The co-teacher loves school and everything about learning. They are usually more advanced than the rest of the class and choose to help the teacher with classroom management. They will voluntarily help other students understand when there is some misunderstanding in the class. You are lucky to have one in your class. Be mindful to remind the co-teacher that you are still the teacher and allow other students to participate during class.
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2. The Traveler
Most teachers dread the traveler, because the traveler can’t sit still and moves around the room independently. The best course of action is to design a lesson with lots of handouts or movement. Then the traveler can distribute class materials or the entire class will need to move around the class to complete a task for lesson. The traveler can also collect class materials for the teacher. If the traveler must move around the classroom, they can do so in a manner to help the teacher.
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3. The Coffee Corner
The coffee corner is that group of sitting together that is more interested in chit-chat than the lesson. The coffee corner usually involves four students sitting in the back corner of the classroom. All a teacher can do is break-up the group. I like to place each member of the “coffee corner” in desks on the four corners of the classroom.
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4. The Class Pet
The class pet is usually a harmless student who is lower level than the rest of the class. Other students may use the class pet to disrupt the lesson. Students in the class may make fun of the class pet, because the class pet doesn’t realize the class is laughing at them. Teachers need to recognize when other students are treating the class pet badly and take steps to remind other students to act kindly toward all their classmates.
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5. The Instigator
The instigator is the evil twin of the co-teacher. The instigator loves to manipulate the other students and the teacher to create as much drama without any direct involvement as the cause of the drama and disruption. The instigator can be a male or female student. The best way to stop an instigator is directly and loudly in front of the entire class. Exposing them takes away all of their power.
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6. The Follower
If the instigator isn’t handled early and the teacher doesn’t assert their role as the class leader, the instigator will gain followers. Once the instigator has gained followers, you will have to deal with a gang. Followers will stop when they have to share the punishment with the instigator.
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7. The Nightmare
The nightmare brings lots of emotional baggage to class. The nightmare doesn’t care about anyone or anything. The problem is that their toxic attitude will spread to the rest of the class. The nightmare requires soft hands lots of patience as the source of their behavior runs deep. The nightmare will change when they are forced to admit accountability for their actions.
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8. The Sleeper
The sleeper usually sleeps. The sleeper isn’t a problem. They don’t disrupt your lesson the other students usually don’t notice the sleeper. The sleeper should sit in the back, corner seat. The teacher shouldn’t allow the same student or students to sleep every class, but sometimes a student feels bad or didn’t sleep the night before and needs time to rest.
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9. The Mouth
The mouth will not stop talking. The mouth drives most teachers crazy. The teacher can design their lesson to use the mouth as a reader or conversation partner for the teacher during class. The teacher should redirect their energy to contribute to the lesson. If their need to speak isn’t redirected, their contributions will only disrupt the class. If the mouth is given opportunities to contribute positively during class, they can be highly entertaining and make class time much more interesting.
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10. The Pod People
The pod people have been perfectly conditioned as the “perfect” student. They usually exist in class groups. At first, teachers will love their “pod people” classes, because they present no resistance or variations and follow your lesson perfectly. After some time, the teacher may find this lack of resistance and variation unsettling. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.
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Some students may show a combination of the student types listed above. As long as the teacher manages the class energy and asserts themselves as the class leader, every type of student can be managed effectively. Student-centered activities help to engage every student, while teacher-centered activities will bore the students and encourage difficult student types to act out. Lesson plans should also match the class energy. The class content should be the same for all the classes, but the presentation should match the class energy and personality.
Article written and submitted by Edward Nye.
