I think this touches on personality types, too. People with strong anti-authoritarianism streaks are likely to be turned off by an instructor who attempts to or

I think this touches on personality types, too. People with strong anti-authoritarianism streaks are likely to be turned off by an instructor who attempts to organize those sorts of activities when their authority derives solely from the fact that they are the instructor of the course. Without proof (i.e. having taught me something), you're going to be tuned out when you resort to childish tactics. Reflecting back to these situations brought to mind the Seinfeld episode "The Pitch"[1] in which Jerry and George pitch a TV show to NBC executives. In it, the NBC team's leader expresses skepticism about George's idea, leading to this exchange: RUSSELL: Well, why am I watching it? GEORGE: Because it's on TV. RUSSELL: (Threatening) Not yet. Why are we doing this? Because it's what you say? Not for long. [1]: http://seinfeldscripts.com/ThePitch.htm http://seinfeldscripts.com/ThePitch.htm