April 03, 2025

Ten Teacher Behaviors That Can Contribute to Disengagement

Student disengagement is not a new concept, but in recent years, it seems to have spiked. Be it stemming from pandemic and post-pandemic habits, societal or generational factors, or something else, most teachers would agree that disengagement is a substantial challenge in the classroom. While we cannot address all that might result in student disengagement, we can examine our approach to instruction to see if there are things we inadvertently do that may contribute to it.

We plan, organize, and design our lessons to ensure that students will learn them. Admittedly, the challenge is great. After all, we want to avoid anything that might undermine or distract from this goal, but over time, we can find ourselves developing habits and engaging in practices that fail to add to or may even distract from students’ engagement and commitment to learn. Students can disengage from learning, from each other, and from the classroom, and their disengagement can take many forms.

Without intending to or realizing it, what we say and do can undermine the learning environment we have worked so diligently to create. We might group these habits or behaviors into three broad categories: relationships, communication, and instruction. Here are ten of the most common culprits we should pay attention to and monitor.

Relationships

Favoritism. Students are very attuned to whether everyone, including them, is treated fairly and equally. It is only natural for us to relate to some students more than to others. They may remind us of ourselves or someone we care for, or they may have a personality or approach to life to which we feel a connection. However, we need to be careful not to allow these feelings to influence our interactions with and treatment of other students. Of course, it is also natural that we may find it difficult to connect with and relate to some students for a variety of reasons. Here, too, we need to be cognizant of our actions to avoid any appearance of favoritism. While students may attempt to read into our actions, we need to remain vigilant and avoid allowing our personal feelings to influence our professional behavior.
Inconsistent expectations. Students are more likely to thrive in an environment of stability and predictability. Uncertainty and shifting expectations can lead to confusion, the stifling of initiative, and a lack of sustained learning commitment. Of course, there are times and circumstances under which we may need to adjust our expectations. These are times when we need to slow down, explain why and how our expectations may need to change, and consider any implications they hold for the behavior and role of students.
Public shaming. Calling out, embarrassing, or shaming a student when they have misbehaved or failed to meet our expectations may have a visible impact on their behavior and give us some level of satisfaction in the near term. However, public shaming of students can carry unintended implications beyond the immediate situation. Shaming can undermine a student’s self-confidence and sense of identity in ways that last well beyond our time with them. Meanwhile, other students often share feelings of embarrassment and shame, even if they are not the object of our actions. The long-term effects of our actions can be lower levels of engagement, less learning risk-taking, and resentment.

Communication

Interrupting or talking over students. When we feel pressed for time, when we think we know what we are about to hear, or when we want to make a timely point, we can be tempted to cut students off or inject our thoughts and direction before students have finished speaking. Unfortunately, this behavior can become a habit as we prioritize efficiency and focus on our agenda; however, interrupting and talking over anyone suggests that what we have to say is more important than what the speaker is saying. Equally important, talking is an important element in learning. Allowing students to complete their thoughts can reveal their thinking and give us insights regarding how we might best respond. We can also avoid needless misinterpretation of their message. Ultimately, when students experience frequent interruptions, they are likely to speak and learn less.
Overtalking. It is a fact that we know much about the content and skills we are teaching. We want our students to benefit from our knowledge and experience. However, part of learning is exploring and discovering. Students need what we can share to guide their learning. However, they may become frustrated and disengaged when we overexplain, excessively repeat, or needlessly digress when introducing new information or providing guidance.
Overuse of “Because I said so.” We may become frustrated when students constantly ask “why” or otherwise push back on expectations and tasks. As a result, we can find ourselves reverting to our authority and credibility rather than explaining the reasons or logic connected to what we are asking them to do. Unfortunately, doing so can sacrifice opportunities for students to see the purpose and value of our expectations and requests. For students, “Because I said so” is an expression of authority and dismissal of their need to know and understand. Consequently, we can inadvertently undermine students’ respect for our expertise and introduce doubt about the reason and logic underlying our direction.

Instruction

Lack of preparation. There will be occasions when we neglect to locate a resource, fail to fully prepare a piece of equipment for use, or otherwise miss a key element of preparation. Students understand that we are human. However, when the lack of mental and physical preparation becomes routine, students can interpret our behavior as a lack of commitment, organization, or expertise. Further, correcting the situation takes time away from the opportunity to learn and can result in students losing focus and replacing our agenda and activities with something they find more entertaining.
Overreliance on a single instructional method. Each of us has favorite methods of instruction, and they are often approaches that work best for us. We may prefer to provide explicit instruction, design an introductory activity, or engage students with technology. Each of these and other instructional methods can provide support for learning. However, when our preferred instructional method becomes overly dominant or exclusively the way we teach, or does not vary in response to student readiness, we risk losing their engagement and inviting distractions and frustration.
Absent or delayed feedback. We know that feedback is a crucial element in learning. However, we can find ourselves preoccupied with competing priorities and fail to provide students with feedback that contains the depth, timeliness, and clarity that they need to maintain learning momentum. Grading and returning assessments and assignments offer the most value when the turnaround is quick. Where practical, we can use technology to assist us. We might also choose to give students fewer practice activities in favor of a focus on processes and depth of thought or focusing our feedback on a single element rather than correcting and providing feedback on every element. Of course, when practical, we might design learning activities that provide immediate feedback such as online quizzes, physical demonstrations, and individual conferences.
Poor time management. Time is among the most precious resources available to support learning. Yet, it can easily slip away in the context of an instructional cycle. For example, we can take too much time introducing and presenting a lesson, thus leaving too little time for practice and building understanding at the end. Or we may attempt to cover too much in a single lesson. Regardless, students depend on us to manage the time available and balance the activities we plan in a manner that does not shortchange key elements and deprive them of important supports for learning.

Now might be a good time to reflect on whether any of these behaviors or habits might be creating barriers to your effectiveness and your students’ learning. The list presented here is not exhaustive. What other behaviors or habits would you add?