ABSTRACT
For some teachers and teaching assistants, the temptation to ignore students who are not actually disrupting anyone, but are clearly not involved with the lesson, is overwhelming. There may be occasions when it might be appropriate to 'tactically ignore' the student for a short time, but this practice should be used sparingly. Everyone needs space and it may well be that a particular student should be given a little leeway from time to time. Time-limited and closely monitored tactical ignoring can be an effective strategy. However, this should not be confused with allowing the student to become, over a period of time, disengaged from the learning environment. All teachers have experienced the moment when they are teaching a class group, scanning all the students, and suddenly notice that someone is off task. This can lead to a variety of feelings, which the teacher needs to be able to manage.
