Oppositional defiant students: how to work

Students come in all shapes and sizes: some are motivated to do their best to please teachers with great levels of comprehension and loyalty, while others may not be particularly neat or well-behaved. Simply put, they don’t let you be a class gatekeeper, touching on almost all your weaknesses as a teacher. Isn’t that the case for every student? Well, not really. To some extent, throwing a tantrum and questioning the authority of adults may be regarded as a throughline of childhood, but some students show hostile behaviour instantly, not to say they’re easily irritable and don’t comply with some external “grow-ups-world” guidelines. The ODD or oppositional defiant disorder can be regarded as one of the reasons for it. Let’s discuss what you need to be aware of and how you can handle it.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, ODD can be classified as a mental disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The following article aims only at informing educators on patterns of ODD students and possible pedagogical response to their behaviour in the classroom. Be sure to inform parents if a student in your class shows ODD symptoms. There are some of them:

— subordination issues leading to defiance and unwillingness to follow rules in class

— an intent to annoy others

— anxious and easily irritated by others as well

— a lack of awareness of how to name and cope with negative emotions

The struggle is real

If you think back to the last time you felt irritated, overprotective of your boundaries, or just fierce to show others you don’t appreciate the way they interfere with your life, you’re not alone. One may do well to bottle up their feelings, but eventually, those feelings find their way out, disrupting one’s life and relationships. And with kids, the stakes are especially high: long-term defiant behaviour slowly ruins their daily life and affects their relationships with family, friends, and teachers. The problem remains that they are often viewed as emotional predators. Due to their young age and lack of adult-like awareness, they cannot control emotions or resolve problems without harming others mentally. Children with ODD also view authority differently, acting as if they know what is best for their life goals instead of complying with rules set by adults. We can examine the origins of their riots by observing the way they view adult authority.

Cease the fire, not power

Adults’ power is best understood as decision-making authority. The latter depends on parenting and teaching styles that can influence how a child reacts. Often, children’s overreactions are caused by a confrontation with these styles and approaches. A child with ODD is especially good at attacking the decisions of their parents and teachers to avoid obeying them. You really need to be ready to explain calmly what is expected from them and why it matters. You may also need to make some changes to your teaching style together with the help of special education teachers and parents. It will make the educational process smooth and logical and give a better understanding of the child’s behaviour outside the classroom.

Mind the triggers

As soon as you’ve established a more or less consistent academic environment with the help of parents or/and special education practitioners, it’s high time to think about boundaries and responses expected from you as a teacher of the ODD child. It helps to observe the child’s behaviour for a little while to figure out what triggers his or her disruptive behaviour in classes so that you can avoid these “bumpy rides” in advance or at least ease them. Curriculum struggles are one of the most obvious triggers: if students find some tasks challenging, they may display negative emotions without hesitation. The requirements for such tasks usually revolve around reading and writing comprehension when it comes to learning languages: their main emphasis is on the application of problem-solving skills, and ODD children lack them.

Here’s the common case: the child with ODD is constantly given exercises with intricate instructions, and they’re more demanding and not compatible with the student’s learning style. Every time he or she encounters them, it results in a severe confrontation with a teacher. The teacher, fed up with constant interference (and what’s worse — unfamiliar with the ODD features), starts to mirror such behaviour or exclude the child from the classwork. As a result, the ODD child is trapped into the system that fuels frustration, low self-esteem and poor academic performance.

As a result of curriculum struggles and inappropriate teacher responses, children with ODD may be ignored by the classroom. Those around a student with a mental disorder may think he or she is less socially attractive or even dangerous. The best way to tackle the issue is to tailor the curriculum and/or course syllabus to boost better academic performance and emotional well-being. Also, educators need to try their best to create a friendly classroom atmosphere and raise awareness on how peers with mental disorders should be treated.

Provide an inclusive learning environment

Instead of acting defensively or even hostile towards the ODD child, teachers need to demonstrate that the classroom is a safe space, free from punishment (not responsibility!). The ODD children may indeed use vulnerabilities to hurt you emotionally. Implementing safety rules is essential because it eliminates barriers for classmates to express themselves freely, and it helps those who have ODD-related difficulties to receive help from their teachers and their peers. We’ve mentioned above that mental disorder often negatively affects the way kids are seen and teachers are the first to notice it. So, trying to be approachable and non-judgemental is another good ice-breaker to win the ODD kids’ trust and inspire their classmates to do the same.

System of checks and balances in classroom

As another distinct characteristic of the ODD students, excessive arguing can lead to a questioning of every rule you expect them to follow. Establishing a set of simple and transparent rules will encourage your learners to reflect on behaviour misconduct in advance. The main takeaway for the ODD children here is that they make a first step towards establishing meaningful connections with others, taking into account their needs and worries. Creating predictability is another benefit: students will be less likely to disrupt others (and themselves) if the classroom requirements are fixed.

Some educators also recommend designing a reward system targeted at the ODD students in order to engage them in a classroom “legislation”. There could be a check-up list with positive practices and rewards for each one. Depending on the severity of ODD, a child may be involved in creating a set of rules, thus acknowledging the need for proper cooperation and behaving well through shared responsibility.

Teachers also need to recharge batteries

Working with the ODD kids is no mean feat: these children display an extreme lack of cooperation, defiance, and hostile behaviour toward adult authority, which has a detrimental impact on not only the child’s daily lives but also on their teachers. That’s why letting others know that you need a time-out is crucial. Responding calmly to every «attack» made by the ODD child while constantly monitoring your tone of voice is extremely difficult. Basically, it is a matter of shutting down your feelings, which is why consulting a psychologist regularly is a great idea. You need to get help from colleagues right away if emotions start to and you realize you cannot respond neutrally to the disruption of the lesson.

It won’t be a revelation to many that teaching is not all unicorns and rainbows, and any mental disorder that learners suffer from affects teachers equally. You can make teaching special needs students more efficient by filling methodological gaps. There are some relevant online courses on Coursera (for example, a course from John Hopkins University on psychological first aid) and FutureLearn (which offers a course entitled The PEP TALK Guide to Supporting Young People’s Mental Health). We  hope you find these tips useful. Keep safe and sound, make the classroom more inclusive — it’s the best way to affect positive change globally!

Speaking activities are, obviously, essential for English language speaking classes. A lot of students join classes particularly to develop their communicative competence, become more fluent, versatile, adaptable, and confident communicators in English. However, designing speaking activities might be time-consuming and nerve-wracking for any teacher. We have prepared a memo with superb ready-made speaking tasks that will make your student talking.