[murdoog]

I teach college. Argumentative students come with the territory. If a student argues with something I said, it’s for one of three reasons:

(a) I made a mistake
(b) He doesn’t understand what I’m saying or
(c) He is being a smartass

for which I have the following solutions

If it’s (a) Fix my mistake and thank the student
If it’s (b) Look for the source of the student’s misunderstanding and address that
If it’s (c) Use my rapier-like wit to deliver a stinging comeback and warn him not to try to be a bigger smartass (though in class I usually say smart-aleck) than I am.

Note that having a tantrum and filing a lawsuit do not appear on my list of solutions.

[Enchante]

Yes, but if a prof wants to force all of her students to regurgitate the nonsense which says that reality is nothing but a social construct and science is merely whatever we want it to be then she’s going to have to resort to more coercive methods when the students don’t submit.

[Albion Wilde]

I teach college. Argumentative students come with the territory. If a student argues with something I said, it’s for one of three reasons:

(a) I made a mistake
(b) He doesn’t understand what I’m saying or
(c) He is being a smartass

It's interesting that your list does not include "Student has a different, but possibly valid, experience or point of view that he (or she) offers for discussion."