38 Dealing with disruptions
What strategies did you use for dealing with disruptions?
EG: I had a very stupid Zoom bombing incident in the early weeks of the course. The disruption occurred in the final few moments and the culprits left immediately after their comments, so I told the class that I take these disruptions seriously and want the virtual classroom to be safe for all of us. I reported the disruption to Susie and provided students with my response a few days later: update lecture link passwords, reminders about disseminating links, etc.
ES: I’ve witnessed disruptions during in-person classes, and I’ve had disruptions occur in tutorials, both in-person and over Zoom. For the Zoom disruption during tutorial, I essentially followed what Emily did — I ended class early, emailed the professor, and sent out an email to the students to ask if they were okay.
The reality is that in-person disruptions will occur at some point in university classrooms, whether you like it or not. On campus during homecoming week, I’ve witnessed students dressed in school colours running into lecture halls, screaming, and then running out. The best you can do is crack a joke and move on; however, if the disruption is problematic and makes you and/or students feel unsafe, then you need to talk to the head of the department.