Faculty:
Staff:
PIC 1: The title card “Responding to a Student in Distress” appears before transitioning to Dr. Knight in the library.
You know how when you have a bruise, and then, you accidently hit the bruise, causing a flash of searing pain. If you didn’t bang that bruise, it wouldn’t really hurt at all.
When students face distress, it’s like that bruise. It might be hidden, but it’s always there, and the smallest thing on the right pressure point can cause them intense emotional pain.
PIC 2: An image appears with a group of shadow students, with a single one in brighter color with steam and angry emoticons over their head.
A moment like this happened in my class recently.
My students were preparing for their midterm, studying in small groups. I hadn’t checked in on one of the groups for a while, so I didn’t realize Sara was starting to get more and more agitated.
PIC 3: The same student from last slide, now colored red, stands up and says, “This is a waste of my time!”
I was with another group when she stood up and shouted, “This is a waste of my time.”
It took everything in me to remember she was probably not angry with me personally.
It was much more likely that she was stressed or angry at something in her life, and my class had become the target of her pent-up frustrations.
PIC 4: Dr. Knight appears next to the image of the angry student.
Maybe she was going through some kind of distress, and something had sort of hit that bruise.
My mind immediately went to the rest of the class.
Because this outburst happened in front of the whole class, I knew it had to be immediately addressed in front of the whole class.
PIC 5: The image returns to the red student with the title “If it is not addressed” with a series of bullet points underneath.
PIC 6: Dr. Knight appears next to the student again.
I was trying to defuse the situation, but I was not trying or expecting her to open up in front of everyone.
PIC 7: The image returns to the image of the student standing up with Dr. Knight in a dialogue bubble saying, “I understand if there’s somewhere else you need to be.”
So, I said with all sincerity, “I understand if there’s somewhere else you need to be.”
PIC 8: The next image shows the student sitting down with the rest of the class saying, “Whatever.”
She wrinkled her brow. She wasn’t expecting me to actually care. “Whatever.” She slumped back down in her chair.
PIC 9: The screen returns to Dr. Knight in the library.
Turns out all I needed to do in the moment to defuse the situation was… take her seriously and show I was listening.
To be clear, I wasn’t approving of her outburst, I was just acknowledging her frustrations.
PIC 10: This slide is titled “De-escalation Tactics in the Moment,” and has a list of “Do’s.”
PIC 11: This slide provides a list of “Don’ts.”
PIC 12: The screen returns to Dr. Knight in the library.
As I continued to make my way around the room, checking in on the various small groups, I let them know I understood that it can be hard to feel stuck in a classroom when you have other important things going on, and if anyone felt they needed to leave early for any reason, they could.
PIC 13: A shadow image of a student with two word bubbles above their head appears next to Dr. Knight.
When class was over, I asked Sara to stick around for a minute so we could have a more in-depth chat.
PIC 14: The shadow student turns into an image of Sara.
This part of the conversation had to be private, because she could share personal information.
PIC 15: This slide is titled “Specific, observable behaviors,” and includes a conversation between Dr. Knight and Sara.
Dr. Knight says, “I’ve never seen you raise your voice like that, saying this is a waste of your time seems out of character for you.”
Sara responds, “I just have so much going on and helping someone else study is the last thing I need to be doing right now.”
PIC 16: This slide is titled “Neutral open-ended questions” and includes a continuation of the conversation between Dr. Knight and Sara.
Dr. Knight asks, “What do you feel like you need to be doing?”
Sara responds, “I’m worried about making rent this month. I really need to be picking up shifts at the restaurant, but I can’t because I have too much studying.”
PIC 17: This slide is titled “Empathize” and includes a continuation of the conversation.
Dr. Knight says, “That’s really stressful, to worry about rent while you’re trying to study.”
Sara responds, “It’s just hard for me to concentrate you know, when all I can think about is how I am going to pay for it all.”
PIC 18: This slide is titled “Reflect” and includes a continuation of the conversation.
Dr. Knight says, “You feel like you need to address your financial concerns so that you can focus on your schoolwork.”
Sara responds, “Yeah, I really care about school, but I just don’t know how I can do it all. Any advice?”
PIC 19: This slide is titled “Refer” and includes a continuation of the conversation.
Dr. Knight says, “What do you think about going to talk to the financial aid office? They might have some ideas for grants or scholarships.”
Sara responds, “Sure, but what about my grades?”
Dr. Knight says, “For academic concerns, do you think it would be helpful to go to the tutoring center? They can give you some study tips.”
Sara replies, “Yeah, maybe. Thanks for talking through this with me.”
PIC 20: The screen returns to Dr. Knight in the library.
Sara’s outburst wound up being diffused easily, but if there’s a situation in your class where you feel like a student is a danger to themself or others, wherever possible, remove them from the classroom. Seek additional help, such as campus security.
Now, you’ll get a chance to practice a conversation like the one I had with Sara.
PIC 21: The library fades away and is replaced by a slide which has a picture of Ms. Singh and one of Rama titled “Follow-Up with Rama.”
While your class was giving group presentations, one of your students, Rama, snapped at his classmate. This isn’t like him.
Try to de-escalate the situation and follow up with Rama to see if anything is bothering him.
PIC 22: The scene shifts to one where Rama and Ms. Singh sit across from each other with the title “Scenario: Talk with Rama.”
Your Goal:
Techniques: