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[oldchair]

Sorry you're going through this,  Dagny.  It happens to all of us at some point. 

In my department, faculty often involve the chair (me) at this point.  It is, I believe, very important to have a third party, and someone with administrative authority might not be a bad idea. 

In fact, as chair I would ask the faculty member if I could schedule the meeting for the three of us in my office.  This will let the student know that this is a serious issue.  I'd then give the student a little bit of room to talk before reminding him/her of my responsibility to "protect the learning environment for all students . . . blah . . . blah. . . I will remove you from the class . . . blah . . . blah. . . blah . . .and then contact your academic adviser . . . blah . . . blah . . . blah . . .Since your work is not complete, you'll receive a  failing grade, etc."

These meetings usually do the trick.  The secret, though, is to be ready to remove the student immediately following the next inappropriate actions.

As far as fears about managing your classroom, use your best judgment, but remember you're not a high school teacher.  You don't need to contain the problem.  On our campus, we don't hire to faculty to manage or correct students who can't obey a basic Code of Conduct.  We elect chairs to remove those students from our classes. 

Do whatever is needed to all the other  students to learn

Good luck,
Oldchair

[pythagoras]

Hi Dagny,

I'm glad you posted this and got such helpful responses, because for the first time this semester, I had a behavior issue and I wasn't sure what to do about it. After three-fourths of the class had passed and we were well into the lesson, one boy with spotty attendance and performance started chatting with a neighbor. I asked him twice to stop and he continued. I finally asked him a last time, and he continued to talk, looking straight at me with a very defying glance. Luckily he sits near the door. I told him to leave. He took his time, and I stood there at the front and stared at him until he did. I've never had a problem with this student, so I'm not sure what happened. I emailed him that he must come to my office before returning to class, at the advice of someone in my department. I doubt he will. Now I will pull him aside after class tomorrow and try to talk to him, and I will try to get him to my office with someone standing by, just in case. The situation was upsetting to me, and I think to other students. I want to handle it correctly without it escalating like yours has, and now I think I know what to do.

Good luck with your situation and let us know how it goes.

[dagny]

pythagoras--Yikes. But I think you handled that really well. I am preparing myself to do exactly what you did, as uncomfortable as it may be. I've never had to tell a student to leave before, but it looks like it's coming.

I hope everything goes well for you and that the meeting with your student is productive.

[fishbrains]

I would have the student come to my office. I wouldn't, however, invite another prof or have a tape recorder. I think that's a bit overdone for the crime of chattering.

Maybe, but I've used the tape recorder based more on a "gut" feeling about a particular student more than the actual crime. Some students know how to play the system and don't care what happens to the people they play with.

It's up to the OP to decide whether or not her student is one of the destructive ones.