Influences in the Teaching Environment

Introduction

Class room environment can be adversely influenced by disruptive behavior. This can further affect education experience of students and teaching experience of instructor. Disruptive behavior refers to the kind of behaviors which might obstruct the aptitude of faculty to teach and ability o02f students to learn. The purpose of this document is to explore some of the classroom disruptive behaviors and how they can be managed using some classroom management strategies.

Discussion

What is considered disruptive by one teacher might be normal for others. There exist no predefined criteria for labeling a certain behavior as destructive in the classroom. However certain sets of behaviors are generally acknowledged as being disruptive by almost every teacher. To control these behaviors a well defined, organized class room management strategy is implemented which focuses effective and appropriate academic instruction. If such plan is not implemented, it might itself serve as a contributing factor to the disruptive behaviors. The reliability of any strategic intervention in classroom management might be acutely compromised if environment is not considered. The document will identify some of the disruptive behaviors and strategies to prevent them from disturbing the class room learning environment.

Aggressive behavior

Aggressive behavior by students is very distasteful to majority of the teachers. Not only aggressive behavior creates hostile environment but triggers other adverse behavioral consequences like defiant behaviors and emotional disturbances, which negatively affect the learning and teaching process. Aggressive behavior includes threatening peers, damaging property, arguments, quarrels, bullying etc.

Whenever a teacher is caught up in a situation with aggressive disruptive behavior of student then his/her response to aggressive behavior should be (to the maximum level possible) non-aggressive and instructive. Non-aggressive responses include response cost strategy (removal of points, marks, tokens etc earned by student); using non verbal reminders and signals; deprivation of desired activities and remaining firm on your decisions about student. Access to potential victim of aggression must be hampered. The instructor must offer constant supervision and tackle the factors of aggression. Violence itself must not only be handled but factors contributing to violence must be (for example making two enemies sit as far as possible). Verbal warnings, used frequently, like shouting or screaming on students have been found to reinforce the aggressive behavior instead of reducing them. Students likely to cause aggression will respond to use of warning “signals” more than a verbal talk. It is important for teachers to respond and not to react vigorously (Evans, & Lovell, 1979).

Grandstanding

Grandstanding is a very common disruptive classroom issue. It refers to the way students can use classroom discussions as an opportunity to discuss their favorite topics no matter how irrelevant it might be. They might not coordinate with the topic and class room discussion thereby causing disturbance in class, the students are diverted from actual topic and time is wasted. Other students can use the class-room as venue for social communication with their peers, discussing personal stories and details which are off putting not only for teachers but for students who ...