Case
Mr. Know it All

Chase is a student placed in Mr. Smith's advanced math course. He pretends to know it all and interrupts the teacher with answers and "smart" comments all the time. Mr. Smith has talked to Chase about his behavior, which calms him down for a while. Despite his "Mr. Know it all" attitude Chase doesn't well on his evaluations which makes him be upset at Mr. Smith and blame him for his grades.
What actions should Mr. Smith take in this case?

Posted on: 10/03/18 | Views: 978
Solution #1
Top Solution
Definitely, use positive reinforcement and continue speaking with him after class. That being said, I might warn him privately if he continues to be disrespectful and speak with his parents. Say things, like "I appreciate your engagement but I want you to listen because..." or "let's have some other students answer..." I might try implementing a class culture to not interrupt the speaker. I also might try activities that require less discussion; it might be a good transition between and help him learn the material in a different medium.

I agree that using positive reinforcement is the best solution in this case.

I agree with this solution because it gives other options to present the material to chase.

If I were in this situation, I would do this.

I agree with this solution.

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Solution #2
Top Solution
First and foremost, I would offer ELP in the mornings before school and send a request home to Chase's parents asking if they could please have him attend to help him with his struggles in his advanced math course. More than likely, Chase would not be the only one needing additional help. For the continual smart comments during my lecture, I would tell Chase, "This is not the time for comments, but if you would like to continue interrupting you can come see me after school and we can talk math for an additional hour". If it still continued, I would be very specific and tell Chase that the next time he interrupts, he will be getting a detention. Of course, I would reward Chase for not interrupting with positive comments at the end of the class period as he improves so he realizes I recognize his effort.

I always ask them to stop if the student behaves this way and makes smart remarks. Trying not to be too bothered by it and not giving it more attention for what it is worth can help tone down the student.

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Solution #3
I think positive reinforcement is the best way to handle this situation, and to ignore any smart remarks Chase makes. Since he isn't doing well on his evaluations, Mr. Smith should definitely keep having talks with this student in private, to address the issues. A parent-teacher conference may be in order as well.

I agree with you! Positive reinforcement is almost always a good response to a student's behavior and it can keep them from misbehaving!

I agree with this too. Positive reinforcements can be extremely beneficial.

I think this is a good approach to the situation by giving the positive reinforcements.

I agree with this solution.

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Solution #4
Mr. Smith needs to give the student a leadership roles. Ask him to do something, like check agendas or collect homework at the beginning of class. This way he can feel important and get noticed in a non-intrusive way. A parent phone call should occur too.

Wow that is a helpful thing. I did not think about that, I would feel like inflating their ego could cause more problems the likelihood of them being noticed for good behavior they do is good!

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Solution #5
Positive reinforcements is a good start, but if possible, I would try to incorporate the student into teaching the content, maybe making them a group leader, or teacher's assistant. This will help them feel validated for their knowledge, while also getting them to interact with the content in a way that will hopefully get them to understand it better, to do well on assessments. Yet, they could also be bored during the assessments, which causes them not to really engage in the actively answering the questions, which results in them not doing well on them.
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Solution #6
I think that Mr. Smith should get the parents involved for this one. It's one thing to feel smart, but it's another to take advantage of that and blame others for mistakes. I don't think this is a case that Mr. Smith should tackle by himself. It's important to come to some consensus with both the student and the parents to help get rid of this behavior.
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Solution #7
I would arrange a conference with the parents in hopes of figuring out what the parents are doing and to see if we could come up with solutions together to implement at both school and home.

Asking the parents if there is anything going on with the student and if it causes their misbehavior is a smart step. Most likely you will find the root of the problem and solve it. Talking to the student is also necessary as well. It is something that relates to them so I feel like involving them in decisions and conferences will make them feel included and have a say in the situation.

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Solution #8
I would follow the consequences that are set up for the class and school. He is disrupting the class and he will need to receive the consequences, whether it be detention and referral if necessary. I would also refer him to get extra help whether after or before school
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Solution #9
Remind the student that it is wiser to admit that you do not know everything than to pretend that you do. Offer tutoring for the student and this might help him see things more clearly.
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Solution #10
I would recommend utilizing positive behavior reinforcement. Do not give into his actions or show that you are annoyed by him. He also maybe displaying this behavior because he is not being challenged. Provide enrichment activities.
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Solution #11
An action Mr.Smith could take in this case would to try and make the lesson more difficult for Chase. Giving him different worksheets, and testing his knowledge would make him less of a disturbance. In terms of evaluations, finding out where he goes wrong in problems and trying to teach him how to improve on that would raise his grades by a lot and help build Chases relationship with Mr.Smith
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Solution #12
I would ignore the smart comments and when his grades not being good, I would remind him that he does a really good job in participating in class by answering the questions, but come test time he needs to put more effort in to studying.
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Solution #13
Develop a behavior plan and use positive reinforcement for this student.
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Solution #14
the school should review his performance in the class and if it doesn't improve, possibly put him in a less advanced class
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Solution #15
I would try to talk to the student one on one privately. He could be acting out to impress someone or to make the class laugh. If he continues to talk out of place even after the teacher has spoken to him, there needs to be other consequences for him speaking out during instructional time and interrupting the class. If he understand and preforms well on a specific lesson, give him more than enough praise, maybe send a note home to his parents telling them how proud you are of his grades so he is more likely to do well again. He may not receive praise at home, and maybe he just needs some extra encouragement.
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Solution #16
Positive reinforcement is good in this situation. Yes he misbehaves but I highly doubt he misbehaves ALL the time. It is good to let the student know what they do well because if not, it can affect their behavior more or self-esteem and associate teachers and authoritative figures as critical people who always criticize things because they are not satisfied. I have a few students like that who feel like they know everything but just know that you can always change how you react to it. Maybe try and have a conversation with them about their comments in class.Let them know that yes they do know the topic BUT being disruptive and being smart are not the same thing.
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Solution #17
I absolutely love what everyone else had to say. Maybe give him a white board, so he can write his answers down quick and then show the answer to you without calling out. Using a behavior chart, and making sure to implement consequences when they do not follow them is also a good idea. I have this same problem with my students at school. Usually before EVERY (yes every...) question I ask, I say "please raise your hand NOT your voices..." then ask my question. This reminds the student EVERY time what the expectations are without singling the out the student. This usually proves very successful. Even making eye contact with them while you say it adds that extra emphasis that they will not call out the answer.
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Solution #18
I would consider giving this student an individual project to work on. Instead of having him take a normal test, have the student research a topic that he likes and present it to the class. This will give him the opportunity to master a certain topic and demonstrate his knowledge. Then, during teacher time, the teacher could ask that the student listen just like he does when the student presents his information.
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Solution #19
I think that having a reward system set in place for when he is behaving and has no disruptions could be helpful
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Solution #20
Let the student know that his actions might be making uncomfortable. They may be completely unaware of what’s going on.
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Solution #21
Calling home is the first step. Letting the parents know what is taking place before having a negative reaction just to set it in place. Maybe commenting back to the student in front of other students will be the icing on the cake for the student understanding that you are firm in this being your classroom and that there are rules and procedures set for a reason and that he is in control of passing or failing. It sounds like this student needs some tough love. Being firm with consequences and not letting the student have run of the classroom may help.
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Solution #22
I would speak to him after class and discuss his grades and the remarks he is making. Let him know that the other students need to have time to participate and learn in the classroom. If the remarks do not stop, I would speak with the parents and move on from there.
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Solution #23
If the student wants to talk... let them teach. The view from the from of the room back at his peers is going to define his credibility of knowing it all. Teach the lesson and I will sit and learn is what I would do. If he does know the work. His peers could learn from him. At the end of the class, have this student stick around so you can speak to them about who is getting paid to be here and who is the students.

I fear this may not be the best approach. The student may just end up embarrassed and further deteriorate the situation.

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Solution #24
I would use the approach of self teaching. If he is so confident in his abilities, ask him to come to the board every time there is a question. If he cannot accurately show the answer on the board, then that will in it of itself settle him down and hopefully bring the "know it all attitude" down a tad. Show him the mistakes he made and allow for growth by writing out steps to getting the correct answer.

I do not like this idea. I think that putting a student infront of the classroom with false confidence is a recipe for disaster.

I do not think this solution is the best idea for the situation.

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Solution #25
I would try to ignore the behavior and call on other students.
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Solution #26
I would ignore the smart comments and when his grades are not good, work through the assessment with him to gauge how much he knows and make point that it is his responsibility to learn the material and study, ask for help when stuck.

I really like this idea!

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Solution #27
Grin and bear it. He will figure it out sooner or later that he doesn't know everything.

That is showing other students that can do the same.

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