The hijacked lecture

strategies for handling deviance in the classroom

Abstract

Deviant student behaviour that interrupts and disturbs the teaching environment in university
classrooms can be expressed in different actions. While many reasons may cause this behavior to manifest, in this paper we have identified five potential causes: lack of interest, attention
seeking, gender differences, attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and enthusiasm. This paper reviews these causes and presents several strategies to address these behaviours including: establishing clear interactive classroom rules at an early stage in the course, receiving feedback from students regarding their perception of classroom environment and the structure of the class, and other strategies such as encouraging engagement of all students through different learning styles.These suggested strategies have effective impact to deal with and resolve the disruptive behaviour of devianent students and provide a more encouraging and positive learning environment.