18 Diffusers That “Out Wit” the Witty
Think about your students who love to chronically
interrupt classroom activities.
Do find yourself thinking “can you please let
me finish my sentence.”
Better yet, you gasp then, drop your head and say,
“here we go again.”
How do you deal with students who create disturbance
and distractions while you are teaching?
At times, knowing how to redirect students effectively can be incredibly
challenging. As educators, we have all
been in a place where we get trapped focusing our attention on a student’s
ridiculous or disruptive behavior, which can be quite frustrating as these
instances occur one after another. However, teachers who have a mastery in
dealing with disruptive behavior seem to have superpowers, when really they
just know how to distract the disrupters so quickly that the student will give
up the negative behavior without him or her knowing it’s even happening!
Experienced educators use diffusers to confuse the
disrupter. It is magic! If given swiftly, the student won’t notice that they
have been re-directed. Thus, it gives teachers an opportunity to address any
issues on their time rather than in the middle of class and they can take the
time to provide the student with an appropriate consequence.
Here are some examples of some diffusers:
- Duly noted
- We’ll check later
- Thanks for sharing
- I see your point
- Moving on
- I understand where you’re coming from
- I hear you
- That’s right
- Acknowledged
- Fantastic
- Wait it gets better
- Good to know
- Love your thought process
- Think about it
- I know where you are coming from
- You will find out shortly
- I’ll keep that in mind
- We’ll talk later
These responses can help diffuse a number of
instances in which students intentionally are disruptive or may tend to go off
tangent when attempting to participate. The student can be acknowledged while
the teacher simultaneously can move on with the lesson for the day.
Here are a few other resources to help:
Tiana Brown is the Assistant Director of the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers
