Tips for Classroom Management
Include behavioral norms and expectations from your students in the course syllabus. These include:
- Rules regarding attendance, punctuality, make up exams, ect.
- Issues of Academic Integrity (e.g. cheating, plagiarism, ect.)
- Guidelines for civil classroom discussion, even if there are passionate disagreements
- Be aware of campus resources and be prepared to make appropriate referrals (Counseling and Psychological Services, Office for Students with Disabilities, Dean of Students) Document incidents through the incident reporting system even if minor. This may be important at a later date to show a pattern of behavior.
- If a student is posing a threat to him/her or others, or becomes physically or verbally abusive, FAU Police should be contacted immediately and an incident report should be submitted to the Dean of Students office. It is often a mistake to assume that aggressive behavior will stop on its own. Err on the side of safety.
- In other events of deliberate classroom disruption, it is important to deal with the behavior in calm, courteous and direct fashion before it escalates.
- If the disruptive behavior does not cease you may ask a particular student to refrain from the disruptive behavior and ask that he/she come see you after class, so you can address the problem(s) in private. When you meet with the student, explain why you consider this type of behavior inappropriate, stress your behavioral expectations for your students and warn the student that further occurrences of disruptive behavior may result in disciplinary action.
- If the behavior is repeated or the student exhibits a different disruptive behavior, the student should be given a written as well as a verbal warning.
- If the disruptive behavior continues, you may ask the student to leave the class. If the student refuses to leave, you may call FAU Police for assistance. A disruptive student who is asked to leave or who is removed from class should, as soon as practicable, be given the opportunity to meet with you to discuss his/her behavior. You may wish to ask your college's associate dean, or some other appropriate person, to be present.
The fact that a disruptive student has a disability should not inhibit you from acting on inappropriate behavior. For more information contact the Student Accessibility Services at 561-297-3880, www.fau.edu/sas/
Any information that you learn while speaking with a disruptive student privately should be handled in a private manner. You may only discuss the case with campus officials who have a legitimate educational interest such as your Department Chair or the Dean of Students.
Resources for Faculty:
University Police: 561-297-3500, www.fau.edu/police
Dean of Students: 561-297-3542, www.fau.edu/dean