Disruptive Behavior
Click the following button to access an action plan for addressing disruptive behaviors in the classroom.
Disruptive Behaviors Action Plan
Throughout your teaching career, you will invariably encounter some students whose personal styles and/or worldviews create interpersonal difficulties for those around them. These students often present with a sense of entitlement, are unwilling to listen, won’t take “no” for an answer, exhibit disrespect or verbal abuse toward others, or act in a persistently demanding way. Many factors can contribute to these behaviors, and the behavior itself may manifest in different forms.
Examples of Disruptive Behaviors:
- Persistent tardiness or leaves early, causing excessive disruption to classroom proceedings
- Incessant talking while you are delivering a lecture or when others have the floor in class
- Loud and frequent interruptions to the flow of class with questions or interjections
- Cell phones ringing in a classroom, text messaging, chatting online
- Becoming belligerent when you confront the student’s inappropriate behavior in class
- Making comments while seemingly under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Comments that are offensive in nature (racist, homophobic, etc.)
- Becoming belligerent when you confront the student’s inappropriate behavior
- Student posting non-relevant spam or advertising material in the forum discussion board
- Sharing inappropriate photos or other content in online forums
- Posting or making comments while seemingly under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Posting frequent non-relevant comments or off-topic personal discussions
- Using offensive screen names or emails for communication
- Arrogant, entitled, rude or disrespectful emails or messages to other students or the instructor
Discrimination is also disruptive in the classroom. Boise State University Policy 1060 states that discrimination occurs when an individual or group of individuals is treated adversely (i.e., denied rights, benefits, equitable treatment, or access to facilities available to all others) based on the individual’s or group’s protected class. Accordingly, the university prohibits, to the extent permitted by applicable law, discrimination and harassment against an individual based on that person’s race, color, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran status, genetic information, or any other status protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Gender-based discrimination is outlined in university Policy 1065. Discrimination known to an instructor should be addressed as outlined in the aforementioned policies.
Prevention
Read our prevention tips to learn more about how disruptive behavior in the classroom can be prevented.
Action Plan
Click the following button to access an action plan for addressing disruptive behaviors in the classroom.