Managing the Classroom Prevention is the Key! Presented by: Joan Clites, EdD, RN, C AACN Faculty Development Conference Houston, Texas Thursday, February 9, 2007
Topics for Today’s Discussion:
Incivility/Other Issues of Classroom Management Your Course Syllabus; Your Friend Academic Dishonesty Managing the Evaluation Process The Underachieving Student
Incivility in the Classroom. What exactly is it?
Rudeness Disrespect Breaches of Courtesy or Etiquette (Luparell, 2005)
Incivility Takes the Form of :
Talking/laughing/cell phoning/Emailing Doing homework for other classes Eating/drinking/chewing tobacco/knitting or crocheting Arriving late and leaving early Tape recording class or meetings without faculty knowledge
Incidence and Severity of Incivility:
Not a new phenomenon. Increased reports of being yelled at in class (52.8%) or in the clinical setting (42.8%) or objectionable contact with students (Lashley & deMeneses, 2001). Consider students with mental illness/mental health issues.
Luparell (2004) reports:
Disrespectful retorts Escalating aggression Direct threats to personal well-being
Today’s College Students:
Somewhat distrustful of leadership Lack confidence in traditional social institutions Fearful of intimacy Lack preparation for the rigors of college Overwhelmed (Levine and Cureton, 1998) and anxious (Newton, 2000)
Hernandez and Fister (2001)-Societal Influences on College Student Behavior:
Isolation from adults and adult decision making resources Increased technology Lacking social skills and graces See faculty as their peer group Disrespect for authority Sense of entitlement
Levine & Cureton, 1998; Sullivan, 1997, describe College Students as “Consumers” Who Demand:
Convenience Service—24/7 Quality Cost
Why Address Incivility in the Nursing Classroom?
Codes of Ethics Nursing is a profession Sense of community Consequences
More Reasons for Addressing Incivility:
Faculty stress and burnout Faculty job dissatisfaction Increasing complexity of healthcare Nursing shortage Worker morale
End Result of Failing to Address Incivility:
Students continue to behave badly. Students become your co-workers and colleagues. Faculty leave teaching Costs in terms of time and money.
The Goal of Classroom Management:
To establish a comfortable classroom environment that allows everyone to learn and participate freely. Prevention is the Key!
Managing the Classroom and Rules of the Road for Faculty:
Set policies at the beginning of the course in writing. Adhere to the policies you set. Start and end class on time. Announce office hours and keep them faithfully.
Managing the Classroom and Rules of the Road for Faculty:
Know your students’ names. Have students share their expectations of faculty. Clarify those expectations. Share your expectations with students. When asked a challenging question, don’t bluff.
Managing the Classroom and Rules of the Road for Faculty:
How about peer pressure? Are students with an understanding of health care, less likely to be unruly?
Control Your Own Behavior. What Not to Do:
Share too much with students. Make excuses for your own disorganization. Take phone calls during class. Frequently deviate from the course topic. Fraternize with students. Discuss one student with another. Discuss another faculty with a student.
Is it Ever Acceptable to Date Students?
Is it Ever Acceptable to Date Students?
Avoid temptation. Do not act on your feelings. Talk to an appropriate someone. Be circumspect in your treatment of students. Be prudent; error on the side of formality.
Control Your Own Behavior. Do:
Treat each student with respect. Be tactful and somewhat businesslike. Be a mentor. Be a leader. Be introspective. Anticipate incivility. Always set the tone. Prevention is the key!
Classroom Management and the Disruptive Student:
Know your school’s policies and rules. Deal with student individually. Deal with student outside of class. Focus on the behavior. Talk in person. Do not deal with students when they are emotional.
Classroom Management and the Disruptive Student:
Do not deal with students when you are emotional. Be sympathetic; be supportive. Refer, Refer, Refer. Document student behavior. Prevention is the Key!
Managing the Classroom and Pitfalls of Team Teaching
There is no “I” in team. Be on the same page with each other. Present a united, consistent and fair front. Avoid setting each other up. Avoid having students set up each of you.
Managing the Classroom and Student Performance Evaluations Prevention is the Key! Think about:
Your own fears and discomfort. Preparing the student for “constructive criticism.” How you notified the student to see you. The meeting environment and timing. What you are going to say and how you plan to say it.
What If the Student:
Starts to cry—have tissues handy Becomes threatening, verbally or physically—think office arrangement Hyperventilates or faints—provide aid Leaves before you are finished—document Refused to sign his/her evaluation— document Wants to bring someone with them—It’s your call
How Have You Dealt with These Classroom Management Issues?
Students Students Students Students Students
bringing children to class walking in and out of class who wear ball caps to class who text message/e-mail who knit/crochet in class
How Have You Dealt with These Classroom Management Issues? Students Who:
Are absent, habitually late Sleep during class Use blunt, aggressive communication Tape record your class or meetings Bring weapons to class
Classroom Management. Your Syllabus, Your Friend.
Prepare a clear and complete syllabus. Frequently review the syllabus with students. Have students sign off on the syllabus. Share the course evaluation form with students. Evaluate the course/material more than is required.
Prevention is the Key! Classroom Management and Academic Dishonesty:
Cheating is not a new phenomenon. Incidence of cheating is up. Cheating on papers has increased. Students think INTERNET copying is OK.
Research on Plagiarism:
“The incidence of plagiarism, intentional or unintentional, in the professional nursing arena has increased in recent years, as has the occurrence of plagiarism among nursing students.” (Cronin, 2003; Girard, 2004; Mason, 2002) Kiehl (2006) reports 10 manuscripts with evidence of plagiarism were submitted to Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing between 2001-2003.
Classroom Management and Academic Dishonesty
Students know it will be hard to cheat. Students have a clear cheating policy statement in the syllabus. Students are clear on the objectives of the test/paper. Students are vested in the material. Students believe they will receive feedback. Students like the teacher.
Classroom Management and Plagiarism:
INTERNET resources for faculty to use to identify plagiarism: http://www.indiana.edu/~istd/ http//www.turnitin.com http//www.plagiarism.org/ http://www.Edutie.com/. http://www.google.com
Prevention is the Key! Classroom Management and Preparing for Examinations
Prepare Students Intellectually for an Exam. Do:
Share your objectives. Provide a test blueprint. Make copies of old exams/papers available. Give tips on answering multiplechoice or essay test items.
Prepare Students Emotionally for an Exam. Do:
Speak to students as adults. Do not joke about the exam. Prepare the class to take the exam seriously. Understand what a test/exam means to a student.
Prepare Faculty for the Exam. Do:
Have material of similar difficulty on the test. Thoroughly review the examination with each other. Eliminate typos and word processing errors. Avoid the miss-keying answer sheets. Decide about issues of curving, throwing out questions in advance. Know the meaning of capricious and arbitrary.
Administering the Exam:
Don’t continue to review before an exam. Don’t engage students in activities right before an exam. Do give the test yourself or be available. Do avoid saying, “times up; give me your exams.”
Proctoring Exams. Do:
If team teaching--have faculty help. Single course faculty--get help. Schedule extra large classrooms. Have students alternate seats and rows. Reverse order test questions. Testing Centers, anyone?
Proctoring Exams. Do:
Give explicit instructions. Consider using exam cover sheets that can be reused. Pay attention to how students position answer sheets. Make sure students cover their papers. Have students move if necessary.
Classroom Management and Returning Exams/Papers
Remain calm and relaxed. Avoid defensiveness or apology. Be reasonable but firm in discussing the exams. Exhibit the distribution of scores. Ask for general questions about the exam. Go over individual papers outside of class. Critique and revise exams before filing them away.
Classroom Management and the Underachieving Student
If It’s an Individual Student:
How has it been determined that the student is underachieving? Grades, behavior, class attendance or lack thereof? Writing samples may give an early indication of a problem. Consider issues of mental health, mental illness, depression? Lacking in motivation?
If it’s an Individual Student--Does the student have:
Unrealistic expectations of nursing education? Limited coping mechanisms? Attention Deficit Disorders? Dyslexia? English as a second language? Work issues? Does the student verbalize not wanting to be there? Does a parent do all the talking for the student?
If it is the Entire Class, Prevention is the Key!
Call on students by name. Be attentive to facial expressions. Re-evaluate admission policies. Are faculty approaching this from the wrong angle? What do student survival guides say about student motivation?
Classroom Management Can We Talk? Other Issues Not Addressed Here? Remember: Prevention is the Key!
