Each class will come with students that can be challenging - those who want to give up and quit, manipulators, distractors, and center stagers. To some extent, students that are acting out want or need attention from the instructor. Some students may be overwhelmed with life stresses and pressures of school, and they end up thinking they cannot follow through with their educational goals and want to quit. They need personal attention to suggest possible resources to help with their stressors and to help them feel like they are a valued part of the class. Manipulators want to bend the rules regarding assignments and deadlines. Typically they have been successful in their role as a manipulator. One way to handle this behavior is to have a very thorough and clear syllabus; review the syllabus on the first day in class, and have each student sign the syllabus. When the student requests special consideration for an assignment the syllabus can be pulled out and the policy for late work (or whatever is in question) can be reviewed with the student. Students who consistently distract from the class by talking or using their phone can sometimes be shut down by standing near them during lectures, asking them to summarize the lecture at the end of class, or by moving them to the front row. Students who always need to be center stage may need a private meeting to encourage them to let other students have a chance to respond. They can also be given a classroom job (such as recorder) or given a certain number of tickets; each time they contribute they must surrender one ticket - when they are out of tickets they are out of opportunities to chime in.
