Classroom Management - Sleeping Student

[kerprof]

I have a student who comes to the class and sits in the middle of the first row and simply sleeps every single class. Please advise how to handle this situation.

[arcturus]

It is best to handle this discretely. Ask student to meet with you, prefereably in your office, but before or after class can work if you can have a private conversation. Acknowledge that you appreciate the fact that they value attending class, but that you are concerned that they are not able to stay awake during class. Is there something going on that you can help them with? Continue to express concern and offer help. If the conversation goes in a positive direction, you should be able to - in a non-confrontational way - suggest that while you are glad that they are prioritizing attending class, they might consider choosing a seat that would be less distracting to their classmates. If the conversation does not provide that opportunity, then you should not force it. Know that the student is not likely to be purposefully falling asleep in your course, so it is not purposefully disrespectful when they do so.

[Wahoo Redux]

My philosophy is that they are adults and someone is paying for their schooling somehow.  As long as students are not disruptive, I let them do pretty much what they want with their tuition dollars.

You might ask the student privately if they are alright----who knows if you have a situation involving housing insecurity or an illness.  Chances are good that your student works full time and is exhausted.

[Ruralguy]

I nodded off in a lot of classes. I just stayed up too late. I tried to work out, work, have a relationship and do school work at a top college. It was very tough.

[marshwiggle]

I have a student who comes to the class and sits in the middle of the first row and simply sleeps every single class. Please advise how to handle this situation.

When I was in first year, Physics was at 8:30 a.m. MWF in a large lecture theatre. Only ONE person sat in the front row, right in the middle, (i.e. the closest person in the room to the prof), and he FELL ASLEEP EVERY DAY).
I sat with friends in the second row behind him. One day my keys fell out of my hoodie pocket into the metal supports between the seats and the clatter jolted him awake. It was kind of funny.

I could never understand why he'd pick that seat when he couldn't stay awake. (Yes, I know, maybe he had some sort of medical issue, maybe he needed to sit there for hearing, vision, etc. How dare I "sleep-shame" someone....)

[downer]

I had a student with all sorts of cognitive, emotional and medical issues who fell asleep in my evening course after arriving late. When the class ended he could not be woken up. I alerted a security guy that there was a sleeping student in the classroom and left. Afterwards the student was very upset that I hadn't stayed to make sure that they were OK. It was clear to me however that that was not my job.

Sometimes I made general comments to a class about taking steps to remain alert and awake during class. Sometimes I just stop talking and have a minute of silence while looking at the student, which sometimes results in the student waking up. Most students are embarrassed by falling asleep in class. I might have a one on one conversation with a student if they seem to want to overcome the problem.

I haven't taught an evening class in a while, so I haven't had the problem.

[Caracal]

I nodded off in a lot of classes. I just stayed up too late. I tried to work out, work, have a relationship and do school work at a top college. It was very tough.

Yeah, I think the issue is that it happens all the time and that it is happening right in the middle of the classroom. Years ago I was teaching a class with only four students. The students were all really engaged and it turned out to be a lot of fun. However, a month into the semester, a student who was usually a very active participant just started falling asleep in the middle of class. It was just five of us sitting around a table, so it was pretty hard for the rest of us to just ignore it. Even when class ended one day and everyone started packing up, he just kept sleeping and I had to go stand next to him and loudly say his name to wake him up. I was tempted to just leave him there and avoid the awkwardness, but I was worried that I would just be passing the problem on to the next instructor who needed to use the room. I did end up talking to him and he agreed he needed to make sure to get more sleep and he managed to stay awake mostly.

I agree that you should frame it as both about your concern for the student, but also about the disruption. College can be a weird time for traditional students in the sense that often nobody is really intensely invested in your choices and their consequences. If I suddenly just start staying awake all night playing video games and then can barely function in the morning, my wife is likely to have some thoughts about that since she relies on me to get our kid off to school in the morning. When you don't have people around who are always affected by your actions and choices, it can be easy to think you are kind of in a bubble and nobody is paying any attention. Sometimes, I think it can really help to just have an instructor point out, in a kind way, that your actions are causing some issues, while expressing concern for what might be going on.

[Aster]

It is best to handle this discretely. Ask student to meet with you, prefereably in your office, but before or after class can work if you can have a private conversation. Acknowledge that you appreciate the fact that they value attending class, but that you are concerned that they are not able to stay awake during class. Is there something going on that you can help them with? Continue to express concern and offer help. If the conversation goes in a positive direction, you should be able to - in a non-confrontational way - suggest that while you are glad that they are prioritizing attending class, they might consider choosing a seat that would be less distracting to their classmates. If the conversation does not provide that opportunity, then you should not force it. Know that the student is not likely to be purposefully falling asleep in your course, so it is not purposefully disrespectful when they do so.

This. +1

[RatGuy]

+1 to everyone suggestion discretion.

While I recognize the medical and extracurricular reasons a student might sleep, at my university a student who *always* sleeps in class is considered to be the potential victim of hazing. Indeed, at new faculty orientation, there's a "signs of hazing" presentation, and we're told to address it discretely but directly. As in, ask the student privately "are you being hazed" and "are you prevented from sleeping?"

[lightning]

Do you take attendance? If you do, the student might just be physically attending. If that's the case, only mark them down as "in attendance" if they are awake.

If you use a sign-in sheet, pass it around when the sleeper is asleep.

[Biologist_]

I would advise the student on practical approaches to staying awake in class. Options include taking notes, doodling, working a crossword puzzle or something, and standing in the corner or along the side wall instead of sitting.

Start the conversation with a sympathetic tone and the assumption that the student wants to stay awake but just can't do it. That's how it was for me in certain classes in college. I can think of one class in which I fell asleep for at least a few minutes almost every day. In another class, I usually worked the crossword puzzle while listening and taking notes. On days when I forgot to grab the campus newspaper on the way into the building, I fell asleep. I would try and try to stay awake but I just couldn't do it. The same thing still happens to me during longer talks at conferences if I don't take lots of notes, doodle vigorously, or find a spot where I can stand up unobtrusively.

If the student gets to class a few minutes early, I would try to catch stu then. "I notice that you have some trouble staying awake. Is this a time of day when you tend to get sleepy?... Try doodling in your notebook today and see if it helps you to concentrate and stay awake..."

[kerprof]

I sent the student an email asking me to meet me in my office and that what time will work for him but the student did not reply to  my email.
This particular student is a graduate student. I am not sure if it is worth talking to the student.  Please advise.

[Ruralguy]

In my experience no one will ever ever ever admit to being hazed. The wall goes up as soon as you ask, and then seconds later, the other members of the fraternity (usually its fraternities) all know, and tell everyone else to shut up (to the inquiries from outside) or get out.

[lightning]

If he's a grad student, I doubt he is in a frat (or at least the type of frat that would use sleep deprivation as part of a hazing ritual). And, I also doubt that you take attendance in a class that is attended by graduate students. If he's not answering your generous inquiry of concern, then let things work out naturally. You've done your job, and done all that you can for him. It's up to him now.

[Puget]

If he's a grad student, I doubt he is in a frat (or at least the type of frat that would use sleep deprivation as part of a hazing ritual). And, I also doubt that you take attendance in a class that is attended by graduate students. If he's not answering your generous inquiry of concern, then let things work out naturally. You've done your job, and done all that you can for him. It's up to him now.

I'm going to disagree with this-- falling asleep once is one thing, but if it happening regularly it is a sign something is wrong. Could be a sleep disorder. Could be depression. If this was a grad student in my class, and they didn't respond to my attempts to check in, I would alert the DGS.