18.4 Classroom Attitude and Behavior

We have all experienced it, a class where the dynamics are great and there is a fantastic rapport; things are firing on all cylinders. If you are unlucky you might have encountered the exact opposite. There is proverbial hand-to-hand combat every class and every week. They do not like you or the way the course is going, and the feeling is mutual. Both parties cannot wait for the term to end. In some cases, multiple instructors might be experiencing the same situation with the same students. We have seen cases where senior students were embarrassed by a certain cohort passing through behind them; and the faculty was also waiting for the 'special' group to just graduate, leave the building. Situations as bad as this are rare (thank goodness), but they can still occur. It can go from a few students with an attitude and disruptive behavior, to a clique, to almost the whole class.

Thoughts…

• How does it get this way? It might be something that happened in a previous term. It might just be the unique mix of individuals in the class, feeding off of each other, getting into a group think situation. In sociology, the mass crowd behavior, the following, the group think situations are studied and there are many factors and dynamics at play. It might be because of something that happened in a concurrent course. It might be because of what has happened in your class.
• It can be because of a perceived wrong or a real one. It might be because of an unfortunate miscommunication, or the accurate interpretation of dialog. It is possible to accidentally turn a class from a positive relationship to a negative one on a dime. Once turned, it can be almost impossible to correct.
• Students like it to be a fair, equitable situation. Unfortunately, what they might consider fair and equitable might not be what the instructor or institution considers fair or equitable. For example, if a sizeable portion of the class is found in violation of academic integrity, they might not hold themselves accountable, neither might their friends, they might find excuses that (to them) justify or excuse their actions and woebegone the instructor who figures out what is going on and calls 25% of the class up on the carpet.
• Or, to the students, the expectation might be that 100% of the students should be able to get at least an 80%. This might not be a feasible or reasonable expectation, but it might be their view of reality.
• The students might be what we call entitled, ‘special’, and if they do not get what they think they are entitled to, this can create a problem for the instructor.
• It is not possible to change someone else’s beliefs simply by telling to believe something else, or to change their behavior. If there is a feeling of disrespect, being hard done by, etc., it is not clear what can be done in a few weeks to correct the situation.

Mitigation...

There are somethings which can be done to mitigate or avoid some of the issues, but sadly, the following do not address all of the above examples. In some cases, you can just wait for the end of time and hope that it comes quickly. It is not possible to avoid all conflicts, to fix all issues.

• Try to nip things in the bud, as soon as possible. Do not let things fester and deteriorate.

• If possible, have a good relationship with a class representative for early feedback.
• Do not be defensive is there is an issue. This can be perceived in a negative way and can add to the problem.
• Take the high ground on any situation that has a grey area and accept it, own it, discuss why the situation might have happened, and deal with marks etc. (see the note on Eating Your Mistakes).
• Be gracious and have empathy. You are the adult here.
• If necessary, bring in a third party to discuss both sides of a situation. The students might not feel comfortable raising issues with an instructor because of the power structure and fear of retribution. The students should also have a neutral voice they can turn to; to raise an issue.
• Do not just be fair and neutral with respect to assignments etc., but be seen to be fair and neutral.
• Reduce the uncertainty that surrounds ‘why didn’t I get a mark for that?’, ‘why did xyz get a higher mark?’; ensure that the students know the benchmark, baseline, and how they performed relative to it.
• Provide them information so that they can improve. So that they have an opportunity for redemption, and a chance to demonstrate their mastery. Less than this will be seen as punitive justice and harsh.
• Students will expect that you have been careful with assignments and course activities and have done appropriate, due diligence to test things in advance, to make sure that things will go well (as well as well can be) and that you are not callous about the students’ time, effort, and unnecessary angst. If you have not done your job, the students might have a valid reason to have a non-productive attitude. 

Further reading

• Burroughs, N.F., Kearney, P. and T.G. Plax (1989). Compliance-resistance in the college classroom. Communication Education, 38, 3, pp. 214-229.
• Braden, S.W. and B.N. Smith (2006). Managing the College Classroom: Perspectives from an Introvert and an Extrovert. College Quarterly, 9, 1, pp. 1-9.