(13.2) Consider a student who is disruptively talking to a neighbor while you are teaching. Develop and list a full continuum of responses for dealing with the unproductive learning behavior.
We all know it is going to happen. Our students will misbehave. A lot, most likely. When a child does misbehave there are several ways that we can respond. In this situation, a student is disruptively talking to a neighbor while you are teaching. I will outline the continuum of responses here:
ignore the behavior:
Sometimes ignoring the behavior is the best action we can take. A lot of times, as the teacher, we may notice a behavior that we feel inclined to correct. However, anytime we stop or interrupt an instructional activity we are disrupting the entire class. The momentum of what we are teaching, is interrupted, which could cause others to start dropping off as well! So first, I would consider if this behavior is a rare occurrence or not. If so, it may never happen again. Considering that this type of behavior is typical for their age group, if not a common occurrence, it could be best to just ignore this behavior.
Cueing Students:
If we feel the student who is talking to their neighbor is disrupting the rest of the class you could try using cuing. Just a brief signal or looking at them directly for a moment will do. Or, they could need a verbal cue which could be a reminder you give to the whole class not the student directly.
Discussing Problems Privately With Students:
Talking privately could be the best decision especially if you want to make sure you do not embarrass the student. If this is not a common occurrence but you feel as if it was disruptive, having a private conversation with that student could make more of an impact.
Teaching Self-Regulation Strategies:
In order for this step to be effective students will need to want to change their behavior. You could give her a strategy to help her realize how often she is talking in class by having her make a checkmark every time she notices herself speak disruptively to her neighbor.
Conferring with Parents:
If the disruptive behavior continues it may be necessary to involve their parents. Typically parents are genuinely interested in how their children are behaving and performing in class. If you are seeing that the disruptive behavior is now a pattern the parents will need to know because it could continue to impact them across multiple different settings in the future. Together, you may be able to strategize a plan that will work best with their child.
Conducting Planned, Systematic Interventions:
If we determine that the child is still unwilling or perhaps unable to change their own behavior, and conferring with their parents has not changed the situation a systematic intervention may be necessary. Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to help improve her classroom behavior. Using reinforcement for positive behavior may be what this student needs.
Jenny, I like the way that you set up this response. It was very easy to follow and contained helpful headings that I could skip to if I wished. I particularly agree with your recommendation when conferring with parents. Parents tend to know other things about their children that would be helpful when considering potential consequences. In my experiences, strategizing with parents has proven to be a useful and successful technique.
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