] that unreasonably interferes with, hinders, obstructs, or prevents the right of others to freely participate in [an] activity, program, or service, including behavior (sic) that may prevent faculty and staff members from carrying out their professional responsibilities.”
You have likely seen this definition before. It is, I think, a good one that indicates the negative effects produced by disruptions.

5. Frequently cited examples of disruptive behaviour
Chatting to other students / talking on phone
Arriving late/leaving early
Wasting time (asking irrelevant, repetitive, baiting questions/not coming to class prepared)
Dominating class discussions and/or constantly challenging the lecturer
Irregularly attending or not attending at all
Misusing technology in the classroom (watching videos, playing games, etc)

6. Activity 1—Acceptable vs Unacceptable
To establish expectations, we must be clear about what sort of behaviour we actually want in our classrooms.

8. Discussion 1 Priorities, vulnerabilities, vexations
Where are they for you?
Have you encountered them in class?
Can you understand your choices (i.e. do they originate from any particular experiences)?

9. Activity 2—Mitigating factors?
Choose a total of 5 behaviours from Sets C and D. Can you conceive of any mitigating factors that could be taken into account?
If yes, what sort of actions could be taken outside of class to prevent this behaviour in future?

10. Discussion 2—Why do students disrupt?
Were you able to identify any mitigating factors?
What about environmental ones that affect students, you, and class dynamics?

11. Influences on Classroom Environment
Anglia Learning and Teaching
Inspiring Academic Excellence
Influences on Classroom Environment
Lecturer
Student Behaviour
Environmental
Too little or too much space between students
Seats in rows
Large groups
Lecture Theatres
Poor acoustics
Lack or/unclear policies
Timetabling
Too hot/cold
Boredom
Cultural expectations
Personal
Lack of:
confidence
experience
knowledge of support available
Fear of
being humiliated
student refusing
being thought to be lacking control
Tiredness
Illness
Disinterest
Lack of respect
Different expectations
Stress
Here are some that the Working Group identified.
Classroom Management Dr Jaki Lilly and Dr Linda Brown, 2017

12. Don’t lose sight of the +s
Most students are well-behaved and want a positive experience in your classroom
Students have little patience for other students who disrupt
So, as one UK university guide (Dordoy, et al., 2008) recommends, “Get the students on your side. This is not difficult to achieve as most students want to learn, want to see you in control, will support you and agree that having a set of rules in place is a positive thing.”

13. A wise place may be in simply setting out expectations
Where to begin
A wise place may be in simply setting out expectations

14. Strategies from our recent guidance to avoid/prevent disruptive behaviour
Pre-teach and agree the expectations
Use university guidance as a basis for these discussions
Once agreed, reinforce in a variety of ways (tailored questions in a quiz, emphasis upon communal nature of learning, reminders throughout semester, etc).
Relate the ‘rules’ to the Graduate Attributes, and where relevant, other professional certifications
Underscore the role and long-term implications of responsible conduct

15. Strategies (cont)
Before full-scale disruptions occur, caution students who are nearing the line:
Remind them of the expectations set out in the Code of Conduct and Student Charter
Document details of the behaviour and the students’ reactions for yourself.
Early on and repeatedly, reinforce the message.
Use examples from research or experience, highlighting the frustration experienced by students as a result of disruptions.
Regularly poll students about the atmosphere and conduct of the class.
Employ a variety of strategies to foster more engaged and active learners.

16. Activity 3—Setting the Scene
Create a ‘rule’ for your classes that establishes the expectations that you want in place from the beginning. Consider punctuality, preparedness, civil behaviour, and/or general ‘rules’ (e.g. food, phones, etiquette, etc).

17. Poll 2—Your Expectations
In a sentence or two, please type out one or two expectations you have created for your classes. (Mentimeter.com) (Also use menti.com for this poll.)

18. Policy to embed a culture of respect
Our recent work, ‘Code of Conduct: A Guide for Students’, spells out types of disruptive behaviour and associated consequences.

19. Activity 4— When preventative measures don’t work.
Choose ONE example of students mis-using technology (openly or secretively) for us to examine more closely:
Watching videos
Playing games
Listening to music (e.g. the one ear-bud trick)
Two students looking at phone photos—loudly laughing
Having a text conversation
(Other students are annoyed and distracted by the behaviour.)

20. Reflection—What strategies might you use if this behaviour continues despite your pre-emptive and sustained efforts to stop it?

21. The guidance:
Policing technology is difficult if not impossible; if you suspect its misuse, remind everyone of the agreed expectations on technology and the negative impact disruptions have on learning.
Don’t ignore—their actions will distract other students.
Speak specifically at the students in question, asking them to put away their devices.
Allow them the opportunity to comply (e.g. temporarily resume lecturing).

22. Guidance (cont) If they protest or refuse, ask them to leave.
If they refuse to leave, ring Security 6444.
Document the circumstances in detail and notify the relevant person in your department/faculty. (Security will also document the incident.)
During this entire episode, remain calm, don’t humiliate, and keep the rest of the class informed and with you.
Ultimately, use your discretion to decide if/when other actions need to be taken. Your best strategy may be to ENLIST technology to suit your own needs.

24. Some additional tips:
Classroom Management Dr Jaki Lilly and Dr Linda Brown, 2017

25. Resources and Support
Calls to deal more effectively with disruptive behaviour have come directly from student groups. The following have been set up to support you now:
Policies, staff guidance and a referral system
A new VLE site, ‘Managing Classroom Disruptions’
Current CPD: ‘Developing Classroom Management and Presence’ (run by two of our drama lecturers) on 23rd January at Cambridge, Covent Garden Studio

26. ARU Case Studies
We welcome input by ARU staff regarding how they have tackled disruptive behaviour effectively. Please see ‘From the Classroom Floor’ in the VLE site, ‘Managing Classroom Disruptions’.

27. POLL 3—Your strategies for tackling classroom disruptions
Please provide your responses at PollEv.com/lindabrown788

28. £Money
Lecturers and support staff often hear students relate tuition fees to their rights to many things, including their right to disruptive behaviour. Reflect on the following video from a culture that has long had tuition fees, ‘Classroom Civility’ (2:23) made by Utah State University.

29. Finally, the quiz
Please log in to kahoot.it and use the code on the screen.

30. Further Reading
BJORKLUND, W. and REHLING, D., Student Perceptions of Classroom Incivility. College Teaching, 58(1), pp
CONNELLY, R.J., Introducing a Culture of Civility in First-Year College Classes. Journal of General Education, 58(1), pp
COTTRELL, C.A., NEUBERG, S.L. and LI, N.P., What Do People Desire in Others? A Sociofunctional Perspective on the Importance of Different Valued Characteristics. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(2), pp
HENDERSON, K., The Effect of Higher Education Classroom Behavior Management Strategies on Learning. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.
LEVINE, P., Teaching and learning civility. New Directions for Higher Education, 2010 (152), pp
MORRISSETTE, P.J., Reducing incivility in the university/ college classroom. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 5.

31. Anglia Learning and Teaching Inspiring Academic Excellence
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Author(s): Dr Jaki Lilly and Dr Linda Brown Version: 0117
Anglia Ruskin University, 2017
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Classroom Management Dr Jaki Lilly and Dr Linda Brown, 2017