How to Handle Disruptive Students: A Guide for Teachers

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A survey showed that more than 70 percent of elementary school teachers found an increase in disruptive students in their class recently. We all know you can find these students in all grade levels but do we know exactly how to handle disruptive students?

As a teacher, you've already learned many tips and tricks to get you to your position. Handling disruptive students doesn't have to be as difficult as you might think!

There are simple ways that you can deal with students who disrupt your class so you can continue teaching and move on with your day. 

Keep reading for our guide for teachers so you can learn how to handle disruptive students. 

Create a Relationship With Your Students

When it comes to being a teacher you should want your students to like you. The best way to do this is to build a relationship with them. When you create a relationship with them, then you can gain their support and trust which could, in turn, eliminate distractions.

Of course, teaching isn't a popularity contest either and you still want to remain as an authority figure in their eyes. There are still ways that you can form a meaningful relationship with the students that you teach each day. 

How do you build a relationship with a difficult student? Start by listening to them and ask for their opinions about your class. Figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are so you can help them out when needed. 

Develop a Plan

Now you're in your classroom with a bunch of misbehaving students so you need to sort them out. The best way to do this is to develop a plan for how you will deal with them. 

Most of the time one difficult student turns into a group of disruptive students and the best thing you can do is split them up. Figuring out where the most challenging students sit should be your main plan.

You should also try to limit distractions from your disruptive students. Are they distracted by the doors, windows, drinking fountains, or anything else in your classroom? Try to put difficult students by students who won't distract them on your seating chart. 

Stay in Charge

When dealing with difficult students you will want to make sure that you always stay in charge. Sometimes they might just want to see how far that they can push you. 

Before getting angry at a disruptive student, take a deep breath. Staying calm is key in this situation. You do not want to raise your voice or yell because it could encourage more disruptive behavior from the students in your class. 

Remain Silent

Have you heard of the phrase "silent but deadly?" This can totally work in the classroom too!

One thing that many teachers do when the classroom is loud and disruptive is to stand in front of the classroom and silently stare. It might take a minute or two for your classroom to get the hint but after a while, they will start to calm down. 

It might take just one student to get the hint and then that student will convince everyone else in the room to be quiet. From there you can continue teaching as if nothing ever happened. 

This is a good method because you're standing your ground as an authoritative figure but you don't have to yell or say anything for your students to take the hint and quiet down. You can continue teaching without saying a single word about their disruptive behavior and the best part is that they'll probably be quiet for the rest of the class period. 

Reward Acceptable Behavior

Positive reinforcement is something that has worked for years to teach animals, babies, children, and even adults. Children love receiving praise when they do something good so make sure to reward their behavior when it is acceptable. 

You can't reward every small task that they do but make sure to go out of your way to praise the difficult students when they do something positive. 

One way to reward your class is by making a weekly chart. If they get through a lesson without any disruptions, then they can earn a sticker. Once they've earned a certain amount of stickers, then you can reward them with a big prize. 

Remember to Respect Your Students

Just because you're dealing with disruptive students doesn't mean that you should disrespect them or treat them poorly. Sometimes students act out in class for reasons that teachers are unaware of.

It could be problems at home, problems with other students, or just problems that they're dealing with outside of school. 

Make sure that when you're dealing with a disruptive student that you don't let them know that you're upset with them but rather with their behavior. Your students should know that it is their behavior that is upsetting you and not them as a person. 

Shaming or embarrassing disruptive students is also very harmful to their mental health. If you need to punish them or reprimand them for their behavior, then make sure that you do it in private. 

Privately talking to your student is also a great way to get some background information on why they're acting the way that they do in class. You can see if they are experiencing more problems outside of school which is making them act this way. 

This is a much better way to handle a disruptive student than disrespecting them or being disappointed in them. 

Learning How to Handle Disruptive Students

When you're a teacher it can be difficult to learn how to handle disruptive students. As long as you take it a day at a time and don't overthink it, then you'll be handling these students in no time. 

Being a teacher is such a rewarding job that you shouldn't let a few disruptive students stress you and ruin your time. 

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