Table 1.

Examples of what student resistance can look like^a

How students exhibit resistance	Sample student behaviors and/or language …
Teacher advice	“I would offer the teacher advice by saying something like: ‘Be more expressive.’ or ‘If you open up, we’ll be more willing to do what you want.’”
Teacher blame	“I would resist by claiming that ‘the teacher is boring.’ or ‘I don't get anything out of it.’ or ‘You don't seem prepared yourself.’”
Avoidance	Students drop the class; do not attend; do not participate.
Reluctant compliance	Students comply, but unwillingly.
Active resistance	Students attend class, but come purposefully unprepared.
Deception	“I’ll act like I’m prepared for class even though I may not be.”
	“I’ll make up some lie about why I’m not performing well in class.”
Direct communication	“I would talk to the teacher and explain how I feel and how others perceive him/her in class.”
Disruption	“I would be noisy in class.”
	“I would be a wise-guy in class.”
Excuses	“I don't understand the topic.”
	“The class is so easy I don't need to stay caught up.”
Ignoring the teacher	“I would simply ignore the teacher.”
	“I probably wouldn't say anything; just do what I was doing before.”
Priorities	“This class is not as important as my others.”
Challenging the teacher's power	“Do you really take this class seriously?”
Rallying student support	“I would talk to others to see if they feel the same.”
	“I might get others to go along with me in not doing what the teacher wants.”
Appealing to powerful others	“I would threaten to go to the dean.”
Modeling teacher behavior	“If you’re not going to make the effort to teach well, I won't make an effort to listen.”
Modeling teacher affect	“You don't seem to care about this class. Why should I?”
Hostile-defensive	“Right or wrong that's the way I am.”
Student rebuttal	“I know what works for me; I don't need your advice.”
Revenge	“I’ll get even by expressing my dissatisfaction on evaluations at the end of the term.”
	“I won't recommend the teacher/class to others.”

^aAdapted from Burroughs et al. (1989) and Richmond and McCroskey (1992).