Disruptive and Intimidating Student Behavior
I'll admit I was amused reading the descriptions of both Disruptive and Intimidating student behavior in the online classroom, if only because it supported my personal observations. It was interesting to read precise and somewhat straight-forward assessments of what to expect and how to handle students who exhibit these traits. As a veteran of both online teaching and on-ground teaching, I've seen quite a few of these traits in my classroom.
The trouble is there are so many types of people that are Disruptive and Intimidating in individual and creative ways. It is very hard to categorize any of them in a completely certain way or to apply remedies that will work in every situation.
I have been very lucky over the years. I have not yet had any disruptive students in online courses.
Sandra,
Neither have I, and if I did I do not feel I would be very understanding or accomodating. I have a zero tolerance policy on unprofessional, disruptive or intimidating behavior in an on campus or online course.
Herbert Brown III
I agree with Gary. Student behavior online is a reflection of the student personalities, and personalities have too many dimensions to be strictly labelled as "disruptive" or "intimidating".
I have encountered some students with intimidating and disruptive traces of behavior, though. To disarm the former, I usually rely on reminding both course objectives and grading systems. To deal with the latter, you have to be very clear with course policies and also learning objectives. You need to stand up against their behavior, or they will probably escalate even further, but you need to be very careful not to stoop to their level or show traces of abusing your authority, or you can play the whole course against yourself. It is a delicate balance, but not anything you cannot master with a little practice.
I believe it is more difficult to manage these students and prevent these behaviors in an asynchronous environment. Often there is quite a bit of time could elapse between the behavior and when I see it. A key for me would be to address it right when it happens. If I do not see a disruptive comment in a discussion forum for 12-15 hours then damage to the morale of other students may have already been done.
Brian,
Excellent point. It is difficulty to catch every posting that might be an issue. If you are doing peer-evaluations in student work that can be problematic for the same reason. One student might give another feedback that their work is excellent when in reality the work does not in anyway address the assignment. Then the student is confused when they do poorly on the assignment. That constant monitoring seems to be the only resolution, but is very difficult in practice.
Herbert Brown III
Katina,
"As a veteran of both online teaching and on-ground teaching, I've seen quite a few of these traits in my classroom."
While I know it exists I have rarely experienced this the few times that I have. I have come to learn that this is a student that is both smart and bored. To resolve this I usually devise additional projects to challenge the student and keep them occupied.
