Read: Managing Difficult Situations

Read ThisManaging Difficult Situations

While there are many positive aspects to serving as a UTA, it is also likely that you will be faced with situations that may be difficult or uncomfortable. These might include requests for special accommodations, being confronted with dissatisfaction regarding grades or academic dishonesty, behavioral issues, and others. Depending on the situation, it may be something that you can 1) handle on your own; 2) take the first step in handling; or 3) refer to your faculty supervisor or to one of the student services available at UCF. Regardless of the extent of your involvement, be sure to treat each student with respect and patience.

The roles and responsibilities assigned to you by your faculty supervisor will influence the types of problems with which you may be confronted. For example, if you are assigned to hold office hours, conduct a review session, and/or proctor exams, you are more likely to encounter "behavioral" problems. This reading focuses on student behavioral issues. Examples of these types of problems include students who display anger or who engage in disruptive, distracting, or monopolizing behaviors. A description of each of these behaviors and recommended tactics for managing them are listed in the following table.

Types of Behavior Description Tactics
Angry Expression of strong feelings of annoyance, irritation, hostility, or similar emotions
  • Remain calm
  • Be aware of your non-verbal behavior (i.e., avoid eye-rolling; arm crossing; etc.)
  • Listen respectfully; hear the student's point of view
  • If the issue is related to an error you made, acknowledge it and demonstrate your eagerness to resolve the error
  • If the issue is not something over which you have control or authority, inform the student that you will bring their concern to your faculty supervisor
  • If the expression of anger is such that you feel threatened, calmly remove yourself form the situation and seek help
Distracting Making comments/asking questions that are unrelated to the topic at hand; distracting habits or mannerisms
  • Be respectful and tactful, but move the conversation back on track using "redirecting" language
  • Examples of redirecting language:
    • "I wasn't aware of that (or - that's interesting). Since it's not directly related to what we're talking about now, let's save it for another time."
    • "I would love to hear more about that after class, but for now, let's focus on (topic)."
  • Recognize that some students may be unaware of their distracting habits or mannerisms. Try talking with the student individually about the specific behavior and how they might modify or extinguish it.
Disruptive Behavior that interferes with normal group activities - making loud noises; speaking out of turn; holding side conversations with others; failing to silence their phone; walking in and out of class to take phone calls; etc.
  • At the beginning of a review session or group meeting, set some ground rules (e.g., please raise your hand if you have a question or something to contribute; please silence your cell phone; please avoid side conversations; etc.)
  • If students forget to follow the ground rules, find a tactful way to address the group about the behavior. For example, if there is a lot of chatter in the room, you might say, "We seem to have a lot of conversations going on right now. Is there something in particular that is confusing you?"
Monopolizing When a student consistently takes up a disproportionate amount of class time
  • Use redirecting language. For example,
    • "Thank you for those ideas. Let's take a few minutes to hear what others in the group think about this topic."
    • "You've asked some good questions. Let's see who else has questions before our review time is over."
    • "I love your enthusiasm for discussing this. Let's take a few minutes to hear what others think"

When a situation is something that you cannot or should not handle on your own, find a way to remove yourself tactfully and calmly from the situation, and arrange a meeting with your faculty supervisor to discuss what happened. In preparation for your meeting, think through some potential ideas for resolving the issue. Present the background and facts succinctly in a clear, objective manner. If the student involved in the situation is in danger/crisis or others are in danger because of the student's behavior, be sure to seek immediate help.

Of course, there is no way to anticipate every scenario with which you might be confronted; however, having the opportunity to work through some scenarios is a way to begin exploring options for how to respond and for gaining confidence in your thought process. It is likely that some or all of you have had very little experience handling these types of situations, so in this week's class meeting, we'll be working in small groups to formulate approaches you might take to handling a variety of scenarios.

References

Amada G. Coping with Misconduct in the College Classroom: A Practical Model. Prospect, CT: Biographical Publishing Company, 2015.

Spalding D. How to Teach Adults: Plan Your Class. Teach Your Students. Change the World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014.