Are you looking for genius ways to encourage students not to blurt out answers during class? If so, keep reading.

1. Provide sufficient chances to respond (i.e., enthusiastic students need many chances to contribute).

2. Give academic and leisure learning activities that let the learner be highly active and talkative.

3. Talk regularly with the learner to lessen the need to blurt out answers without being called on.

4. Attempt several groupings to ascertain the situation in which the learner is most comfortable.

5. Select a peer, paraprofessional, friend, etc., to signal the learner when they blurt out responses (e.g., the person can touch the learner on their arm or desk as a signal that they are blurting out responses).

6. Teach the learner to recognize an appropriate time to speak (e.g., when the teacher has finished speaking, after raising their hand, to make remarks within the context of the situation, to make remarks that are a follow-up to what has just been said, etc.).

7. Make the appropriate adjustments in their surroundings to prevent the learner from experiencing stress, frustration, or anger (e.g., lessen peer pressure, academic failure, teasing, etc.).

8. Urge the learner to remind himself/herself to wait when they feel the urge to blurt out responses/answers (e.g., “Stop. Count to 10.”).

9. Provide visibility to and from the learner to keep their attention when oral questions/instructions are being delivered. The teacher and the learner should be able to see each other at all times. Make eye contact possible at all times.

10. Create rules for conversing with others (e.g., wait your turn to talk, stand quietly by the person with whom you want to talk until you are noticed, excuse yourself when you interrupt others, etc.). These rules should be consistent and followed by everyone in the class. Talk about the rules often.

11. Praise those students in the classroom who wait to be called on before speaking.

12. Talk with the learner to explain(a) what the learner is doing wrong (e.g., blurting out answers) and (b) what the learner should be doing (e.g., waiting until it is appropriate to speak, waiting to be called on before speaking, etc.).

13. Draft an agreement with the learner stipulating what behavior is required (e.g., waiting to be called on before speaking) and which reinforcement will be implemented when the agreement has been met.

14. Urge the learner to model the behavior of peers who successfully wait to answer questions.

15. Consider using a classroom management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

16. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

17. Consider using Alexa to help the student learn to behave appropriately. Click here to read an article that we wrote on the subject.

18. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.