ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a summary of the research related to instructional dissent and highlights what scholars have learned regarding the construct to date. It presents an overview of the instructional dissent construct and types of dissent responses and highlights reasons for why dissent occurs. The chapter summarizes research on instructor influences, student influences, and outcomes of dissent and presents knowledge claims, teaching practices, and research practices about dissent for educators. Instructional dissent is a marker for class-related problems because students are communicating about a disagreement or difference of opinion concerning something that happened in class. Although instructors play the most important role in the instructional dissent process, students' distal factors are important for understanding dissent as well. Although instructors play the most important role in the instructional dissent process, students' distal factors are important for understanding dissent as well.
