Transcript Encouraging Classroom Civility

Encouraging
Classroom Civility
Joseph S. Clark
Center for Teaching and Learning
Academic and Professional Program Services
The Florida State University
Note: Quotations appearing throughout this slideshow are from a Chronicle discussion on classroom
incivility (http://chronicle.com/colloquy/98/rude/re.htm) and are NOT intended as advice!
What’s Uncivil?
What do you consider uncivil?
What’s Uncivil?
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Active vs. Passive (Middendorf)
Disruption & Interference (UCET/UF)
Physical vs. Psychological
Situational and Universal Factors
Why does it matter?
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Effects on faculty
Effects on students
“Given the fact that all power to discipline has
been removed from the classroom professor, I
have found that the best way to deal with such
problems is to let them defuse themselves, and
then give such students a failing grade, which
they can always appeal. If they cannot figure
out why they failed, then they do not belong in
college.” - Scott Glotzer, Adjunct Assistant
Professor, William Paterson University, CUNY:
Lehman College
Cultural Factors
“While history is replete with gripes of disruptive students and
generational grudge matches, these traditional elements are now being
played out within the context of a cultural transformation that has just
begun and is not at all well defined. …[E]lements of consumerism, a
"Wal-Mart" society, and the crisis of adult authority [are] the roots of
the problem. Student bashing, professor bashing, and of course,
administrator bashing also creep into the discussion.” -- Roger P.
Davis, Professor of History, University of Nebraska at Kearney
Cultural Factors
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“Millenial Students” (UCSC)
“Crisis of Authority” (UCET/UF)
Stress (Baldwin)
Institutional Factors
“The complaint was about grades -- my complaint, incidentally, was about
unruly behavior. Several administrators believed the students. None believed me
-- one even claimed that I was the cause of the unruly behavior. It will never be
right until administrators cease catering to the students and realize, ultimately,
that their faculty are a far more precious resource than students (who are merely
inventory, not consumers).” -- C. Robert Phillips, III, Professor of Classics &
Ancient History; Lehigh University
“’Three warnings and you're out of the classroom,’ should be clearly stated on
the syllabus. The professor should have the support of administration in
enforcing rules that govern appropriate classroom behavior. Administration
needs to emphasize that students are representatives of the university -- and their
behavior reflects on that university.” -- Shirley M. Joiner, Ph.D., Independent
Scholar
Institutional Factors
“[A]re the problems that arise in large-group lectures (which so easily
degenerate into an information-transmission form of address with no productive,
individualised interaction between tutor and students or among students) also to
be seen in small-group classes or seminars or workshops (say up to 30 students)
where students are expected to talk and listen to one another and participate
actively in constructing their own learning?” -- Dr. Derek Rowntree, Professor of
Educational Development, The Open University (UK)
Institutional Factors
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Lack of instructor training
“Culture of Silence”
Large or mediated classrooms
Lack of community
Increased diversity
Discipline-specific issues
Lack of administrative support
Student Factors
“Freshmen behave like they’re on a chicken farm. It
takes them ten minutes to settle down and they
become restless ten minutes before the class ends.”
“These students are awful. They’re loud,
disrespectful and totally uninterested. I want to line
them all up and beat them with a fire hose.”
Carbone, “Students Behaving Badly in Large
Classes,” quoting from Allen, 1998
Student Factors
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“Bad manners”
Lack of Self-Monitoring
Boredom
Cultural differences
Anonymity
Emotional Disturbances (Amada)
Collisions in Race,
Ethnicity, Gender
When is uncivilized behavior a
multicultural issue?
Instructor Factors
“[A]s a European white male, I have little problem keeping order. I have thrown
students out of class, I have stopped in mid-sentences and waited for silence, and I
have told students they are not paying for a grade but for my expertise. I have done
this and more and never had a complaint about my methods in maintaining order. In
fact many students have expressed approval.
However, colleagues who are female and/or of a non-white European background have
had very different experiences.” -- Fred Fejes, Associate Professor Florida Atlantic
University
Instructor Factors
“As one who has dedicated his career to preparing teachers, I always recommend that
teachers first examine their own behavior when faced with student disruptions and
inappropriate deportment. Though it is much easier to blame classroom problems on
poorly behaved students, good teachers (even teachers in higher education) can do
much to mitigate against such problems.” -Sam Minner, James H. Quillen Chair Of Excellence In Teaching And Learning
“It is very important for us to remember that the demeanor we bring to our classrooms
on the first day sets the tone for the semester/quarter. I have learned that the students'
initial perceptions of the instructor/professor stay with them to the end.” -- Thomas J.
Ernster, MA, Instructor of English- Hamilton College, Cedar Rapids, IA; Adjunct
instructor of Writing- Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, IA
Instructor Factors
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Lack of “Immediacy”
Clarity
Enforcement
“Expertise problem”
Gender, Race, Ethnicity
Preemptive Steps
“I believe it is necessary to explain to the class up front what you expect, what they can
expect and then live by that. . . . I find that when behavior is part of the class culture and
work, it ends much better. . . . When a student must create a relationship with the teacher as
well as with peers in a class, I think that civility comes more easily.” -- Dr. Luke Kahlich,
Temple University
“It's becoming more important to include in your course outline details on what you expect
as acceptable behavior. This should include anything that you feel will interrupt the
atmosphere of the class environment. We include a tear-off portion of the last page, signed
by the students, stating that they agree to the conditions on the outline. It is then up to the
professor to enforce these conditions.” -- Jeffrey F. Koodin, Department Chair
Preemptive Steps
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Set the ground rules
(collaboratively?)
List specific unacceptable behaviors
Explain why (philosophy/values)
Model correct behavior: tone
Method for taking feedback
Preemptive Steps
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Sample syllabi
Syllabus worksheet
Ongoing Strategies
“(W)e need to ensure that our presentations are well thought out and well organized
and, if such technology is available to us at our institution, prepare visual support, such
as Power Point slides, to supplement our verbal presentations. Not only might such
support help with decorum by at least entertaining those few who seem to know how to
behave appropriately when bored, we also provide learning support for the students in
our classes who learn best visually.” -- Ruth Fischer, Associate Director of
Composition & WAC, George Mason University
“I have adopted the policy of addressing all of my students by last names, preceded by
the generic titles of courtesy, 'Ms.,' or 'Mr.," as a reactive measure to multiple students
taking the liberty of addressing me by my first name. My 'last name only' policy is my
way of immediately informing my students that teacher/student dialogue is to be
conducted in a mutually respectful forum.” -- Ruby Evans, Professor of Statistics
Ongoing Strategies
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Model correct behavior
Use active learning and interactivity
Teach civility through activities
(Baldwin)
Don’t rescue or enable (Reed)
Arrange for feedback & observation
Dealing with Episodes
“The ground rules are made clear: enthusiasm and heat are expected and encouraged, but I
will broach no personal attacks, racist/sexist/etc. slurs, or intimidation. It's inevitable,
however, that in the heat of argument, things will sometimes "slip out"; statements will be
made that can be interpreted as intimidating, rude, or bigoted. Indeed, sometimes a student
will recoil after making a particularly vitriolic statement, having come face-to-face with a
prejudice, an intolerance, or an anger that he or she had never acknowledged before.
“When this occurs we stop the discussion, take a couple of breaths, and confront what just
happened -- if an apology is called for, it's usually given willingly; if not, the student(s)
and I can meet after class to discuss the matter further.” -- D.G. Whiteis, Indiana-Purdue
University at Ft. Wayne
Dealing with Episodes
Tips from practitioners
Dealing with Episodes
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Address it lest you be seen as
condoning it
Address facts rather than feelings
Respond appropriately to passive
vs. active incivilities
Consider your own role
Dealing with Episodes
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“Gracious Public Embarrassment”
(Carbone)
Ask student to meet outside class
Point out impact on other students
Ask student to leave?
Dealing with Episodes
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Threats require immediate law
enforcement response
Document serious episodes
Consider roles of Health Services,
Judicial System
Dealing with Episodes
Tip summary (Wager)