Understanding how student behavior impacts learning is crucial to develop better students.
Most people don’t think about the effects that problematic student behavior has in the classroom. When a student is talking to a friend or using their phone, other students can get distracted. This causes everyone around them to suffer because no one will understand what’s being taught.
Both parents and teachers need to understand what problematic students do and what can be done to help them. While it’s easy to punish them, it’s better to figure out why they’re acting the way they are. This will make them better students and allow them to prosper in school.
Keep on reading to learn more about problematic student behavior.
What Problematic Student Behavior Is Like
Poor student behavior comes in many forms, but most students show poor behavior by disrupting the classroom. Whether it’s yelling or refusing to do work, this type of behavior can encourage other students to do the same. As a teacher, it can be challenging to control a class with problematic students.
Understanding some of the things problematic students do will make it easier to identify these problems in the classroom. Teachers can then start making things like a student behavior contract to encourage students to stop doing such things.
Here’s a small student behavior checklist of the things most problematic students do:
Lateness or Leaving Early
Having a student arrive late to class or leave early due to inappropriate reasons is something that no teacher wants. Unfortunately, many problematic students would rather avoid class than try to work through their problems.
While this type of behavior shouldn’t be encouraged, it can end up benefiting a class if the student typically disrupts everyone. The problem with this is that the student’s grades will suffer because they’re never in class.
Electronics Usage in Class
If a student is having a hard time concentrating or doesn’t care about the class, they may start using electronics to help them pass the time. This becomes problematic if their devices make sounds or the student spends too much time on them.
Most teachers will give their students some leeway and let them occasionally glance at their cellphones. However, spending an entire class on the device is disrespectful and prevents the student from learning.
Side Conversations
A side conversation is one of the worst things a student can do during class because it prevents everyone from learning. Unless a student is talking about the material being taught, students shouldn’t be talking in class. Some teachers try to implement a period before class that allows students to engage with one another.
Cheating
Cheating is an offense that isn’t taken lightly in the education system. When a student is caught cheating, they can be punished by receiving detention, suspension, or an automatic F on the assignment.
Problematic students end up resorting to cheating because they don’t understand any of the material. Ensuring that they’re paying attention in class will increase the likelihood that they pass tests and complete their homework legitimately.
Where Poor Behavior Stems From
Students don’t develop poor behavior out of anywhere. It almost always stems from something that they deal with in their personal lives. For example, a student that doesn’t get to interact with people much at home may try to converse a lot at school.
A child that’s aggressive in school might be that way because their parents are aggressive with them. Students can’t always be to blame when they’re problematic, but they need to acknowledge that what they’re doing is affecting others.
If a teacher discovers that a student’s problems are coming from home, they’ll try to get a counselor involved to see what can be done. In most cases, having a student speak to a counselor will help them because they can vent.
What a Teacher Can Do
Aside from having a student talk to a counselor, teachers can do many things to help a student. With a few student behavior management strategies, a teacher can stop a student from disrupting the class and make them a better student.
Speak to the Student
If a student is uncomfortable with speaking to a counselor or the problem isn’t severe enough to do so, a teacher may talk to the student. This is often easier because the student already knows who the teacher is, making it easier to open up.
Offer Rewards
When students slack off, one of the ways a teacher can encourage them to do their work is to offer rewards. While this is something that’s usually done to younger students, it remains an effective strategy when it comes to older students.
Younger students may be offered something like candy, whereas a class of older students can watch a movie. With younger students, a student behavior chart can be made so that they can see their progress towards a reward.
Tutor Them
It’s common to see students become problematic when they don’t have a firm grasp of the material. Every student learns at a different pace, so tutoring challenging students can keep them on the same page as everyone else.
Start Taking Appropriate Action If You’re a Teacher
Teachers shouldn’t immediately punish a student if they’re acting out of line. It’s crucial to analyze the situation and determine what the appropriate action should be. For example, a student that’s on their phone in class shouldn’t get suspended. Instead, they could be given detention if they continue to use the device after a warning.
If you’re a teacher, start taking a closer look at your students and decide what you can do to help them. Whether it’s tutoring or having a simple conversation, you can help your students. Coming up with a student behavior reflection sheet will make them self-aware as to how they behave.
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