by Julie Dodd

“How do you deal with discipline problems?”

That was a question I was asked when I led a session at the University of Florida’s orientation for new teaching assistants.

That’s not a question that is limited to new instructors. Those of us who are experienced teachers deal with discipline problems, too.

One of the keys to dealing with discipline problems is trying to prevent those problems in the first place.

That’s what drew me to David Kirp’s New York Times article “Don’t Suspend Students. Empathize.” The article deals with student disclipline at the K-12 level, but the heart of the issue is relevant in higher ed, too.

Kirp discussed the research by Jason Okonofua, an assistant professor of Psychology at the University of California / Berkeley. Okonofua’s research examines how the teacher’s perception of student behavior impacts the way the teacher responds to the behavior – and that changing the teacher’s perception can lead to a different response to the student’s behavior. He found that when teachers better understood students’ situations and develop a rapport with them that the teachers could better empathize with the students.

Let me share a few examples from my own university experience.

Students who arrive late to class

I taught a large auditorium course with about 150-250 students. Typically, I’d have a dozen students arriving after I’d started class. Are these students being disrespectful in arriving late?

Once I saw the being-late pattern, I talked with a few of these late students, I realized that the problem was a late bus. UF has a large campus and 15 minutes between class periods. Many of the students rely on busses to get around the campus. So if a bus was late, that could mean a dozen students were late to class.

I certainly could identify with the issue of trying to be on time but being late due to factors beyond their control. [Telling them to take an earlier bus wasn’t an option for most, as they were in another class the previous class period before my class.]

I included in the syllabus that I was aware of late buses. I asked students who arrived late (late bus or other issue) to quietly enter the auditorium and sit in the back, rather than walking down the aisle to the front, which could be disruptive to me and the other students. I’d talk about this in class, too  – waiting to make the announcement until the late bus arrived.

I’d also say that anyone arriving late was responsible for checking with a classmate – not me – about what they may have missed. I found that using the two or three minutes at the beginning of class to make announcements was a great way to use the time productively but not be deep into the content of that day’s class so that those who arrived a few minutes late had lost the launching of that day’s class.

The students knew that I understood their situation, and they understood their responsibilities if they arrived late. That worked for me, and quite a few students would tell me that they appreciated me being aware of late buses and not penalizing them – or calling them out when they arrived late.

If someone is chronically late (not a late bus situation), that merits a one-on-one conversation to see what may be the problem. Especially for students new to higher ed or from cultures that are not as focused on the clock as the U.S. is, they may not realize why being on time to class is important.

Students using smartphones and laptops during class

Student use of technology is one of the potential student discipline issues in the college classroom. But I found that if I thought about technology use from the student’s perspective, that would help me not see every student on a smartphone or laptop as being off task.

Of course, an important first step is to have a class policy about technology use and talk about the policy in class.

And you need to design your class instruction to be engaging – not simply restating what’s in the assigned reading. Very few instructors can go class after class with non-stop lecturing and maintain the students’ attention.

In a smaller class, I’ve found talking with a student before or after class is the best way to discuss technology use.

“I saw you were checking your phone today throughout class. Is everything OK?” I’d ask.

Most often I’d get one of three responses:

Response #1 — “I didn’t know that you’d notice.” – Often that would be said a little sheepishly, as they know they shouldn’t be texting. That response lets you have a discussion about why texting or checking Facebook can be a deterrent to their performance in class.

Response #2 – “I was on my laptop because that works best for me for taking notes.” – And that is true for many students. You’ll have to consider how to address that. I often found a good approach was to say something like: “OK, but remember that a skill of note taking is not typing everything.” Or “OK but if I see you smiling and I haven’t made a joke, I’m going to think you aren’t taking notes.” You know the student is on task, and the student knows the boundaries.

Response #3 – “My sister went into labor this morning. I was checking to see if she’s had the baby.” (Or the roommate is at the vet with the sick dog, the grandmother has been taken to the hospital, etc.)

Sometimes you may need to contact the student via the course management system or email if you can’t work out talking with them before or after class.

Students sleeping in class

From time to time, a student will nod off in class. I’d advise against saying something in front of the class about the sleeping student. Calling out the student will be embarassing to the student – who may remember only that incident when the time comes to complete the course evaluation. Also, other students will see that as punitive.

Yes, a few of those sleeping students have had a late night of partying. But the majority of those sleeping students – if you would ask them – have reasons you can empathize with.

At the end of class one day, I caught up with a student who had fallen asleep during class – sitting near the front of the auditorium.

“Looks like you had a long night,” I said with a concerned tone. “Is everything OK?”

He told me that he’d had to move his work schedule to the night shift as it paid more and his wife had lost her job.

Sometimes students will tell you about noisy roommates, their parents’ divorce or financial problems that are causing them to lose sleep. You can’t solve every problem, but you sometimes can help them with strategies, including setting up an appointment with an appropriate support person on campus, like the counseling office or student health.

Discipline problems do occur in the college classroom. But some of what you, as the teacher, may initially consider to be a discipline problem may, in fact, be a situation that you can help the student with – eliminating the perceived discipline issue and building a better relationship between you and the student.