17 Strategies to Help Students Who Become Aggressive with Teachers

Are you looking for strategies to help students who become aggressive with teachers? If so, keep reading.

1. Stop annoying or anxiety-producing situations from happening (e.g., give the learner tasks only on their capacity and ability level, give the learner only the number of tasks that can be tolerated in one sitting, lessen social interactions that encourage the learner to become physically aggressive, etc.).

2. Teach the learner problem-solving skills: (a) find the problem, (b) find goals and objectives, (c) create strategies, (d) create a plan for action, and (e) carry out the plan.

3. Give the learner positive feedback that indicates they are successful, essential, respected, etc.

4. Organize their surroundings to prevent chances for the learner to become physically aggressive toward teachers (e.g., interact regularly with the learner to prevent them from becoming frustrated).

5. Provide maximum supervision of the learner. As the learner shows appropriate behavior, slowly decrease supervision.

6. Provide visibility to and from the learner. The teacher and the learner should be able to see each other. Make eye contact possible at all times.

7. Minimize learning activities that might be menacing to the learner (e.g., announcing test scores aloud, having students to read aloud in class, praising high achievers excessively, etc.).

8. Make sure you are regularly in proximity to the learner.

9. Attempt several groupings to ascertain the situation in which the learner is most successful.

10. Minimize the emphasis on competition and perfection. Repeated failure and frustration may cause outbursts of physical aggression.

11. Make the appropriate adjustments in their surroundings to prevent the learner from becoming overstimulated by peers, which in turn would make it appropriate for the teacher to intervene.

12. Teach the learner alternative ways to deal with situations that make them frustrated or angry (e.g., withdrawing, talking, etc.).

13. Solidify on-task behavior by providing a full schedule of learning activities. Stop lag time from happening when the learner would be free to take part in unacceptable behavior.

14. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

15. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

16. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

17. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.