How To Handle Disruptive

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How To Handle Disruptive Dangerous Behavior 10
Innovative Approaches To Addressing Mental Health
Issues on Campus

• Dr. Brian Van Brunt
• Senior VP of Professional Program Development
• brian_at_ncherm.org

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Introduction
Confidence, Humility Timing
Grace Mercy Awareness
Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself
Consult Exert Control
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Introduction

• Vignettes from seasoned faculty that provide
  thoughtful reflections and advice from everyday
  experience
• Research-based suggestions and intervention
  techniques to help faculty better assess,
  intervene, and manage difficult behavior
• Coverage of special populations, including
  nontraditional, veteran, and millennial students
• Discussion of the latest laws and regulations
  that should affect and inform facultys decisions

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Introduction
Today, I will review the following 10 practical
approaches to better manage disruptive and
dangerous mental health behavior in the
classroom
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Introduction

• Disruptive Examples
• Misuse of technology in the classroom, such as
  watching loud videos on a laptop or cell phone
  ringing repeatedly
• Body odor or passing gas that affects the
  learning environment
• Use of alcohol or other substances
• Getting up frequently or kicking other students
  desks
• Frequent interruption of professor while talking
  and asking of non-relevant, off-topic questions,
  after told directly to stop
• Repeated crosstalk or carrying on side
  conversations while the professor is speaking
• Raising voice at classmates or instructor
• Emotional outbursts or other extreme
  communications in the waiting room of a campus
  office that significantly affects others

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Introduction

• Dangerous Examples
• Physical assault such as pushing, shoving or
  punching
• Throwing objects or slamming doors
• Storming out of the classroom or office when
  upset
• Direct communicated threat to professor, staff or
  another student such as I am going to kick your
  ass or If you say that again, I will end you.
• Bullying behavior focused on students in the
  classroom
• Conversations that are designed to upset other
  students such as descriptions of weapons, killing
  or death
• Psychotic, delusional or rambling speech
• Objectifying language that depersonalizes the
  professor or other students

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Confidence, Humility Timing

• 1. Confidence
• Imagine you are driving in an unfamiliar city.
  You have a general understanding of where you are
  going, but lack the on-the-ground familiarity to
  remember landmarks, look at your map and retain
  more than one or two segments of the trip.

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Confidence, Humility Timing

• 1. Confidence
• In this kind of situation, trying to also
  appreciate the landscape of the city or the
  diversity of the people are far from your mind.
  Finding the next stop sign or the turn sign that
  indicates where to get back onto the highway
  takes up all of your attention and focus.
• It can be the same for a new professor in the
  classroom or an instructor teaching new material
  for the first time. The more they are focused on
  the content, the less they are focused on the
  management of the overall classroom.

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Confidence, Humility Timing

• 1. Confidence
• It brings up the image of that old Billy Joel
  song, The Entertainer.
• Simply put, professors who entertain their
  students while teaching the materials are more
  effective, receive higher marks on course
  evaluations and, in our subjective experience,
  tend to be more satisfied with their role as a
  teacher and in their interactions with their
  students.

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Confidence, Humility and Timing

• 1. Confidence
• Were not suggesting that professors should just
  be entertaining, you know, like a clown juggling
  balls in order for students to behave well.
• We are suggesting educators who know their
  classroom material well and share it with their
  students in an creative and interesting manner
  often spend less time dealing with classroom
  disruptions since many of the students are
  focused on the content of the class.

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Confidence, Humility Timing
2. Humility

• Being an educator carries with it an element of
  responsibility and respect for the learning
  process.
• Insulting students, not communicating around
  grades and generally taking a holier-than-thou,
  arrogant stance is not only karmicly a horrible
  way to exist in the world it also increases the
  risk of violence in the classroom.
• Be a reed in the wind.

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Confidence, Humility Timing

• 3. Timing
• Like a good stand up comedian, timing is
  everything. This also applies to classroom
  management.
• Choosing the right time to handle a disruptive
  student can make all the difference in how they
  hear and, hopefully, internalize the message.
• Timing is important when we feel a pressure to
  address an issue immediately rather than
  developing a more thoughtful and measured
  approach.

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Confidence, Humility Timing

• 3. Timing
• I want to talk to you more about this after
  class or at the next free time we both have
  available.
• What you have to say is important and I want to
  make sure I understand it. Right now, I feel
  distracted and focused on getting through my
  lecture. I would rather talk later when I can
  give you my full attention in a private setting.
  
• I can see that you are upset and Im starting to
  feel a little upset as well. Lets hold onto this
  until after class when we can both talk about
  your concern.

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Confidence, Humility Timing
Share an example where confidence, humility or
timing played a part in successfully navigating a
disruptive or dangerous mental health crisis in
the classroom.

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• 4. Grace Mercy
• Our admonition to those working with disruptive,
  frustrating or annoying students is to understand
  the strength and power inherent in the
  demonstration of grace and mercy when
  encountering those who try our patience, and to
  behave in a way that demands a caring,
  developmentally appropriate corrective action.

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• 4. Grace Mercy
• Perhaps there is also an argument here for
  treating students fairly. By this we mean
  following that golden rule and treating them how
  you would like to be treated in a similar
  situation.
• The issue is not one of giving them what they
  deserve, but instead offering them an opportunity
  to climb their way back out of a hole they have
  dug themselves into. Perhaps it would help to
  recall times in our own scholarship and schooling
  where professors shared some of this grace and
  mercy with us.

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Grace Mercy Awareness
Can grace and mercy go too far in the classroom?
Discuss where these concepts can become enabling
to negative behaviors.

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• 5. Awareness
• Instructors should adopt this same approach to
  being aware, alert and watchful with their
  classes.
• They should look for disruptive and potential
  dangerous behavior and be curious about the
  potential motivation and factors that are
  contributing to making the situation worse.
• For example

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• Awareness
• Why is a student always getting into arguments?
• What might you be able to do to get ahead of this
  problem? Maybe you could talk to them after class
  about their perspective. Then again, maybe they
  just come from a family that argues a lot and
  that is normal for them, even though you may have
  never argued in your family. This might just be a
  matter of perspective.

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• 5. Awareness
• You wonder if the student is having some kind of
  emotional problem.
• They seem really sad and withdrawn from the rest
  of the class. You go to check in on them and see
  if you cant refer them to counseling services.
  You think you should be careful though, maybe
  they are just being quiet.

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Grace Mercy Awareness

• 5. Awareness
• The student seems to get teased frequently in
  your class and seems lost with much of the
  material you are covering.
• You wonder if there is some kind of learning
  problem here that is preventing them from
  understanding what is going on. Then again, they
  might just not be putting the effort into
  studying when they arent in class. Either way,
  you are going to talk to them after class and see
  if you cant offer some help.

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Grace Mercy Awareness
Share an example where a classroom management
situation turned out to be more complicated and
your awareness of other causes proved helpful.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 6. Active Listening
• Listening is one of the most effective ways of
  de-escalating a disruptive or dangerous student.
• The simple act of not talking and encouraging a
  student to share what they are upset about helps
  reduce the students desire to raise his voice,
  yell or become more frustrated with the situation
  happening around him. People yell when they are
  not feeling heard or understood.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 6. Active Listening
• When an instructor takes the time to listen to a
  student who is upset, it conveys the message that
  they are paying attention and reduces the
  students urge to escalate their behavior in
  order to be heard.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 6. Active Listening
• If you have ever watched the TV show COPS, you
  are familiar with the first step when the police
  show up to a domestic violence scene. One officer
  directs the guy in a ripped white t-shirt over to
  sit on the curb to tell his side of the story.
  The other officer talks with the wife at the
  kitchen table to listen to her version of the
  story. Like fire and gasoline, as soon as they
  get back together the couple is back at each
  others throats.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 7. Clarify
• Setting clear expectations in your syllabus and
  during your first class meeting can go a long way
  to head off disruptive behavior in the classroom.
  
• Each professor has their own personal feelings
  about what kind of classroom behavior they would
  like to see.
• Some become very upset at the idea of a student
  texting in class. Others find a baseball cap or
  hat worn in class to be disrespectful.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 7. Clarify
• Some want students to raise their hands in class
  before talking. Others encourage students to jump
  into conversations without raising their hand and
  being recognized.
• Help them know your answer to these questions
• What are your rules on attendance and
  punctuality?
• What about Academic Integrity issues?
• Do you allow food in your classroom?
• How do you handle frequent bathroom visits or any
  getting up?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 7. Clarify
• Do you encourage students to interrupt the
  lecture with questions or do you prefer them to
  wait until the end of class?
• How are students recognized? Do they have the
  floor or are you in control?
• Does gum chewing set your teeth on edge?
• Is a quick glance at a cell phone permitted or
  seen as a sign of disrespect?
• Are cell phones allowed at all?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 7. Clarify
• Spend the first class exploring
• Why did you decide to take this class?
• Is this a class for your major and future career
  or an elective you have to take?
• At the end of the semester, what standard would
  you use to measure if this class was a good one?
• What are some of the things past instructors have
  done (no names, please) that have detracted from
  your learning?
• How do you learn best? What is your preferred
  learning style?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 7. Clarify
• You have signed up for a course in the sociology
  of deviance. This course contains some graphic
  visual material, questionable language and often
  will offend or challenge your comfort zone or
  worldview. Given the nature of the course, its
  likely we will have some impassioned debates and
  discussions. I would ask that during these times
  we focus on the issues at hand, be respectful to
  one another and avoid any personal attacks,
  raised voices or talking while someone else is
  making a point or expressing their opinion. The
  point of this class is to be challenged and learn
  new ways to see the world from a different
  perspective. The best way to accomplish this is
  through listening and respectful dialogue with
  others who see things differently.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 8. Know Thyself
• This popular Greek proverb was inscribed on the
  Temple of Apollo at Delphi. While some see it as
  an admonition against boastful behavior exceeding
  what you have accomplished, it applies here for
  educators to understand how past experiences have
  effects on their current expectations in their
  classrooms.

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 8. Know Thyself
• What are your biases when it comes to
  expectations for students behavior in your
  classroom?
• Think about your own college and graduate school
  experience. Who were some of your favorite
  professors? What qualities did they possess? What
  aspects of their approach to teaching and
  classroom management have you adopted?
• Who were some of your least favorite instructors?
  What qualities did they possess? What aspects of
  their approach to teaching and classroom
  management have you avoided in your own
  experience?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 8. Know Thyself
• How was discipline and authority handled in your
  early childhood experiences in your family? In
  what ways do these early messages inform your
  current expectations for your students behavior
  in your classroom?
• What are your feelings about the incoming class
  of first-year students at your institution? How
  do these feelings influence your teaching or
  classroom management style?
• Who are the most difficult students for you to
  work with in the classroom? What kinds of
  behaviors push your buttons?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself

• 8. Know Thyself
• What attitudes about classroom management come
  from your institution and departmental
  colleagues? How do these shape your approach to
  teaching and classroom management?
• What students do you feel more connected to in
  your classroom? How do you treat them differently
  than the students you do not enjoy as much?

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Active Listening, Clarify, Know Thyself
Share an example where active listening,
clarifying your expectations (either during a
first class or in the syllabus) or knowing your
personal buttons played out in the classroom.

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Consult Exert Control

• 9. Consult
• The basic premise of all education centers on the
  idea that we are always acquiring knowledge and
  learning new ways to approach the world we live
  in.
• Consider looking to other professionals and
  colleagues to see how they approach similar
  situations you may encounter in the classroom.
• This is essential for new professors to learn how
  to approach classroom management, as they have no
  past teaching experience to draw upon.

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Consult Exert Control

• 10. Exert Control
• In some extreme cases, a disruptive student
  resists any attempt at a professors redirection
  or attempts to shift or end the argument.
• Like an individual who trolls and flames
  others on the Internet with inflammatory
  comments, the student looks for a public reaction
  and attention and will not be dissuaded or talked
  out of their prize.
• In these rare instances, the professor is left
  with only one real alternative dismiss the
  class.

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