College Student Learning, Motivation, and Satisfaction as a Function of Effective Instructor Communication Behaviors.

Myers, ScottA.; Goodboy, AlanK.; Members of COMM 600

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which instructors simultaneously engage in specific rhetorical (i.e., clarity, humor) and relational (i.e., immediacy, confirmation, and caring) communicative behaviors and how these behaviors are reflected in the learning outcomes (i.e., affective learning, cognitive learning, state motivation, and communication satisfaction) reported by students. Participants were 286 undergraduate college students who were enrolled in one of three sociology courses at a large Mid-Atlantic university. The results indicated that all four learning outcomes were affected in some combination by perceived instructor clarity, humor, confirmation, and caring. Future research should continue to examine effective instruction using multibehavioral assessments, but may consider whether these assessments are linked to class size and type of institution.

COMMUNICATION in higher education; OUTCOME assessment (Education); ACADEMIC motivation; COLLEGE teachers; COLLEGE students; SATISFACTION

Southern Communication Journal, 2014, Vol 79, Issue 1, p14

1041-794X

Academic Journal

10.1080/1041794X.2013.815266