The effects of praise and criticism in instructor feedback on student perceptions

In instructional contexts, instructor credibility or ethos is deemed to play a paramount role in teacher–student interaction and relationships. Much effort has been devoted to instructor credibility conceptualization, measurement, and its association with other instructional variables of interest in dominantly quantitative inquiries. However, little research has been undertaken in second-language education in which communication is both a means and an end. This qualitative research set out to explore the perception of the students of instructor credibility in the context of higher English education and how gender, nativeness, and subject matter might impact their perceptions. It also aimed to study how instructor credibility could, in turn, influence the engagement and success of the students. Thirteen senior students of English as a foreign language from a university in Iran participated in this study. They were given a scenario about their prospective professors for two courses of “Research Methodology” and “Essay Writing.” The professors included four native English- and Persian-speaking male and female PhD holders. The participants were, then, interviewed about their perceptions of instructor credibility, their choices of instructors, and how they would affect their engagement. The data were recorded, transcribed, and recursively analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis. While instructor credibility is commonly characterized as a three-dimensional construct, involving competence, character, and caring, the data analysis generated a new component of performance concerned with the effectiveness of classroom knowledge presentation and activity organization. Caring also emerged as a constituent of a more inclusive component of rapport. Interestingly, albeit they viewed native English professors as generally more competent due to their nativeness, they perceived non-native professors as more credible for both courses, mainly because of their rapport building and familiarity with the needs and challenges of the students. Most of the participants also viewed male professors as more competent and communicative for both courses. The participants also tended to argue that perceived instructor credibility would encourage them to put in more effort in their academic undertakings and to engage in class activities. This would ultimately enhance their academic achievements and success. The paper discusses the findings and implications for second-language instructor credibility conceptualization and practice.

Instructor nonverbal immediacy has been associated with a range of positive student outcomes, but it is difficult to convey in an online environment. We investigated whether the text-based variable of face threat mitigation (FTM) alone—without the visual cues of nonverbally immediate behaviors—could significantly raise students' motivation and perceptions of instructor credibility. Two hundred seventeen students in a large introductory communication class were randomly assigned to read a high or low-FTM hypothetical scenario and then fill scales assessing their motivation and perceptions of instructor credibility. Students in the high-FTM condition rated the instructor in the scenario as more competent, trustworthy, and caring, and indicated higher state motivation.

The present study investigated the relationships between college students’ perceptions of instructor credibility (competence, character, and caring) and their perceptions of classroom justice (distributive, procedural, and interactional justice). Results indicate that perceptions of instructor credibility positively predicted perceptions of classroom justice. Specifically, instructor competence predicted interactional justice; instructor caring predicted procedural and interactional justice; and instructor character predicted distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. In short, instructor credibility was most strongly related to interactional (versus distributive and procedural) justice and instructor character (versus competence or caring) was the most consistent predictor of classroom justice.

Teaching in the metaverse presents a dynamic frontier for educational innovation. Avatars, serving as digital representations of teachers, play a pivotal role in shaping virtual learning experiences. This study explores the impact of avatar design and behavioral realism on student perceptions of credibility and teaching effectiveness in avatar-mediated environments. True experimental research with a 2 × 2 factorial design was conducted involving students from three campuses. Across all experimental conditions, students consistently favored realistic avatars over cartoonish ones. A crisscross pattern emerged in relation to behavioral realism. Cartoonish avatars exhibiting realistic behaviors received higher ratings for instructor credibility but not for teaching effectiveness, whereas realistic avatars with the same gestures received higher ratings for teaching effectiveness but not for instructor credibility. From an educational standpoint, leveraging realistic avatars with authentic behaviors holds great promise for enhancing the teaching and learning experiences in the metaverse. Overall, this study contributes to the growing body of literature on educational metaverse and avatar-mediated teaching and learning by shedding light on the importance of avatar design and behavioral realism in shaping student perceptions and experiences.

The non-interactive video learning environment, or CD-ROM texts, that feature video instructors delivering course material are becoming increasingly popular in institutions of higher education. Instructor nonverbal immediacy and humor have been proven to enhance instructor credibility and motivate student learning in the traditional and distance learning classrooms. Framed by the media naturalness hypothesis, this experimental study investigated the effects (instructor credibility, student motivation, and learning) of these behaviors when mediated. Results indicate that nonverbal immediacy and humor do not have a significant effect on student learning in virtual instruction but do have a significant effect on student motivation and perceptions of instructor credibility. Highly immediate and highly humorous instructors appear to be more motivating and credible, with nonverbal immediacy having the greatest impact.

Research indicates that student ratings of mathematics and science instructors are significantly lower than those of their counterparts in social science and the humanities. Frequently, communication instructors’ ratings are among the highest in their respective colleges. Unfortunately, these high ratings sometimes arouse suspicion among administrators and colleagues regarding whether highly rated courses are sufficiently rigorous. A considerable body of research literature suggests that expected grade is unrelated to students’ ratings of instructors. Furthermore, most studies show positive relationships between student generated ratings and indices of course difficulty. The present study examined the relationship between teacher credibility and various student perceptions about the instructor and course within the context of communication courses. Although teacher credibility was positively correlated with students’ (1) overall rating of the level of excellence of the course and instructor and (2) intent...

Extensive research has been conducted to investigate the role of emojis in interpretation, impression, perceptions, personality and relationship building. However, in the higher education sector, few studies have examined how emojis influence the learning motivation and performance of students. Using the theories of source credibility and stimulus organism response, a model was created to explain how the emojis used in text-based electronic-mediated communication (TEMC) impact instructor credibility, learning motivation, and learning performance. Data obtained from students (N = 348) indicates that the use of emojis in TEMC affects their perceptions of instructor credibility (expertise, trustworthiness, likability) and learning motivation. Furthermore, perceived instructor credibility was found to mediate the relationship between the use of emojis in TEMC and students’ learning motivation. Finally, the study also demonstrates that students’ learning motivation significantly enhances their learning performance. The research findings illustrate the importance of emoji use in TEMC between instructors and students in enhancing students’ learning motivation and performance at higher education institutions (HEIs). The findings have significance for instructors and HEIs who engage in TEMC with students. This paper also discusses the implications and limitations of the study, along with potential future research.

A telepresence robot is a device that allows people to participate in video conferences on a moveable platform from a remote location. The users can remotely control the robot’s motion and interact with each other through a video screen. Such systems, which were originally designed to promote social interaction between people, have become popular in various application areas such as office environments, health care, independent living for the elderly, and distance learning. Although there is ample published empirical work surrounding the use of telepresence and computer-mediated communication in education, few studies have examined telepresence robots in the classroom. Although some studies have indicated positive learning experiences and outcomes in education facilitated by telepresence robots, further research is needed to better identify the possible effects such approaches have on student learning and perceptions of instructor credibility. In order to maximize the students’ learning outcomes, it is very important to improve the usability of the telepresence robot platform for both the instructors and the students. In addition, the instructor credibility is also crucial to the overall learning experience. In the research presented here, an innovative remote teaching platform, which includes features of telepresence robots and social robots (which are autonomous robots that interact and communicate with humans by following social behaviors and rules associated with their roles), is developed. It is believed that telepresence robots equipped with the capabilities provided by social robots can improve the credibility of the instructor and the usability of the education platform, both of which contribute to the students’ overall learning outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an instructor's nonverbal immediacy behaviors and course-workload demands on student perceptions of instructor credibility and student higher-order affective learning. H1 and H2 predicted that an instructor's nonverbal immediacy behaviors would neutralize the instructor's violations of students’ course-workload expectations in a manner that would preserve students’ perceptions of instructor credibility and higher-order affective learning. H1 and H2 were supported. H3 predicted that students who experienced a highly immediate instructor with moderate course-workload demands would report significantly more higher-order affective learning than students who experienced a highly immediate instructor with low or high course-workload demands. H3 was not supported. Implications for instructors are discussed.

This study used a 2 (time: pre- vs. postexposure) × 3 (preemptive message: control, face-supportive, inoculation) mixed online experimental design to investigate whether preemptive messaging from international instructors of high-power-distance cultures can mitigate negative perceptions among students from low-power-distance cultures when receiving critical feedback. Results indicated that negative instructor feedback significantly reduced perceived student–instructor rapport, positive attitude toward the instructor, and willingness to enroll in future classes with this instructor. However, negative feedback did not influence students’ feelings about instructor credibility, the perceived fairness of the comments, or the perceived fairness of the grading. Additionally, preemptive inoculation messages were more effective than face-supportive messages in preserving positive student perceptions, underscoring the importance of strategically addressing cultural differences in instructional communication. However, the magnitude of change stemming from the negative feedback on perceptions of instructor credibility, as well as the perceived fairness of the comments and grading, was not significantly different across any of the conditions.

This study aimed to investigate the possible relationships among teachers' metacognitive awareness, their motivation to teach, students' perceptions of teacher credibility and students' affective learning, and motivation to study. Three hundred sixty-five English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and seventy-four EFL teachers participated in the study. Three questionnaires were administered to students and two questionnaires were administered to teachers. The collected data were subjected to Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to test the significance of the hypothesized paths among variables. The results indicated significant positive paths from teacher metacognitive awareness to teacher credibility and teacher motivation, also from teacher credibility to teacher motivation and students' affective learning, and from teacher motivation and students' affective learning to student motivation. The findings also indicated that teacher motivation could significantly affect students' affective learning. Furthermore, the results revealed that teacher credibility promotes student motivation through full mediation of students' affective learning and the indirect intervention of teacher motivation. Moreover, the path leading from teacher metacognitive awareness to students' affective learning was justified through the indirect effects of teacher motivation and credibility. Implications for teachers and teacher educators are also presented.

Cho, Yunkyoung & Sohn, Taeho. (2007). Complementarity of peer and teacher feedback in Korean high school English classes. English Teaching, 62(3), 307-329. The present study is interested in examining the issue of complementarity of peer feedback and teacher feedback as employed in Korean secondary English classes. Specifically, the complementarity of the two feedback sources was examined in three respects: the nature of feedback, the incorporation of feedback into revision, and the effects of feedback on the improvement of the revised drafts. The overall findings seem to support the complementarity of the two types of feedback. First, teacher feedback was predominantly concerned with the surface level of writing, while some of the peer feedback concerned content and organization. Second, almost all of the teacher feedback was accepted or adapted in revision, while the students in the peer feedback group were selective in choosing which peer feedback to use in revisions. Lastly, the quality of the second drafts of the two groups did not significantly differ, and both the teacher and peer feedback were found to be effective in promoting revisions. Despite a few methodological limitations, these findings indicate that Korean EFL secondary learners could benefit from peer feedback in different ways from teacher feedback.

Instructors routinely provide feedback for students concerning the work the students produce as part of a classroom course. Although such information is required of instructors and expected by students, the communication of feedback creates a potentially face-threatening interaction in which the student's self-esteem may be diminished and/or the instructor–student relationship may be strained. This study investigated a video instructor's attempts to mitigate such face threats by using sensitive verbal strategies combined with nonverbal immediacy cues. A 2 x 2 experimental design allowed manipulation of these two variables in higher and lower combinations and subsequent detection of a significant interaction effect between them. In the presence of higher face-threat mitigation cues and higher nonverbal immediacy cues, students attributed greater credibility to the video instructor and evaluated the instructor more highly. These findings are interpreted in light of approach-avoidance theory, which posits that people draw near to others whom they like and avoid those they dislike. Implications for classroom instructors are discussed.

This study aimed to identify levels of teacher misbehavior and teacher credibility among a group of undergraduate students in Jordan, and investigate the relationship between them. Data were collected from a questionnaire in the fields of teacher misbehavior and teacher credibility were administered to a study sample of 273 male and female undergraduate students at the Hashemite University during the academic year 2015/2016. Results indicated that the student perception of both teacher misbehavior and teacher credibility was medium level. Moreover, results showed a negative and statistically significant relationship between irresponsibility and teacher credibility. Upon the findings of the current study, many recommendations were made to examine the psychometric qualities of the multidimensional perfectionism scale and motivation orientation scale in other populations such as secondary school students. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2p324

This study uses the lens of Communication Privacy Management theory to analyze the impact an instructor’s depth of disclosure of their mental illness can have on mental illness stigmatization, classroom climate, as well as teacher credibility, homophily, and social attraction. Participants responded to a series of quantitative-based questions regarding a hypothetical syllabus with varied levels of a teacher disclosing their mental illness. Results indicated that none of the investigated dependent variables were negatively affected by the hypothetical instructor’s disclosure, and mental illness stigmatization was lessened. Implications, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed.