I find it very difficult to controll adult students who become disruptive.

I like to engage the students by reversing the role and having them teach on a topic

It is important to establish rules right from the beginning on use off computers, cell phones, and all elecronics.

In today's classroom and the fluid nature of information even the worst student can trump you with the right smart phone. Admission that learning is a two way street is the best defense and a great offence as well.

I have found that once rules and expectations are established, one need only say "I" am reacting to what "you" have given me.

People are people. The examples given are caricatures. It should be a given that there are blends of the examples given and those that are missing. What of the "know it all?"

The structure of today's syllibi should reflect a paperless environment

"The problem with immediacy is that it is often self defeating", very well said, by doing everything at once leads one to commit mistakes and it slows down progress of an instructor. Prioritizing, list importance of work and doing it in order is the good way. A good point.

When difficult situations arise in the classroom setting and are not dealt with, the student then takes same behavior/attitude to clinical settings. Clinical sites should not be the place to start dealing with situations/inappropriate behavior. Students in the field represent our profession and our employers. Thank you for this discussion.

Did not know of this information since it is my first time teaching

Good class now I know how to deal with all tyoes of attitudes

Good Class

Don't you love these students. Fortunately, these are the minority, but take the majority of your time. I have found it helpful to document all my interactions with them in an unofficial journal format. This includes formal meetings with documented forms, but also in passing or during a break when they come talk to you. This is incredibly helpful when they come back to you 2 weeks later and state something you said, but with their own 'twist' on it. You can refer to your notes, times, dates, etc and that usually sends a strong message about the assignment deadline or grade. How do you deal with these students effectively?

I could not count the number of times students of mine have brought personal problems to my attention. It almost seemed like it occurred on a daily basis. What I did to conteract this was to listen, not give my opinion on the issue, and squash it as quickly as possible. As much as I wanted to relate to them or give personal experiences, I could not; especially if it involved outside-the-classroom experiences. The reason why I avoid these issues is the notion of professionalism. Am I there to be their counselor or am I there to be their instructor? I had to ask myself that question on multiple occurances during this past semester. I wanted to share my experiences at times, but I knew my decision was the right thing. I am not their "buddy," I am their instructor. I saw this even more within a high school setting, but that is another topic. Drawing that line is key to become a good instructor.

During this past semester, I had a student who always wanted to "push my buttons." I do not know if it was because he didn't like me or because of his personality. Either way, I addressed the issue. I took the student aside during class and talked to him about his actions. We discussed a few things, and mainly, his actions were due to his grade. He was not doing well in this class, and in my opinion, he wanted to voice this through his comments in class. After discussing things he could do better, the student became less of a distractio, but. unfortunately ended up dropping the class. In my opinion, he evaluated his responsibilites and realized were he was lacking. If he would've given more effort, I believe the outcome would be different. For this reason, I believe re-addressing responsibilites is key. It reminds students that they are here to better themselves. It is not a place socialize and cause disruptions.

During this past semester, one thing I've observed, during "down time," is students' use of facebook. Now, when I say down time, I mean time which is used to work on projects or group assignments. Students who went on facebook were students who finished early! Well, my question is why did they finish early? How well is their work completed? If I've learned one thing during this past semester, NO MORE FACEBOOK! Also, no more use of computers in class, unless the use is for school work. I could not tell you how many times students, who used facebook alot, had late assignments or incomplete work. These students are more obliged to finishing their work quickly will ill-regard of proficiency. They just want to hop on facebook...

As a new instructor, having this element within your syllabus is key. I say this for a few reason. As a new instructor, if I did not provide this element early, students would walk all over me and use this to their advantage. For example, if they submit something late, they could come back to me and say, "it is was never outlined in the syllabus." I will have little room to talk and my report with students will be tarnished. This will reflect on my abilities as a teacher for semesters to come. And second, if this is noticed by students, some may take full advantage of this. They will not submit things on time because there are zero repurcussions.

Hi Dr. Read, I was once a procrastinator during my younger years. What a relief when I started to learn prioritizing my tasks. I eventually learned to organize my priorities and able to plan ahead of time. I realized things got better and I was less stressed. It made me more efficient in completing a task or tasks in a short amount of time. I carried this on to this day. Moreover, I also learned to anticipate possible tasks and "insert" this in my "to do list" or put the word "NOTE" at the bottom of my list as a reminder that the anticipated task/s may come up in the near future. This helps me organize my frame of mind, thus avoiding being "surprised" when this/these task/s come/s about. This helped me a lot in my personal life and at work. However, I am not sure whether this "anticipation" of tasks may be only appropriate to those people who are in the same workplace for a period of time and long enough to know the "ins and outs" of the company and people they are working with. However, it serves me well.

I have used ice breakers in the classroom numerous times. This has helped both new and returning students to get to know each other. One ice breaker I do is to have them split up in pairs, asking each other a few questions, such as Name, favorite vacation, favorite food, and one thing no one would ever guess about you. I always caveat it with that the answers need to be clean and nothing that would be uncomfortable sharing.

A healthy way I have learned to cope with the stress of every day life is walking. I put my tennis shoes on, and my ear buds in my ears and hit the ground walking. I have more energy, feel less stress, and overall....I am more healthy.