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SEL Series – Out Wit the Witty

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:

  1. Duly noted
  2. We’ll check later
  3. Thanks for sharing
  4. I see your point
  5. Moving on
  6. I understand where you’re coming from
  7. I hear you
  8. That’s right
  9. Acknowledged
  10. Fantastic
  11. Wait it gets better
  12. Good to know
  13. Love your thought process
  14. Think about it
  15. I know where you are coming from
  16. You will find out shortly
  17. I’ll keep that in mind
  18. 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:

  1. Time to Teach Trainers
  2. The Cornerstone of Teachers
 
 

Tiana Brown is the Assistant Director of the Norwalk Housing Authority Learning Centers

 
 
 
 

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