Overcoming Student Resistance to Learning Research Methods: An Approach Based on Decoding Disciplinary Thinking

The disjuncture between the importance of research methods to the Criminal Justice curriculum and students’ resistance to learning about the topic constitutes an important educational challenge. This paper describes efforts to overcome students’ resistance to learning research methods using a model of teaching and learning referred to as “Decoding the Disciplines.” Sources of student resistance and a specific bottleneck to learning are identified. Assessment data indicate that students were successful at learning methodological concepts and identifying applications with relevance outside of the research methods classroom. The paper concludes by reflecting on the insights gained into the process of student learning and motivation and offers suggestions for overcoming student resistance. More broadly, it is argued that educators should give more attention to defining the nature of disciplinary thinking in Criminal Justice and engage more fully in the scholarship of teaching and learning.