The basis of this resource is to provide a structure for students to improve their learning behaviour. However, it is not a simple matter to begin talking about behaviour strategies. Very few students have the language or thinking skills to imagine or talk about abstract concepts such as learning, control and behaviour. 'There's a Gorilla in My Classroom' is a set of tools for responding to classroom resistance. It includes: • a set of 60 cards, 'Resistance Tactics', illustrating many classroom behaviours, both pro and anti-learning, depending on the circumstances. • a booklet filled with ideas and activities.
The cards are the props or hints for focusing and directing a conversation about a student's learning behaviour. Learning behaviour is enormously complex. Positive changes will most likely occur when the teacher and student have an understanding of resistant behaviour. This understanding is the gorilla hiding in the room.
Examples of the cards: