Legal Commentary

If I didn't hate the word "problematize" so much, I'd begin this post by inviting us to problematize the gunner problem.  The venerable Urban Dictionary defines the gunner as "a person who is competitive,overly-ambitious and substantially exceeds minimum requirements. A gunner will compromise his/her peer relationships and/or reputation among peers in order to obtain recognition and praise from his/her superiors."  This definition gets to the heart of the gunner problem:  the "gunner" is a problem of group dynamics in the classroom.  The problem is not necessarily the gunner's behavior, but rather the reaction it provokes in his or her classmates.  Because this complex dynamic can sometimes poison the classroom atmosphere, the gunner problem demands professorial attention, management, and sometimes intervention.

For the record, there are different types of gunners.  There are gunners who speak often in class but advance classroom discussion and gunners who speak often and don't.  I have a real soft spot for the former type, whom I shall label the "good gunner."  The good gunner is always prepared for class, appears to have a real intellectual interest in the material, wants to know what you have to teach, and will save you from the awkward silences that would otherwise ensue when you've asked a badly phrased or constructed question to a hundred people.  But even the good gunner can create resentments among his or her classmates that are not beneficial to classroom dynamics.  While a portion of this resentment stems from anti-intellectualism and competitiveness, it also stems from the unfairness of one student sucking up a grossly disproportionate share of classroom resources.  Even if the good gunner is making intelligent contributions to classroom discourse, he or she is still dominating that discourse to the exclusion of others. 

The most simple and obvious solution to the gunner problem, of course, is for the non-gunners to raise their own hands more often.  Since they won't, however, the professor needs a better response than to tell the non-gunners "just raise your hand and I'll call on you."

Another possibility is for the professor simply not to take questions from students.  If the professor only calls on students involuntarily, he or she won't really have a gunner problem.  This approach is tantamount to swatting a fly with a hammer.  It the professor doesn't much value intellectual curiosity among her students, and it deprives the professor of valuable on-the-spot feedback about whether her students are actually learning what she's trying to teach.   

Here's the solution I recommend instead, though I often don't implement it perfectly because of my aforementioned gunner soft spot. 

The first step is to include in the syllabus a statement indicating that because it is a large class, not every student can speak every day.  I also announce to students on the first day of class:  "If I start ignoring your hand, it is because I'm trying to bring the perspectives of more students into the classroom discussion. If I feel I need to bring in more perspectives, I may call on students involuntarily even you have your hand raised."  I also tell students that I will often deflect certain questions until after class because of time constraints imposed by the large classroom setting.  I've contemplated saying "If you're raising your hand more than twice per class, that's probably too much."  But I've never actually said it because it seems too arbitrary.

These prophylactic measures against the gunner problem will not solve it completely, but when you do have to start ignoring the gunner's hand or deflecting her questions, she is less likely to take it personally.  These measures, especially if levied somewhat pointedly, will usually take care of all but the most recalcitrant gunner problem. 

If these measures don't work, you really should take the next, admittedly unpleasant step, of asking the gunner (in private) to come see you in your office.  Explain to him that he is creating a problem for you because you need to make sure all hundred students are able to contribute.  Explain that you value his contributions and the fact that he is well prepared and truly wish you could teach the class as a discussion seminar so you could entertain all questions.  Explain the group dynamics and the justified and unjustified resentments that can be triggered in the situation.  You might think that this conversation is pointless because the gunner will certainly know these things already, but (and now I'm speaking quite personally as a former gunner) you would be wrong.  

If you get the opportunity, by all means counsel the students who complain to you about the gunner, too.  Try to get them to see that their hostilities may be as much or more about their own insecurities about law school performance as they are about the gunner.  You can also suggest that they go talk to the gunner about their resentments and suggest ways that they can broach the subject that aren't unduly accusatory or personal.  Because the gunner problem is a problem between students, it really is best if they learn constructive ways to solve it. 

Whatever you do about your gunner problem, don't do nothing.  You run the risk that the group dynamics will turn ugly, and non-gunners may take matters into their own hands.  You probably know about and despise "gunner bingo," but matters can even escalate to "shuffling" or some other form of renegade collective action or even bullying.  If matters reach that point, you'll have a much more unpleasant classroom management issue to deal with than the gunner problem.