RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNICATION STYLE AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING

Abstract

The quality of teaching and learning heavily depend on the quality of communication taking place in the classroom. Improving communication is essential for approaching excellence in teaching and one of the discernable paths on the way to the goal is through the study of teachers’ communication style as one of its key variables. The present paper is aimed at discerning approaches to the study of communication style, analyzing their theoretical propositions and empirical contribution, as well as their relevance for effective teaching research. Effective communication is a core concern in developing teaching competence, hence the study of one of its key variables is seen as a priority. The research methods applied presuppose the analysis of the comunication style construct, comparison of various research traditions of the problem and synthesis of research findings with implications for effective teaching. Analysis of literature revealed several schools of thought: 1. grounded in the behaviourist traditions; 2. oriented towards behaviourist and personality theories, including social dimensions; 3. relying on personality theories; 4. grounded on theories of activity and interaction. Communication style influences such dimensions of the teaching-learning process as learning gains, affect for the teacher, instructional content and the course, learning environment, participation of students, their motivation, trust in the teacher, credibility, positive relations between teacher and learners just to mention a few.