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Insights on Resistance To Learning in College Classrooms

  • Writer: Tamara Gayle-Turner
    Tamara Gayle-Turner
  • Feb 13, 2024
  • 4 min read

As educators, when we box resistance to learning in the college classroom as personal belligerence, a decision made by learners with no innate desire or keenness to pursue the grind and monotony that learning sometimes requires, we are subjecting ourselves to a reductionist view (Brookfield, 2015). The choice to engage in an alternate view is not to disregard the existence of the reductionist perspective as a reality but to challenge the educator to confront the resistance with a pragmatic approach that begins with the willingness to analyse the resistance we may face. Resistance to learning in the college classroom is complex with various convergent points (Brookfield, 2015). This blog is meant to help educators unmask the face of resistance to learning.


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Poor Self Image and

According to Statista, the average age of students enrolled in tertiary education in Canada is 24 currently. Despite successfully navigating entry into tertiary education, college age students engage in negative self talk that question their capacity to meet the rigours of college life. Whether it's the learner who have had to overcome the torment of iterative sarcasms and questions about their intelligence in the past or the student who has a great command of academics yet is crippled by self doubts, poor self image is a driver of resistance to learning. College students who struggle in this area view the challenges that college life bring as evidence of their disqualification for college which leads to a mediocre performance at best or a self fulfilling prophesy of being a failure at worst (Brookfield, 2015).


Fear of the Unknown

Learning and change are inseparable. The change that comes from learning sometimes occupies a space of uncertainty and ambiguity. This does not sit well with learners who have been conditioned to see learning as a quest for certainty. The reality of unknown and ambiguity is confusing to these learners. As educators, it is important to recognise that promoting learning as a transformative experience is undermining any progress and is in fact strengthening resistance to learning in this area (Brookfield, 2015).


Fear of Looking Foolish In Public

College age students are at the peak of their self awareness. Some are still figuring out their identities and so the fear of looking foolish in public is not imaginary. Brookfield (2015) highlights the fact that resistance to learning linked to the fear of looking foolish in public gives us the insight to understand that resistance may be towards a chosen learning activity itself and not learning in general. Social anxiety disorder otherwise known as social phobia is prevalent among young adults in Canada according to Statcan. Having an insight to these nuances support the instructor's management of resistance to learning by providing alternate forms of learning activity without compromising a growth opportunity. An example would be to modify a learning activity to facilitate share in pairs or groups instead of individual sharing.


A Normal Rhythm of Learning


Particularly for complex courses, instructors should expect resistance to learning in the classroom. It is not uncommon for a period of confusion and resistance to follow a period of enthusiasm from mastering new skills. Brookfield (2015) describes this an organic cycle of learning.


Using the concept of flow theory, instructors are able to address several of the other complexities behind the mask of resistance to learning. These are the ones that are truly within their direct scope of influence to address . These complexities include disconnect between learning and teaching styles, apparent irrelevance of a learning activity, the level of required learning in inappropriate, lack of clarity in instructions and going too far too fast( Brookfield, 2015). The goal of flow theory is to help learners achieve a flow state characterised by hyper focus to secure an optimal experience.


Students' Dislike of Teachers


Brookfield (2015) highlights the reality that resistance to learning can be driven my the cold hard truth that learners dislikes you regardless of how credible or authentic you strive to be. The author went on to elaborate that sometimes there is an explanation for the dislike and at other times it is ambiguous. This reality highlights the importance of using critical lens on practice to capture learners perspective of our actions.


Cultural Suicide

Attending college is a monumental and life altering act for some learners. This is because they run the risk of mistrust and alienation by their home cultures (Brookfield, 2015). It is no wonder that these learners would be resistant to learning as they experience the psychological turmoil of having to repeatedly contemplate their pursuit for knowledge against the fear of committing cultural suicide (Brookfield, 2015).


The reductionist view of resistance to learning is a choice to be intellectually lazy. Brookfield (2015) purports that we engage with it and use it as a tool to discover the dynamics driving the resistance we are witnessing. The author articulates that we can gain an appreciation of learners resistance when we recognise that we teach what we love while learners are not necessarily learning what they love. Using our own autobiographies as a learners we can empathise with the resistant learners when they enter the college classroom. Lastly, the trap of conversational obsession is a real phenomenon in our bid to promote a love for learning. As educators, we should accept the reality that if people are intent on not learning there is often nothing that can be done to persuade them that the learning will be worth it. Until that fixed mindset is altered conversational obsession is a futile trap (Brookfield, 2015).


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