Strategies for controlling noise in lectures

The following notes about controlling noisy classes were written some time ago by Peter Giblin.

A few classes are marred by excessive talking from students. This is of course annoying to the lecturer, but, more important, it detracts from the effectiveness of the learning process for the other students. Some lecturers have been very successful in curbing this problem, but others have asked for advice and these notes are intended to pass on useful suggestions, and to make explicit the procedures and sanctions which can be applied if the problem becomes serious.

Suggestions

1. When specific groups of students are talking during the lecture, address these students directly, walking to a point in the lecture room close to them. Point out that they are disturbing other students.
2. On the whole, addressing the whole class is not as effective, but at least one member of staff uses this method with success (and without raising his voice!).
3. You can speak to students after a lecture, though this can be tricky as the noisy ones usually sit at the back and escape before you can collar them.
4. You can point out the sanctions available to you - see below.
5. You can stop a lecture until there is adequate silence. As a rule a majority of students want to listen and peer pressure will quieten the others.
6. You can request that another member of staff sits in on one of your lectures and that (s)he speaks specifically to disruptive students. (This might be especially useful if you have a very large class where picking out individuals might be difficult.)
7. For large classes, it is now possible to request a postgraduate helper to come in and help to keep order.
8. Attendance at lectures is compulsory. It is therefore not appropriate to tell students something like "if you're going to be noisy, please don't bother coming to the lectures".

Sanctions

1. As suggested above, another member of staff could monitor students at your request. This is not a sanction to be mentioned to students but something which could be used.
2. Note the names of students (if necessary asking!) and the Chairman of the BSMS will write to them, initially with a warning but if this fails with a summons to be interviewed, exactly as if they had failed to attend lectures, and with a follow-up interview with the head of department if necessary.
3. A follow-up sanction would be exclusion from lectures, after due warnings and an interview. It is highly unlikely that this would be applied, but it could be a threat.