Table 2.

Instructor misbehaviors that may elicit student resistance^a

Top 20 instructor misbehaviors	Sample instructor behaviors and/or language as reported by students…
Sarcasm and put-downs	“Is sarcastic and rude, makes fun of and humiliates students, picks on students, and/or insults and embarrasses students.”
Absent	“Does not show up for class, cancels class without notification, and/or offers poor excuses for being absent.”
Strays from subject	“Uses class as a forum for his/her personal opinions, goes off on tangents, talks about family and personal life and/or generally wastes class time.”
Unfair testing	“Asks trick questions on tests, exams do not relate to the lectures, tests are too difficult, questions are too ambiguous, and/or does not review for exams.”
Boring lectures	“Is not an enthusiastic lecturer, speaks in a monotone and rambles, is boring, too much repetition, and/or uses no variety in lectures.”
Tardy	“Is late for class or tardy.”
Keeps students overtime	“Keeps class overtime, talks too long and/or starts class early before all the students are there.”
Unresponsive to students’ questions	“Does not encourage students to ask questions, does not answer questions or recognize raised hands, and/or seems ‘put out’ to have to explain or repeat him/herself.”
Confusing/unclear lectures	“Unclear about what is expected, lectures are confusing, contradicts him/herself, jumps from one subject to another and/or lectures are inconsistent with assigned readings.”
Apathetic to students	“Doesn't seem to care about the course or show concern for students, does not know the students’ names, rejects students’ opinions and/or does not allow for class discussion.”
Verbally abusive	“Uses profanity, is angry and mean, yells and screams, interrupts and/or intimidates students.”
Unprepared/disorganized	“Is not prepared for class, unorganized, forgets test dates, and/or makes assignments but does not collect them.”
Unfair grading	“Grades unfairly, changes grading policy during the semester, does not believe in giving A’s, makes mistakes when grading and/or does not have a predetermined grading scale.”
Does not know subject matter	“Doesn't know the material, unable to answer questions, provides incorrect information, and/or isn't current.”
Negative personality	“Teacher is impatient, self-centered, complains, acts superior and/or is moody.”
Shows favoritism or prejudice	“Plays favorites with students or acts prejudiced against others, is narrow-minded or close-minded, and/or makes prejudicial remarks.”
Inaccessible to students outside of class	“Does not show up for appointments or scheduled office hours, is hard to contact, will not meet with students outside of office time and/or doesn't make time for students when they need help.”
Information overload	“Talks too fast and rushes through the material, talks over the students’ heads, uses obscure terms and/or assigns excessive work.”
Information underload	“The class is too easy, students feel they have not learned anything, and/or tests are too easy.”
Deviates from syllabus	“Changes due dates for assignments, behind schedule, does not follow the syllabus, changes assignments, and/or assigns books but does not use them.”

^aAdapted from Kearney et al. (1991b).