Problematic student at a very high level I teach a high school student who has already developed an understanding of the language used in my curriculum and causes difficulties. The lectures and programming projects in the curriculum bore this student, and as a result, he doesn't cooperate when it comes to doing the coding labs and projects. He simply doesn't agree to do the work. An obvious "solution" is simply to give him a low grade, but it is not an ideal solution, because he has readily mastered the material.

Specifically, what techniques can I employ to encourage him to work on projects and to cooperate? Alternatively, what changes can I make to project guidelines for such students?

Tests reflect that the student knows the material (though it is clear that he is disdainful of the way it is taught).
The best way to deal with this kind of student is to head it off at the pass.  If you can get the student at the beginning, you can often prevent the problem from festering in the first place. I have a student coming in next year who I have already been warned will have this problem, and I plan to show this to my class on the first day:



I will then say something like, "For whom is this situation unfair?"

When the kids point to the fish, I will point out that it is just as unfair to the monkey.  I will then ask them to talk to a neighbor and figure out why.

I will finish up by saying that I have a promise for the fish of the class: everyone who puts in the work will be able to climb the tree.  That's MY job.  However, I have to find a way to be fair to the monkeys as well.  That means that I must reserve the right to try to find ways to push them to get better in my classroom.

If they are in that position, and can get the work done very easily, and find that I give them harder work, I ask a few things of them: (1) understand that this is fairer than it may initially feel, and (2) understand that this comes from a place of actually caring about them as people. Making more appropriate assignments for them is harder for me as well. If I didn't care about them as people, I could just let them get away with the minimum.

In essence, then, I am trying to recast making differentiated, harder assignments into something that the students will understand as both a loving act, and one that respects them deeply as individuals.