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Does he have an IEP or other behavior plan. Is he identified for special services. Maybe his previous teacher can give you suggestions on how to handle this problem.

You don't mention the age of this student, so some of my suggestions might have to be tweaked depending on the age, but the same general strategies apply across all age levels.

First, I would keep a record for a few days of how frequently the student interrupts. I have found it easy to stick a strip of masking tape on my inner arm and just tally the interruptions for either a class period (if the student is in your room for just one subject) or about a half hour in the morning and another half hour in the afternoon (if the student is in your room much of the day). Once you have this baseline of information, you are ready to talk to the student. (Also, I have sometimes found that the behavior, while unacceptable, is not as pervasive as I had imagined it to be, which allowed me to be more calm and patient while working to correct it.)

Find a time and place to talk privately with the student about the behavior. Approach him with an attitude of concern and problem-solving. Explain that interrupting instruction prevents you from teaching effectively and prevents him and others from learning. Let him know that your goal is to help him. Be sure he knows exactly what his interruptions look and sound like. (Children who are used to gaining adult attention inappropriately often haven't been taught how to get it correctly.) Share with him your baseline information. Sometimes students aren't aware of how their behavior is affecting others or how often it is happening. Even if the student is aware and is doing this purposefully to disrupt instruction, I would approach him with an attitude of concern and desire to help him rather than punitive discipline. Tell him you need to figure out a way to help him stop interrupting. (I wouldn't mention his other issues with manners but would stick to one behavior at a time.)

Make a plan which allows him to get your attention appropriately. Often it is helpful to provide some kind of visual reminder of interrupting known only to you and the student, such as moving to his desk if possible or making eye contact and touching your forehead. Anything that is clear to the two of you but is not perceived as negative discipline by others. That way the student knows to stop talking without you having to say anything. Then keep track of the number of interruptions like you did before and have a quick daily conference with the student about his progress or lack of it. (Sometimes students do better if they tally the behavior themselves.) Provide encouragement and be specific about even the smallest improvements, such as stopping when he sees the signal. Reinforce any instances of gaining your attention at an appropriate time and in an appropriate manner. (If possible, do this when it happens. For example, "Thank you for raising your hand and waiting to be called on" or "Thank you for remembering to stay on topic" etc. Or even a smile can go a long way with some kids.) Remember that behavior sometimes gets worse before it gets better, so give it some time before you decide you need to tweak the plan. Keeping a graph of the behavior is often very helpful to students because they can see their improvement easily.

I hope this helps.

In my 9th grade English class last year I had a high school student, we'll call "Sean", who was always interrupting.  I could see that Sean needed attention.  He's an only child of a single mother who works at a demanding job, so Sean is frequently on his own. 

In class, I began asking him to help me present the lesson.  If we were reading a play, I had him sit on a tall stool in front of the class and to read all the narrative parts.  He's a good reader and a bit of a clown, so he did an excellent job.  He was praised for his efforts and it seemed to help alleviate his tendency to interrupt the lesson, since he was now part of it.

His mother came to parents' night, and asked if I was having trouble with him because of his immaturity.  I suggested to her, let him be a kid for a bit longer.  He needs to work out something.  If we make too much of his immaturity, it tends to reinforce itself.  Praise him for times when he acts responsibly, but don't get too bent out of shape when he's immature, at least for now.  

I don't have Sean this semester, but he stopped me the other day and said that the two semesters he spent in my class were some of his best experiences in high school. And,  I am happy to report that he recently got some school-wide recognition for his athletic skills, which appears to make Sean act with more of the confidence of a young adult.  

                                    RWE

Robert, I agree completely that providing opportunities for the student to gain attention appropriately are essential. It is wonderful when those simple steps make more complicated behavior intervention plans unnecessary!

I stop my presentation immediately and ask that student directly to raise their hand and wait to be called on before speaking. I do this with a lot of students that speak out in middle school. They get the idea. Then if they raise their hands and wait I sometimes respond with "I am not taking questions right now. If you wait you may hear the answer. I will ask for questions when I am finished presenting." 

This works very well for me. 

Dianne, I have also used that method effectively in middle school and support the use of the simplest method first. But when that doesn't work, students often benefit from direct instruction and a personal plan. It sounds to me like this student might have needs that simple redirection won't solve. Always smart to try that first, though.

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I have high schoolers and older for GED prep.  Often, I use humor and jokingly tell the student I'm going to mute him or her.  In 22 years, I've never had a student who didn't laugh with me and get the message.  When he or she forgets, he or she is gently reminded with an imaginary remote in my hand that mutes him or her.  Of course, you have to have established an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.  Humor goes a long way in solving problems.  Also, sometimes just naming the issue to the student privately can solve the problem because he or she may not be aware they are interrupting.  This has also been very effective.  Funny how respectful honesty can do the trick!

The suggestions are wonderful for "how to deal with interrruptions". Talk privately with the child. You can touch your forehead as a reminder to the child that he is interrupting again. This way, there's no attention to other classmates about that behavior. You can use positive reinforcement. Praise the good to get what you want. Example: " I like how the class is raising their hand to talk." ----perfect!!

Perfect! Give the student a job to do in the classroom. The child was immature and needed attention. Give him a job to do that will allow him to talk.

There are also adults who seem never to learn to wait and to listen. At a recent parent/teacher meeting we had two parents, both college educated professionals, who kept rudely jumping into the discussion.  I got a laugh when I said to this group of adults---"Now, boys and girls, we all need to put our 'listening ears' on."  My mom was an elementary school teacher, and I kind of felt that she would approve.  Sorry to say, these two did not find the humor in my remark and continued to interrupt.  Oh well... 

                            RWE

Robert, your comments flashed me back to the first teachers' meeting I attended as a student teacher in 1977. I was flabbergasted at how poorly some of the teachers listened to the simple instructions being provided for filling out insurance forms. Often since then, I have been in meetings during which I repeatedly thought about how those teachers with poor attention would respond to their students if they acted the same way. It is ridiculous to expect that our students will learn respectful behavior when the adults in their lives don't consistently demonstrate it. I have attended my share of meetings that were poorly facilitated but have tried to remain respectful and, when possible, later address the need for better leadership. We are professionals, and we do our profession a disservice when we don't act like it.

When I was an L.R.C. director there was a large 4th gr. boy who constantly interrupted what I or another student was saying. He was smart, but he had no control of himself, I'd say. I unsuccessfully tried a zillion things. Finally one of my parent volunteers offered to stay close to him while he was at the computer. She was the sole person he was then allowed to speak to. Sort of a compromise deal, I admit. Alas, the room was more quiet, and we could conduct a worthwhile class. The other kids became less aggravated with this boy too. He was definitely ADHD, and the parents resisted the idea of medication until he reached the 6th grade where the problem was simply not tolerated. I hope he had success at the junior high and later. Because I retired (age) I lost track of the young man.

I too have this student type, as a ninth grader in an introductory physics class.  All tactics mentioned above have been tried,  private signal, proximity, private conferences, humor, giving the student a worthwhile job to participate in the lesson,  detentions, in addition to administrative intervention.  All to no avail.  IEP is in place, student has a social worker assigned, and parent has not been in attendance for the IEP since 3rd grade.  In addition, if school personnel want to call home, they have to call parent from an outside (previously unidentified) number or parent will not pick up.  Student is highly ADHD and will not take medication. I have asked social worker about funds to access for medication if money is the issue.  No response has been forthcoming, but I think it is because the student would not take it even if it were paid for. Administrator and I are to the point of removal from class when behavior of this student has a sustained negative impact on those students around him.  It is a daily struggle, and some days are better than others.  Each day however, a decision must be made, stay or remove, and we have a plan in place that when student is removed there will be materials waiting in the administrators office to be worked on.  I am still working on this challenging student, and apply all the afore mentioned strategies at every opportunity, but find it a little disheartening that I am working harder on finding a solution; than the student, the parent, or the administrator.  Without medication however, we are doing the best we can do and still make certain that other students in class get the education they deserve.  This is not a malicious kid, just completely out of control.  Not only does he not 'get it', I don't know if the lack of frontal cortex activity will allow him to ever 'get it' unless he has a medication to stimulate that region of the brain.

This student is begging for attention.  I had a similiar student my first year of teaching in a music class.  This 6th grade student was the star attraction everytime I had this class.  I went to other teachers to find out more about him and discovered he cane from a single parent home and liked writing letters. He had written to several heads of state.  I asked him to be my secretary and provided him with stationery and a special desk in the library.  His job for two weeks was to write letters to music companies requesting music catalogs which I needed. After two weeks he returned to class.  Another student started to interrupt me.  My "secretary" turned and told the other student to sit down and stop interrupting me.  I had no further problems in that class.

One of the greatest "rewards" for many students today is one on one time with the teacher or other adult who cares. Try visiting with this student alone to explain how his interruptions are causing all the students to miss out on learning time.  Offer to give this student a token of some kind at the end of each class where he participates appropriately. Be sure to be clear about what that would look like. You may even want to write it down on a card and put it on his desk. After receiving a set number of tokens (5? 10?) this student can earn a private lunch with you. Don't laugh. 

I used to have a private lunch bunch on Friday noon at lunch time.  It was by invitation only for students  who had accomplished a personal learning goal.  It was full every week and was quite an honor to be invited. We had a special table cloth and candles and used special china and silverware sometimes as if we were going to a restaurant. It cost me nothing and instead of keeping kids in for being "bad", I was expending the same amount of time and energy to celebrate their accomplishments.

If there is some other incentive that would work better, you may want to offer that.  However, I always tried to stay away from "trash and trinkets."  Kids who are acting out often don't need more "things", they need more attention and guidance in how to get it appropriately.

I would suggest you give this student 3 tokens at the beginning of each day.  He may use the tokens to talk to you for a set period of time when you are not teaching.  He has your undivided attention to talk to you about anything at all.  He knows he will have your undivided attention for that designated period of time.  3-5 minutes is a good time frame but be precise about the time period ... you can even make it as short as a minute as long as you are willing to give him your undivided attention for that period of time.

When I have students like that, I give them "comment cards."  I usually do three for a class period, but adapt it depending on the student.  If the student makes a comment, then I take one of the cards.  If all three (or whatever number it is) cards are used and another comment is made, the student must leave the classroom for a certain period of time.  Since these kind of students usually love being in the thick of the action, that's all it takes to keep them on task.  I love to watch kids who want to comment stop, think and then decide that their comment isn't worth it!  It teaches them some self-control.  Good luck!

The above-stated are the ideals in dealing with this type of student/s. But sometimes what is ideal is not really the perfect answer for a problem behavior. As the saying goes, "Only a diamond could cut a diamond". In my case, as an SDC high school teacher, I try to wear my students' shoes. In this way I would learn what/how they are feeling, when they are most vulnerable to manifesting misbehavior, why their actions and reactions are seen as "inappropriate". Everything that's going on in the classroom is supposed to satisfy the students' needs. This may sound different but let me emphasize that the goal remains the same that is... student learning!

A lot of times I laugh with my students to show them that I feel for them and that I am "one of them". With this I mean reaching their emotions at their level. It would be easy to say that a student wants attention but most of the times we give the opposite attention. Students nowadays are very much aware of these research-base strategies. Indeed, these strategies are very effective, but there are just some who are already immune. Some would even respond positively but the misbehavior would still manifest (not) because of non resolution but rather due to suppression.

High school students like any others students want to be treated as if they are already grownups. But a lot of times they are posing attitude and character that are presented them in their "natural environment". School is definitely not a natural environment to students whose exposure is ‘norm-based' (if I may say it). Structuring would be very difficult to them - but very plausible. So to deal with them, one has to learn them. And to make them follow you, you have to follow them (taking into considerations of all the theories and principles of the teaching and learning as a process).

Disruption in the classroom is inevitable and a significant element of the teaching and learning environment. For me every disruption is a teachable moment that I could take advantage of. It may not be about the students' academics but eventually it will because learning is a type of behavior.

I teach ESL in the upper elementary, middle, and high school. I, too have constant interrupters, especially one 6th grader who I'm sure is ADD but whose father won't allow him to take medication. I personally believe in taking medication only when necessary, but  in this case, his work is suffering and he is getting worse. I am constantly stopping the class because of his lack of self-control. I really like the idea of keeping a daily record of his interruptions. He probably doesn't realize how often he does it. It's good to document it and from there I can hopefully come up with some kind of behavior plan. Thanks. I had no idea this was such a common problem!

When this happens, after several reminders, I begin tally marking the number of times the interruptions happen.  Then the student and parent have concrete information on the number of times, and the student is much more aware of the problem.  The student then has a goal for fixing the problem, which can be rewarded.

I liked the tally marks on the masking tape on your arm idea.  That way you don't have to go searching down the paper your using to keep track.  I'm a visual learner so I've used a digital recorder in the classroom to show the student what is happening.  We view it privately.  Most times they are very surprised by what they see.  Then we can talk about a silent reminder (hand signal) for classroom use.