This teaching tip offers strategies for addressing students “side talking” in an in-person class in a kind, respectful way. It also describes ideas for structured and unstructured talk time in class.
When Side Talk Becomes Distracting
It is normal for students to want to talk in the classroom: to make acquaintances, say hello to friends, be social, quickly clarify some aspect of the lesson or activity, etc. However, repeated side chat–talking that seems unrelated to the lesson–can be distracting for other students, and for you. While most students may not mean for their behaviour to be disruptive or incivil, students talking during the lesson can interfere with teaching and learning (Clark, 2017).
How can you re-direct students talking during class in a way that maintains a positive learning environment for all?
See the video [to 3:55], directed by Kathryn Brillinger and Laura Stoutenberg, for tips on addressing students talking in class. Then review the suggestions listed below.
Teaching and Learning (2020). Students talking in class. Conestoga College.
Planning Before Class
1. Reflect on the student talk time in your lesson. From a neuroscience view, active learning is “brain friendly,” which means it enhances learning (Ghanbari et al., 2019). If you notice students are chatting often in your class, it may be because they need more interaction time for learning. Try breaking up your lesson with active learning activities to avoid you talking for more than 10 minutes at a time.
2. Plan to address talking in advance. In an interview with Michael Lisin (Gonzalez, 2017), author oftheSmart Classroom Management blog, Lisin notes that excessive talking occurs either because students don’t understand what no talking means, or because they don’t believe that you mean it. By going to class with an intentional strategy to manage talking (rather than ignore it), you show you are using your role as manager of the class to address disruptive behaviours.
It is a good idea to speak seriously and firmly about your expectations about when students are expected not to talk (such as when you or other students are speaking as a planned part of the lesson).
3. Make sure you can be seen and heard. Prepare to teach in your classroom within the visual sight lines of all students. As you teach, move around the room so everyone can hear you and see your body language. Project your voice so that students at the back of the class can hear you easily.
When you move to one side of the room in order to hear and respond to student questions or comments, repeat those comments so the whole class can hear.
4. Plan in-class mini-breaks. In addition to a 10-minute break between each hour of lesson time, give students short 2-minute structured breaks for stretching, chatting, or using social media. These in-class breaks, which work well as transitions between activities, can give students a chance to re-focus.
5. Remind students about classroom rules before the class gets going. Here are some simple conduct guidelines that you can share on a slide or write on a whiteboard and review as needed. Explain why these rules are important, such as due to the size of the classroom, the importance of safety in the lab, etc.
a. No one talks while the teacher is addressing the class. b. No one talks while another student is addressing the teacher. c. When students are working together, the talk should stay on task after preliminary greetings.
Responding to Side Chat During Class
Students will benefit from reminders and explanations about when and why it is appropriate to be silent in class. Often, side chat is not intended to be disrespectful to you. Whenever possible, address students talking with tactics that are respectful and avoid escalating classroom management issues. The risk level for embarrassing a student publicly is indicated for each suggestion.
1. Use a PowerPoint slide(s) as a visual reinforcement to settle students. For instance, your slide may say, “Please remain silent and attentive to get the most out of this lesson.” Or, mute the slide entirely (CTRL+B) and stand quietly by the slide. (No risk)
2. Pause significantly and catch the talking students’ eyes. Give students non-verbal messages that you notice they are talking while you are talking. (No risk)
3. Create a partner or small group task to allow students to settle and refocus. Limit groups to 3 or 4 students so that the conversation does not get too loud. Invite students to move around the room, or to the hallway, to give each other talking space. Ensure the task or prompt is clear, and circulate to ensure students remain on-task. (No risk)
4. Move and teach near the students talking. Put your hand on the desk where students are chatting. Using your body language will draw attention to you and your lesson. (Medium risk)
5. Engage the talking students in the class lesson. Without putting individual students on the spot, involve the group of talkers in the lesson by inviting them to share their ideas with the whole class. (High risk)
6. After class, speak privately with each student, or send individual emails, to indicatethat you invite students to speak to each other at the break in order to avoid disrupting the learning of others. As Clark (2017) notes, “Dealing with the incivility privately avoids a public escalation of the problem and leaves other options open, if needed” (p.212). Here is a sample message.
Dear student: I am contacting you today regarding how we can work together to create a supportive learning environment in our class. I’ve noticed lately that you and other students have been chatting during class time. I wanted to remind you that if you have a question related to the course, then please ask it during class–if you are unclear, then others may be as well! If there are non-related course topics you wish to discuss with other students, I ask that you wait to chat at the break or text message each other. By listening actively in class and minimizing chat that can be disruptive to the learning of others, we make our class a space that supports everyone’s learning! If you have some ideas for how I might support your attention and focus in class, please let me know.
Note that some students may have visible or invisible disabilities that can limit their capacity to be silent during class. Give students the ability to manage their own learning needs by allowing them to exit the classroom if keeping silent is difficult for them for any reason.
Encouraging and Directing Student Talk
The noisy classroom can be busy, but students talking in class is good for both social and academic reasons (Gosner, 2021). Chat signals that students are building relationships with fellow learners, which can drive engagement with the class. Chat can also be used to break from recently learned material, and this downtime can support learning (Ghanbari, 2019). Conversations also provide students with opportunities to learn from each other.
Making decisions about who talks and when talking happens can be an effective classroom strategy. Here are some ways to deliberately structure student talk in the classroom (Gosner, 2021).
1. Begin the class with brief unstructured time, giving students a chance to connect and settle. Explain the purpose and goal of the unstructured time, and provide a simple visual cue that will end the free time for chat so that the class can transition into the lesson.
2. Provide silent reflection activities, then give students to chat about their thinking in pairs or small groups for a pre-set amount of time.
3. Before starting small group discussion activities, explain that you wish for activity-related talk to occur only after instructions are given and everyone has had a chance to ask any questions of you.
4. Allow students to decide on how they wish to control their time in class (Johnston et al., (2011). Perhaps you might say, “I am hearing a lot of side chat while I am delivering this lesson, and I’m not sure why. What would you like to do now: review the concept together again if you are unsure about it, switch to a group activity where you can practice, or take a mini-break?”
References
Clark, K. R. (2017). Managing the higher education classroom. Radiologic Technology, 89(2), 210–213.
Ghanbari, Sahar, et al. (2019). What do faculties specializing in brain and neural sciences think about, and how do they approach, brain-friendly teaching-learning in Iran? Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences, 6(2), Gale Academic OneFile Select, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A604847905/EAIM?u=conestoga&sid=bookmark-EAIM&xid=1d4a7582
Johnston, P.H., Ivey, G. and Faulkner, A. (2011), Talking In Class: Remembering what Is important about classroom talk. Read Teach, 65: 232-237. https://doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01033
Elan Paulson
Elan Paulson, PhD, has been an educator in Ontario's higher education system since 2004. Before joining Conestoga as a Teaching and Learning Consultant, Elan was on the executive team at eCampusOntario. She previously served as Program Director and as an instructor in professional education programs at Western University's Faculty of Education. With a Master's in Educational Technology, Elan specializes in technology-enabled and collaborative learning to support diverse learners. She has also conducted research on faculty participation in communities of practice for professional learning and self-care.
