This is a thoughtful look at issues that faculty deal with on a regular basis. I like that you broke these into academic and non-academic issues. I believe that the core of misbehavior or classroom disputes are because of student boredom. Classes that are teacher centered seem to have the most difficulty. The key to student engagement is to flip the class to a more studented centered learning environment. This is an area that i am really interested in with online teaching as well. This is well done!

Rick

This was a good look at what most faculty deal with when it comes to student disputes. The seven strategies make sense in ways to help and alleviate the number of 'disputes' that occur in the classroom. While I am an online instructor and some aspects are different some of these strategies fit in with that environment and others can be adjusted a bit to fit. Students get bored in both the online and traditional campus and if as faculty we can find ways to prevent that we can prevent many of the disputes from occurring as well. Setting expectations before the class even begins is one area I have noticed improvement in my online class, they all know from day one what is expected and how to do well in the class; the tools are given to them upfront. Modeling expectations is also helpful, if we want them to exhibit certain behaviors or attitudes then we need to present those attitudes ourselves. Feedback to me is key; they need to know not only what they are doing incorrectly but also what they did right in their assignments. This study was well thought out and provides some helpful tools to all faculty members. I would be interested in seeing how we could adjust some of the strategies to online faculty and to see if that improved student engagement and success rates.

Alexis Register

I would have to agree on every aspect of the paper.  Whether it is traditional classes or online, these issues arise much too often.  When faculty are attempting to teach and ensure learning occurs, the stress level of the faculty members rises, especially when the behavior of the studen is considered intentional disruption.  And, as stated in the paper, there are a myriad of reasons. You stated "Signs of disengagement
are more evident in traditional learning environments, especially among 'millennial' learners."  I will contend the same is true in the  online environment and if data were to be collected on the newest generation entering college (termed Gen Z or the Entitlement Generation), you will see another shift if behavior.  I find them to challenge the instructor more by disagreeing, making numerous excuses, constantly habitual in their submission of assignments, and think you owe them.  It takes a strong constitution to remain resilient with students.  We all cherish good questions and are more than happy to accommodate in the name of education and learning, but frivolous and unnecessary questions waste time.  You also stated "Students' beliefs about their ability to learn
are shaped by messages and experiences at home, at school, and in the larger society."  Yes, and what is created is a self-fulfilling prophecy. 

Excellent paper and one I intend to keep on file.

The topic of this paper immediately caught my attention. There were some very relevant and appropriate sections in this article. I did notice that at least one of the resources focused on the online classroom, so I was hoping for a section on this. Although many of these can be transferred into the virtual classroom, it is still a different venue and audience. It would have been interesting to see how many are the same, like the hostility toward grades and lack of motivation, but may differ, flirting possibly? What new issues arise when students are "protected" by the computer? It was a good read and definitely leaves you thinking...

The authors compiled an excellent, concise plan to help any teacher, regardless of his or her experience level, build strong, lasting relationships with their students. We are living in a very social world, and students, particularly secondary-aged students, are a driving force. The days of the instructor standing at the front of the classroom to lecture and expecting complete respect are long gone. We, as teachers, must actively work at building this respect and trust.

The point that stood out to me the most that may not be on most top-10 classroom management lists is providing meaningful feedback for the students.  The authors stated feedback is a crucial component to helping students improve their academic skills. I would also is is very important in building credibility with these students and in showing them you truly care about them as students. Middle and high school kids today know when teachers are just going through the motions. Providing timely feedback with the use of rubrics and reflection allow the students to know the instructor is completely engaged in the learning cycle. What's the old saying about kids not caring how much we know until they know how much we care? I was glad to see the authors also included the use of reflection with the feedback. Critical thinking is one area, in my opinion, where our K-12 schools have been falling short over the past decade. With the emphasis on high-stakes testing at its peak, we often forget these students must be able to actively solve problems using critical thinking skills. Incorporation reflection into the feedback process is an excellent tool to build the relationship with the student as well as help them grow internally as a student. 

Well thought out and presented paper. I intend to download and save for use in the classroom management courses I teach. 

Thank you for for publishing this paper for review.  I really enjoyed the topic of the paper and much like Jennifer was drawn to it.  As I read the paper I found myself nodding my head in agreement throughout. 

Throughout the paper I was reflecting upon past course sections and why disputes or potential disputes had arisen.  Teaching within the on-line medium is a craft which is refined and improved by past experiences.  The single most reaffirming point was the need to clearly state your expectations as an instructor up front.  The points you developed in the paper in this regard supported the observations made within the Faculty Discussion Form many years ago (going back to BlackBoard).  Namely, we want to be proactive and transparent with our expectations, while providing students with a supportive environment, necessary guidance and vote of confidence to succeed.

Thank you again for sharing this enlightening expository piece!

Regards,
Matt Dauchert

The topic, supporting information, an organization of this paper all work together to provide valuable insight for instructors who are seeking to avoid or navigate disputes with students in the classroom.

The review of literature is particularly strong. I also appreciated that you addressed health issues that students face.

Please allow me to support your efforts with some critique observations:

-          If the format is intended to be APA, there are some opportunities for revisions, particularly with in text citations related to direct quotes

-          Under this section "Performance Concerns" valid points are made regarding the pressure toward grade inflation. The paper may benefit from reconsidering the last sentence in this section "This is a frequent and stressful situation that faculty face". It is not clear what is meant by frequent or what validation there is to make a claim regarding frequency.

-          The seven strategies provide a broad and practical foundation for addressing these concerns. Perhaps consider reordering the presentation of these seven strategies:

 #2 "Focusing on changes in behavior rather than belief".

 This item might find better flow by sandwiching it between "Giving Thorough Feedback" and "Providing Ongoing Communication".  By listing this as #2, it is sandwiched in with the other are strategies that are more about "setting the stage" for the relationship. However, this strategy is something that crops up in later phases of the relationship.

I particularly appreciated your point in the conclusion about reducing the legitimacy of dispute behaviors within the classroom.

Thank you for your work on this important topic and for the opportunity to read it and offer feedback. 

The paper presents an excellent analysis of potential factors studetns encounter that may lead to increased disputes. Reviewing the factors listed I do agree with each of them as potential factors and have experienced some of them in my clases. I do recall maybe around 2010 an interesting article that focused on student perceptions of entitlement as leading to increased grade disputes. I agree with other commentors on the importance of separation the academic and non-academic factors. The conclusion proposed good strategies and described how planning may reduce the number of issues orreduce the legitimacy of issues that may otherwise create escalted issues. I think this topic is very important and one in which faculty members and administrators should have increased awareness.

I was drawn to this topic since I've been teaching in classrooms for many years and have experienced many of the challenges written in the paper.  This is a very interesting and engaging analysis of how disputes arise in the classroom.  I was drawn more to the academic reasons (as opposed to the non-academic reasons) for conflicts and would encourage more research in the area of how to resolve grade disputes, which is by far the most frequent type of dispute that I have experienced.  The recommendations of providing specific expectations upfront and focusing on changes in behavior rather than beliefs are especially critical in resolving academic disputes and well-written in this paper. 

However I might like to see further research done on why professors can be trained by the same college and even use similar syllabi, yet the grading can differ widely.  This obviously creates confusion and understandable cognitive dissonance for students.  Does research exist on the grading differences between professors of the same school and how does that compare to other schools?  Is there a pattern or specific correlation between more congruent grading and student satisfaction or a reduction in disputes?  What are leading universities doing and scholars saying about whether there may be a discernable solution to minimizing grading disputes?  

Thanks Dr. Toppin and Pullens for a very interesting paper!

Hello Ian and Laveda,

First of all, this is a great topic! Classroom disputes are definitely prevalent in many of our classes. I like how you mentioned that both parties must maintain integrity, but I find that some students jump to conclusions without considering other perspectives about the issue at hand. I find that most of the time, i am directing my students to the location in the classroom where they can find the answer because the majority of the time, disputes occur from students not reading already-posted information. Your paper had some great points, but I feel that sometimes do not apply themselves as appropriately as they should in some instances.

Ian and Laveda - thank you very much for your comprehensive paper on the topic of reducing classroom disputes.  You provided a great deal of helpful information that can be used in both the traditional and online settings.  All of us as faculty have experienced at least one of the situations you describe.  To enlarge your thoughts, you might consider incorporating the concepts of civility and good citizenship.

One comment about your conclusion:  the points that you make about transition and orientation to college are relevant, however, they just sort of appear at the end of the paper.  The information could have been enlarged and included in an earlier section of the paper.  Essentially, then you would be incorporating student, faculty, and college responsibilities.

Like many of the reviewers this article jumped out at me.  This is such a relevant and important topic that many must deal with in and outside of the classroom.  The authors provided a thorough coverage of the topic.  The one thing I would like to see addressed is how this issue is dealt with in an on line course.

The article Reducing Classroom Disputes between Faculty and Students by Dr. Toppin and Dr. Pullens offers dynamic instructions, realistic application, and simple approaches in successfully and peacefully resolving matters of dispute to professionals who teach on a collegiate level.    I thought it was quite interesting that this article almost parallels my personal teaching philosophy.  Nevertheless, what stood out most to me was the section covering motivation.  According to William R. Yount, author of Created To Learn, A Christian Teacher's Introduction to Educational Psychology, learning is programed into the nervous system and that the environment in which the learners learn influences and or determines behavior.  Yount also states that Learning is the culmination of many parts function as one.  This affirms the author's point that, "Students' beliefs about their ability to learn are shaped by messages and experiences at home, at school, and in the larger society. Low expectations can be subtly communicated by parents and teachers, and through school practices such as tracking, ability grouping, or curriculum that is not challenging." In addition, whether the learning environment is online or traditional, it is essential that a learning atmosphere demonstrates trust, honesty, integrity, genuine concern, respect, responsibility, fairness, and community.  In contrast, I would like to see more attention given to the online classroom setting with further specifics relating to communication and collaborative assignments. 

On a side note, I noticed one grammatical error on page 3 and attached a copy of the article with the error highlighted.

Thanks, Ian and Laveda, for addressing the issue of class disputes between students and their instructors. My approach has ben to separate academic factors contrubting to the disputes from non-academic ones. A way to address classroom disputes is to use SWOT analysis. This model helps me to assess strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the stduent(s) in conflict with me about their grades, or failure to meet their expectations in class. Non-academic ones include stress of life, including family dynamics. Compassion fatigue has been a huge factor among my students in the helping professions. I believe the key issue is not how to prevent dispute but, rather, the way to manage it when it happens. Moses    

I really enjoyed reading this paper! I have been an instructor for GCU for about 9 years now and I have had my share of unprofessionalism in the online classroom environment. With that being said, I would highly agree with the authors that stating and outlining your expectations at the beginning of class, in addition to the syllabus, will alleviate disputes. I would also add that a teacher should provide clear and fair rubrics for each an every assignment, if one has not already been provided by the University.

Tracy Malone

This topic grabbed my attention. The authors provided well laid out plans that are relevant to both traditional and online educators to reduce conflict between faculty and students.

Great contrast between the academic and non-academic reasons that if not handled with sensitivity can reduce rather than build relationships between students and faculty.

"Learning students' names" is an effort by faculty to know who our students are. While "addressing" students by names make them feel counted, personalize interactions, and foster rapport and relationships between student and faculty (an aspect to consider for the study)?

Six of the seven expectations are supported with robust evidence that focuses primarily on traditional education. Per the discussion on feedback, may I suggest the authors consider that online faculty/instructors are held to higher standards than traditional teachers to provide thorough and timely feedback to all students for all assignments. Evidence (rather than personal experience, or opinions) that support feedback requirements for both traditional and online learning collaborates would ensure that the section is robust and unquestionable. Thank you for a paper that is well-written.

This is a thought-provoking article. I particular liked that the authors addressed outside factors that can influence student performance in the classroom. As a former public school administrator, I very often found that students provided some of the greatest challenges for teachers were those who were dealing with "life issues" outside of school. Illness, death, divorce, job loss, and poverty can put stresses on students which are not always shared with teachers even when children are young, so at the university level it is even less likely that an instructor has such knowledge. Recognizing that these kinds of things can be an issue for students is important as we want to deal with students compassionately and fairly, yet maintain the integrity of the learning environment.

The article provided some excellent suggestions for teachers. However, in the online environment, I have found that providing assignment feedback does not always lead to improvement. Very often, I have found (and have heard similar from others teaching online), that the same mistakes are repeated weekly, in spite of the feedback given. Adding some adaptations for some of the strategies provided in the article that would address the online environment would be a useful addition.

As a sidebar, there are some APA issues in the paper. No page numbers have been cited for direct quotes.

Thank you for a thought-provoking and interesting article!

This research reveals an intuitive look at what educators deal within in classrooms on a regular basis. Stating and maintaingin high and clear expectations as well as the follow through during a course/class stood out to me as the most authentic variable for prevention of issues. A faculty, whether online or in a ground/traditional setting should remain as a united front when presenting itself to students.

Wondering...what aspects of leadership modeling these same expectations would be applicable here?

Thanks for sharing! Leah Barley

I was drawn to the topic and article since this has long been an interest area of mine. As I read the manuscript I thought that perhaps some of the strategies might be more appropriate for the novice educator rather than a more experienced one. I have been teaching both in the traditional and online classrooms for over 17 years and utilize many of the strategies you discuss yet many of the same issues keep recycling.

One component that you might consider adding is students who are enrolled in academic programs for which they lack the foundational skills. These students often are placed in a program and often struggle due to their lack of preparation. Workshops on time management, managing stress, tips on being successful academically and tutoring can only go so far. As a result of their lack of preparation with foundational skills they are of course stressed, but in turn somehow expect faculty to lower the standards and rigor so that they can be successful. When faculty feel pressured by students and administration to lower standards and rigor for a course this can impact relationships as well

Great article we certainly need to keep this type of dialogue going!

As an online GCU professor and a public school principal, I found this article to be both pertinent and solution based. I especially like the way it addressed the differing world view of our new generation of students.  As I reflect on my own college experience several decades ago, I cannot even fathom some of the behavior described in the statement of the problem section.  In the public school setting for ages 6 to 16, where attendance is compulsory, I understand dealing with some of the behaviors described but in the voluntary attendance realm of the university environment this was quite an eye opener!  I guess the habits learned in earlier school experiences are carrying over to later school experiences.  While I do find the solutions both logical, research based, and proactive, I do also feel that universities need to maintain or create high expectations for proper behavior in the learning environment and not be afraid to impose sanctions on a student that detracts from the learning environment of others.  The teacher should not be left out there on their own to improve teaching so that students behave in a more reasonable manner.  The responsibility lies with the teacher, the student, and the school administration… each having a specific job!

Thanks for this comprehensive overview! I appreciate the balance between problem and solution - especially when solutions are concrete and practical. To this end, I'd love to see a little more discussion of how faculty can be both concise and thorough when offering feedback. Perhaps this will be your next study! :) Jen

Drs. Toppin and Pullens,

This was a thoughtful and thorough discussion of a significant issue in both traditional and online courses. Thank you for a well-written, idea-inspiring paper.

As a full time online instructor I was most interested in the sections that addressed the issue(s) in the online environment, specifically with respect to delivery of feedback and ongoing communication between faculty members and students.  I agree with your comments about the critical importance of communication between faculty members and students in the online environment. Communication early and often is best practice, especially in the online modality.

 I must echo the comments above from Ms. Tsahiridis and Ms. Marchessault - I would love to see dedicated study concerning faculty and student disputes in the online environment. I think this area is ripe for future research.

I have to agree with previous posters that, overall, this is an excellent article. I also appreciate the separation between academic and non-academic reasons for disputes, and I appreciate the organization provided in each section. The one issue that jumped out to me as needing to be more thoroughly assessed was in the Lack of Motivation section. You argue that instructors often assume that students are responsible young adults, or should be responsible young adults, and thus should be responsible for their own learning. While you present some external sources that can impact motivation, and also claim that the external sources can produce 'deep-seated internal reservations'.

I think that this section could be made quite a bit stronger by a more thorough analysis of external factors and how they might influence internal motivations. Also, an analysis of how these factors might interact with a culture that seems to expect 20-somethings to be irresponsible adolescents could help instructors both to understand these issues from a students perspective, and help to form a basis for developing strategies to deal with these issues.

Also, your study seems to assume a traditional on-campus population. While non-traditional students, and the faculty teaching them, deal with many of the same issues. I wonder if non-traditional formats, and the differences between traditional and non-traditional students may alter both the problems and the appropriate responses. Some research in this area would be very nice, possibly as a separate paper, or as an expansion of this paper.

This is an excellent article that focuses on issues that directly affect the way faculty interfaces with the students in their classroom.  Not all concerns are germane to the online classroom environment but many are.  I would love to see similar research into the relationship between the physical classroom and the online classroom.  Many of the concepts are transferrable between both environment. Some would not need to be adjusted and problems in some areas, like flirting, would not need to be addressed.  The article was helpful and I look forward to further research.

Dr. Toppin and Pullens,

Thank you so much for such a relevant and meaningful article.  Please find some more pointers to enhance the manuscript as follows:

-       Keep the formatting and style consistent.  For instance, capitalizing after a colon consistently.

-       Be careful with typos.  For example, two periods instead of one, and extra spacing when not needed.

-       A reference from ehow.com may not be suitable as a scholarly reference.

-       Since this seems to be based on a review of the literature and faculty experiences, it may be appropriate to establish the scope as a critical review to the literature and best-proven practices, adding more citations to substantiate your statements.

I hope you find these review helpful and thank you for the opportunity to review your manuscript.

Wishing you success with this publication,

Genomary Krigbaum, Psy.D.

Dr Toppin and Pullens,

Thank you for sharing your paper.  It was an excellent overview of issues that occur between faculty and students in the classroom.  I think the majority of the reasons for disputes identified applies to the traditional and online classroom.  Your strategies for reducing the likelihood of classroom disputes included many proactive 'best practices'!

Martha

This is an attention-getting title: who among us has not had at least one unpleasant interaction with a student? We would all rather avoid them; realistically, I welcome any advice on how to reduce them. Authors Toppin and Pullens offer seven solid strategies to guide us in that direction. Having taught in traditional settings as well as in the online environment, I found their article compelling and thought-provoking.

Commenting on the prevalence of academic dishonesty, the authors provide research to underscore the rampant academic misconduct that students willingly admit to-and who knows how much more goes on beneath the surface? They comment that many faculty members find themselves immersed in an ethical quagmire: "either they surrender their moral position or deal with frustrations associated with students who persist in cheating." I am not sure this problem can be accurately portrayed as an either-or equation; perhaps the wording of this statement can be adjusted to allow for a broader spectrum of reactions to this very complex and controversial issue.  What Toppin and Pullens do offer are concrete steps we can take to head off these disputes about academic dishonesty before they occur, by being proactive: one of these, their first strategy, is to state expectations upfront.  As they point out, clear, effective communication at the outset of a course "will eliminate ambiguity and provide a clear understanding of the terms of engagement for the course."

Their discussion of the health challenges students face is both timely and crucial: whether on-ground or online, mental and emotional health issues can cause disputes. We may not immediately identify mental health issues as causative factors; once we do, we may not have the background or the specialized training to address them. It is important to factor in the possibility of mental health issues when disputes arise, and to proceed with caution. I hope to see more papers on this topic in the future.

I appreciate the solid research the authors put into this article, as well as the exhaustive reference list they include. As an English teacher, I would like to see more consistency in the APA format as well. Most importantly: I love the positive tone of this paper and the realistic expectations it sets out: there will always be disputes, but there can be fewer in our future if we take the time to realize what causes them and to employ these suggestions when we engage with our students.

Drs. Toppin and Pullens,

Your topic is relevant for both online and traditional campus classes. It was great to read such a well-written paper on a topic that faculty members face often. You provided excellent guidance on how to be proactive and avoid the unprofessional conflicts that can occur.  As I reflected on some of my difficult situations in the past and one as recent as last week, I realized that your strategies do work.  As an online professor, I have learned to pick up the phone and call the student to hear what is troubling the student.  This works very well because they have a tendency to write too freely comments that are not very respectful. More often than not, when you open a conversation with the student a laundry list of other issues are usually revealed that have nothing to do with the class or the assignment that they wanted to challenge.  You are right on point with the types of problems that they bring to the class including aging and ailing parents.  As faculty members, demonstrating compassion for their concerns and offering reasonable accommodations to help them get through their assignments such as a little extra time or some phone conversations for clarity with some ideas will go a long way in building a professional relationship. I have seen attitudes transformed immediately. It is important to understand who is in the classroom that you are facilitating online and on campus.

I like the suggestions of a mandatory orientation for helping students to understand the expectations of them interacting properly with faculty and staff.  Also, implementing learning communities to deal with the test taking and time management.when they enter college life is another critical need. Faculty need some help from the university in this area.

Great job.

Barbara Lee

This topic is relevant to both traditional and online classrooms, as they share many of the same faculty-student disputes. As an onine instructor, I focused on those that would apply to online learning. Disputes over grading, misunderstood expectations, health issues, and academic dishonesty are common in the online classroom.

I was especially interested in the suggestions provided in the form of the 7 strategies. I appreciate the numerous examples you provided. However, I would have liked to have seen even more specific examples, or scenarios, to explain each strategy.  For example, under modeling expectations a few examples would strengthen the paper. In the online classroom I model expectations for my students by using a professional, yet friendly, tone on the discussion forum. i also return emails promptly and address questions respectfully. I model correct writing conventions when providing feedback to student or writing in the discussion forum. Examples like this could helps the reader begin to reflect on specific areas to apply the strategies.

I agree that making expectiations clear up front is critical to avoiding conflict. Students want to succeed, and we need to do our best to set our students up for success. Clear expectations as well as informative and timely feedback are strategies that help us to do that. I appreciate your comments about providing rubrics for students so that they know in advance what will be expected of them. It wasn't clear to me the distinction you were making between feedback and reflection...perhaps an example would be helpful here as well.

Thank you for sharing these strategies!

Becky

This was an informative article. I found myself reflecting on my own classroom conflicts over the years. I liked how the authors addressed specific issues of conflict; however, there is one issue for the adult learner - financial aid or employer reimbursement - that I found crossed all four of these areas below.

Performance issues

"This can also be true about high-performing students who for some reason find themselves in danger of losing scholarships, or some other form of financial aid."

Academic dishonesty

"These results indicated that the scope of academic dishonesty may be so widespread that faculty who deal with it on a regular basis and whose moral framework is against it, may find their profession to be a challenge…'

Stress:

This is especially true when students fear losing a scholarship or are in other academic danger. Brogaard also identified involvement in college athletics, and sleep deprivation as major reasons for academic stress.

Make instruction relevant

When students skip class for no good reason, and return with that irritating question, "Did I miss anything important?"

The adult learner is concerned with all four of these issues -

1.     The loss of financial aid/employer reimbursement due to poor grades;

2.     The need to have a passing grade or risk payment for the class from personal rather than employer funds

3.     The temptation to cheat to ensure the grade is high enough to meet aid criteria

4.     The desire to have depart the class with knowledge/tools that justify the time and financial commitment.

My suggestion is to expand on their research and explanations to include the adult learner. I'd also like to see a chart/matrix outlining the authors' classifications.

Denver Mullican

Dr. Toppin's article provides a thorough overview of classroom disputes that can arise. As an online instructor I have experienced student disputes over motivation, grades, and an idea that the professor should be willing to abdicate ethics to just provide an easy 'A' to some students. Engaging students in the online classroom is a new experience with each course and taking into consideration the dynamics of each class changes with the personality of the students involved. That being said, the seven strategies noted to minimize disputes are all philosophically within the realm of how I present myself and my expectations to students within the classroom, and I concur with the concept that the communication is key to providing successful interactions with students. I do think that all seven strategies are important to creating a working atmosphere between professor and student (adult learner). 

The article, while focusing on the traditional classroom has some excellent strategies that can also be incorporated within the online classroom. I found the article to be well written.

Tricia Chandler

The paper is strong on academic reasons, however, it seems that most of the reasons are non-academic.  There might be a bit more development in that area. 

Early in the paper, there is the cautionary statement about faculty too often feeling students are young adults and responsible for their own conduct.  They are and they are to be so regarded if we are to develop thinking, independent scholars.  What is needed is effective intervention within that belief context.

An effective mechanism for establishing expectations is to distribute a list of them to the students, allowing them to comment/question them for a 48 hour period with the understanding that no feeback implies agreement.  This is a very effective behavioral contract with assumed harmony between faculty and students. 

I was chair of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support team for my school for several years. Modeling your expectation is a must for students to get a visual of what you expect. The first ten days are the most crucial days for students to learn teachers expectations. As a school we would model how to enter the cafeteria. exit/enter the bus, how to enter/exit/act in the library, how to enter and exit and assembly. Students learn the most important part of learning is how to behave in a school and classroom.  I remember a college professor once said you can have the best lesson plans spent hours researching strategies...If you do not have classroom management than all of that time is considered wasted. 

I teach online. I see many of the same situations described in the article. I hold to the view that students in college are adults ad are responsible for their own behavior. That being said, I do not have a classroom environment that could be disrupted by behaviors that are mentioned such as using technology during lecture or sleeping in class. I can appreciate how this might be disconcerting to others.

I think the authors missed an important element - Make sure that your expectations are clear from the outset. It seems that I must say something three times before a student "gets it." I tell them my expectations at the beginning of each class, before every assignment and again when I grade papers and offer feedback.

 I teach research. I was a bit confused by the formatting. It appears to be a format other than APA. I am not familiar with other formats so it could be the authors are using one that I am not familiar with.

I thought that, overall, the article provides a solid sense of groundwork for mitigating conflict in our classrooms. That being said, one of the most intriguing aspects - that of being careful not to impose beliefs - did not have as much development as I would have liked. I think that perhaps that section might be split from the discussion later in that section about etiquette and respectful behaviors. One of the challenges may of us face happens when students might have views that are very different than our own and those which might cause them to become defensive with others, especially in a diverse classroom environment. I would like to see the authors speak to this a bit more. 

I thought the authors of this article addressed a variety of important issues and provided a wealth of strategies. I would add one additional consideration - show the student that you care about them  and are willing to work for their success. That honest caring will go a long way in encouraging students to do their best and in reducing disputes. That may be a more difficult task when the learning is online,  but I have found that it makes a difference

 Thank you for the wonderful ideas, Janice

Very interesting paper, and of course very needed in our profession. I would like to see more academic support/citations for several of the ideas. Especially within the section of "Reasons" for disputes, but also within some of the strategies (some of the sections didn't have any supporting research citations). Also, in the section "Stating Expectations up Front," which I agree is is a great preemptive strategies, might benefit from another paragraph on how to deal with referring back to the syllabus/what expectations were stated up front, when students still fight against those expectations (which seems at least to me to be the most difficult students that do this). Closely related, is in your next section, "Focus on behavior instead of beliefs," you state that beliefs' are "just there business." I don't agree with this statement. If the student never voiced their 'beliefs' that might be true. But in the sense of a 'dispute,' students commonly voice their beliefs and try to get the professor to change their view point.  It would be helpful to address this situation and expand upon that section more.  

Thank you for the helpful ideas!

Carrie

 I enjoyed the paper written by Drs. Toppin and Pullens.  The topic is relevant and the sources are current. The portion regarding disengagement was interesting to me considering my current role as online faculty.  In an online learning environment of courses lasting only eight weeks, noticing the symptoms of disengagement can be very difficult. Thankfully, there is current literature and best practices to assist with this.
 The area of grade disputes was interesting. I'm sure many of us have experienced students who try to "coerce faculty into assigning grades students know they did not earn." Students know how important the end of course survey is to teachers and the university and have threatened bad (and even false) reviews of the instructor. This is a huge problem when colleges and universities base job performance on this surveys.
 The writers mentioned health issues as a reason behind some disputes. It would be interesting to see data comparing 1) current disputes with health of the student or health of the teacher was a factor and 2) health-based disputes that date prior to ADA.
  Toppin and Pullens presented some excellent ideas here and I recommend it to those who desire to help students succeed.

Adam Clagg, Ed.D.

March 4, 2014

A super article identifying reasons why there are some disputes between faculty and students zeroing in on lack of motivation, disengagement, academic dishonesty, fianncial, family and employment pressures.  As a graduate professor, I have seen all of these but I can add some other reasons for disputes which are student overload of courses combined with family and work problems.   When students are stressed, they will find more reasons to bring up some non-essential matters with professors.  I recently had a situation where a student did not like the fact that I required numbered answers to numbered questions.  GCU faculty development got involved and actually, it was a learning process for me as I discovered facts about APA headings but in actuality, the GCU faculty development could not point out where it states that a professor could not require numbered answers.  However, to eliminate future disputes, I am asking for APA headings related to numbered questions. I feel that the student's complaint was actually a blessing as I also learned that I can just use a grading rubric in my classes combined with a short personal comment to the student.  Thankfully the grading rubrics do identify most of the questions by number so my problem has been solved by just being able to select the category that applies to the answer in the rubirc. 

Dr. Toppin and Dr. Pullens, you have provided an excellent framework for the discussion of the complex classroom environment in higher education.  My comments stem from my dual roles as a curriculum developer and an adjunct faculty in the traditional classroom.  Your paper effectively delineates both academic and non-academic issues of classroom disputes and management.  You have made a strong argument that to mitigate disputes, it is critical to re-frame the role of the instructor, to one of facilitator.  The facilitator's role is to construct a classroom environment that engages and motivates students to learn.  This includes a dynamic, organic exchange of knowledge, critical thinking, and analysis which occurs when the instructor is engaged with the student.  This also requires new strategies that may be difficult for some faculty to embrace.  I recently had a discussion with another adjunct faculty who expressed that at the college level, students should seek out the instructor, and that it is not the instructor's responsibility to seek out the student.  I find this a flawed position in the current educational environment where students are challenged by more rigorous academic demands as well as personal issues or prior negative classroom experiences.  Your article discusses these issues in a thought provoking way. 

Additional research needs to be done from the student's perspective relative to their classroom experience and how that effects their engagement with instructors.  Students have shared some real fears that impact their classroom behavior.  In my last four classes I have had students with legitimate major health issues, deaths of friends and family, missing parents, and a variety of disability issues.  It demands more thoughtfulness, energy, and discernment from the instructor to balance student's needs with managing an effective classroom environment.  I find that it is worth the commitment to ensure an actively engaged classroom, student retention and successful course completion.

I agree with all of the articles recommendations and I appreciate the variety of resources to substantiate the article.  Specific models and examples would strengthen the paper and generate professional development opportunities.  I recommend that higher education provide professional development that systematically supports an engaged classroom model.  Faculty need and deserve the support.  A variety of accessible strategies for managing classroom size, competency based rubrics, use of technology, and civility might reduce the disputes between faculty and students, and the tension of classroom management.

Phyllis Abbott,

The research provided by Ian N. Topping, Ed.D. and Laveda M. Pullens, Ed.D addresses a concern that I have had on one occasion in my in-class classroom at the local community college. The issue was poor performance by several of the students due to lack of motivation. To solve the issue I used the servant leadership approach of speaking with each student individually, and requesting that he/she write a brief paper sharing with me how I could help them to learn better, and to examine his/her personal thoughts of how he/she could perform better in the classroom. The issue was then addressed, and the students began performing at a much higher level. The mentoring and empowering approach worked better for me. Lack of confidence and issues in the home environment contributed to several of the problems upon review as was addressed in this presentation.

This presentation supported my belief that the instructor must work with students one-on-one when issues and problems arise. Once resolved the students become more committed to achieving.

I agree with the recommendations in this presentation.

Ian and Laveda,

Thank you for welcoming review on the article, Reducing Classroom Disputes between Faculty and Students.  The seven strategies are well articulated. I believe you have identified seven critical strategies that are paramount in building a positive learning environment between the student and faculty. I appreciate the separation of the academic and non-academic reasons for disputes. I was glad to see the inclusion of health issues and work responsibilities and acknowledging sensitivity to each. Currently, I am an on line faculty member and was drawn to the sections on effective communication and reflective feedback. I do agree with Jennifer. The seven strategies do carryover to the online classroom but it is a different venue and the audience remains disguised. My recommendation would be to see this article segue into the complexity of reducing disputes between student and student in the virtual classroom. Again, thank you for your work.

Respectfully,

Cindy Segotta-Jones

Ian and Laveda,

I agree with many of the comments that the article is well organized and articulate.  I had never thought about separating the causes of conflict into academic and non-academic categories.  This made me consider our role in reducing conflicts from these different categories, are we any less responsible to seek a solution if the cause of the conflict is non-academic? I believe we remain equally responsible and that these non-academic sources of conflict require unique approaches that often start with communication between the student and instructor. 

One specific critique I have is that there should not be any new information in the conclusion.  The statement about understanding the diverse student population is extremely important but should be addressed within the body of the article not the conclusion.

Like other reviewers, I too teach online and find the 7 strategies to be great advice for ground and online courses.  It would be nice to expand this discussion into the online classroom but I think many of the connections are very similar - I've expanded on how I see this applying to online courses below:

• state course expectations at the beginning of the course through announcements, add-on material, ...
• measurable changes in behavior may include turning in assignments on time, respectful discussions in the forum ...
• instructors can modeling expectations by providing timely responses, respectful comments to students, ...
• doing the simple things in an online classroom would include responding to student bios with meaningful comments, using student names in comment responses, ...
• in terms of feedback,it is important to provide specific written feedback as verbal discussions with students are less common
• providing frequent communication is critical in creating a comfortable online environment for your students and catching issues before they become conflicts (we are all more than just text on a computer screen!)

Overall this is a nice article exploring the causes and solutions to conflict in the classroom.  Thank you for sharing this topic with us!

-Carolyn Rodak

Ian and Laveda,

The approached used to identify factors contributing to student motivation, including academic and non-academic influences, was stated well. In addition, the inflexibility of faculty members to incorporate technological tools within the learning environment might unintentionally disenfranchise students who are technologically savvy.The need for faculty members to remain current with ever-changing technology, however, might not be realistic due to budgetary constraints and what appears to be an endless number of innovations available.

When considering the concept of relationships, behavioral expectations, grading criteria, and boundaries are important factors. I appreciate that you not only address factors associated with faculty/student interactions, but factors associated with psychological concerns as well. Stress, fear, and feelings of failing often manifest in disruptive actions. Recognizing when students are struggling prior to becoming a more significant problem is vital to not only maintaining safety on a campus, but to help ensure students learn adequate mechanisms for effectively coping with increasingly challenging and demanding situations. The approaches used for reducing volatile incidents appeared to be similar with the process used for establishing norms for group therapy.I wonder if a rating scale could be developed to be used as a check-in to see how students are coping during the course of a class. Early identification of any psychological stressors might prevent or reduce disputes.

The enjoyed your article

Ron Summerhill 

This article seemed to be very well and sufficiently represented with supportive literature. Seemed to cover many bases that most faculty have or may encounter in the classroom. I could identify with a number of the student/faculty behavioral scenarios. I thought the discussion about faculty role in facilitating rather that "policing the student" was interesting. I was happy to see the emphasis placed on the need to make sure student expectations are made clearer "up front" and that instructional areas that many seem a unclear are made clear could lesses disruptive type behaviours. because I see on-line learning compared to typical classroom learning as differing in several respects...would like to have seen more strategies discussed from this stand point. As we know what works in one setting does not necessarily work in another. Overall, I felt the article offered a number of workable strategies/tools to successfully deal or address the type of issues delineated in article. I appreciate the opportunity to review and provide comments. Drj

I enjoyed reading this submission! Although references need to be updated to include more sources from within the past five years, and applications for the online environment could be developed more, and the text needs to be closely edited, the two major categories/types of situations that produce disputes and the suggested strategies are interesting and helpful. Overall, the topic is timely and the content is engaging (on-campus and online); both cause me to reflect on my teaching on campus and in online courses, and how I handle student disputes.

Hello Ian and Laveda, I find it interesting about your statement that we as educators look at college students as young adults that should be responsible for their own motivation. I think support for this argument could have been expressed further in your writings. For example in our society, we look at young adults as exactly that: adults. Therefore, the need to hand hold or cuddle is extremely reduced as we strive to encourage independences from external support in exchange for encouraging self-regulating motivation. Because you later support this idea when you talk about how college is the first foray for students being responsible for their one lives. In addition, when you talk about stresses and being involved in sports and sleep deprivation is a cause of major stress for students you left other blaring reason why students can be stressed out. May I recommend that you also the habit of college students getting over involved in extra curriculum activity that consist of college supported clubs such as fraternities and sororities  as well as partying every weekend. For example, how many of us as college students spent too much time goofing off at college parties before we became serious about our own education. Are you arguing that their experience is unique or is that that it is common experience and we need to help them? I highlight this point because as a sociologist there is an argument about structure versus agency. The idea of the world around a person versus the free will and movement a person has. Your article seems to imply that the reasons why there can be a schism between students and teachers is strictly reliant upon the college as well as the educators. Yet little responsibility is expected of the students themselves. May I recommend that some responsibility is also placed upon the student who needs to be encourage to have the mind set to come t college and be ready to learn as well. I loved your paper because I found it very thought provoking,

Regards

Anthony Brown