Instructional Communication Research Research Articles

Student impressions of instructors based on Zoom backgrounds: investigating perceived technology skills of instructors and affective learning of students

The purpose of this study is to identify how Zoom backgrounds affect students’ affective learning and perceptions of an instructor’s technology use skills in online learning experiences. Data collected from undergraduate students in the U.S. indicate that with certain Zoom backgrounds, male students perceive the instructor having lower technology skills and experience less affective learning towards the instructor and course content than do female students. Overall, the study’s findings provide meaningful contributions to instructional communication research and suggest recommendations for strategic use of Zoom backgrounds to cultivate the best impression of an instructor and positive learning experiences.

Effect of teacher social support on students’ emotions and learning engagement: a U.S.-Chinese classroom investigation

Psychological and instructional communication researchers increasingly recognize the significance of student emotions in determining their engagement in the classroom. Under the direction of Emotional Response Theory (Mottet, Frymier, & Beebe, 2006), this study aims to establish a model of a college instructor’s social support, student positive and negative emotions, and student engagement in learning. It also attempts to extend this research by examining cultural differences in U.S. and Chinese classrooms and how these factors influence teacher behavior and student emotions. The result demonstrates the mediating effects of student positive emotions between teacher support and student engagement in both cultures. In addition, Chinese students show significantly more negative emotions toward their class, whereas U.S. students report more positive emotions and higher perceived network support from their teachers. Theoretical and practical contributions related to social support regarding student emotion and learning are discussed.

The influence of French instructors’ rhetorical and relational communication on students’ instructional beliefs, behaviors, and perceived learning

ABSTRACT Because most instructional communication research has been conducted within the United States, the purpose of this study was to develop an enhanced understanding of the student–instructor relationship outside the United States using the instructional beliefs model and rhetorical and relational goals theory. Specifically, we examined the effects of perceived instructor rapport and instructor relevance on students’ instructional beliefs (i.e., efficacy and empowerment), behaviors (i.e., participation and expressed academic concern), and perceived cognitive learning (i.e., learning indicators and cognitive learning) in France. Undergraduate and graduate students (N = 565) completed a Qualtrics survey including both self- and other-report instruments in reference to their most recently attended class. The results of multiple and stepwise regression analyses largely supported the hypotheses that student–instructor rapport and perceived instructor relevance have positive effects on students’ instructional beliefs, communication approach behaviors, and perceived learning.

Immediacy and presence: reflections on an interdisciplinary and rhetorical approach to teaching and learning in the online environment

ABSTRACT The coronavirus pandemic mandated unexpected “instant transitions” to remote learning and accelerated student demand for online courses. As a result, U.S. colleges and universities across the nation began and have continued to expand their online courses and degree programs, 1 which underscores the need for continuing and expanding the scholarly examination of online teaching and learning. 2 This reflective essay presents an overview of two disciplinary perspectives on scholarship, instructional communication research related to immediacy and online education research related to presence. A comparison of the six components of instructional communication competence to the constructs of social presence and teaching presence is outlined and mapped. The essay concludes with research-based suggestions for enhancing what teachers say and do in online courses in order to expand our understanding of online teaching and learning. Recommendations are offered for interdisciplinary research regarding instructor immediacy and presence.

Instructional Communication and Medium of Instruction: Content Instructors’ Perspectives

This paper hypothesizes that higher proficiency in the medium of instruction (MI) is a precondition for effective instructional communication (IC), with the latter being essential for higher cognitive processes, positive affects, and better performance in the learning environment. The reported study used questionnaires comprising open-ended questions to survey 341 content instructors who taught on 26 undergraduate programs with English as the MI (EMI) in a Saudi public university. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the resulting qualitative data, and the results reveal four themes. The first theme is the advantages of using the students’ mother tongue (Arabic in this case) as an MI; the findings show that doing so is related to robust IC, with the latter leading to better cognition, positive affects, and stronger performance in the learning environment. The second theme is the advantages of using EMI, which can be classified into three main areas: more educational resources, better international research collaboration, and more international job opportunities. The third theme is the use of code-switching in EMI classes because of poor IC; instructors code-switch for three purposes: cognitive, affective, and performance. The fourth theme is suggestions from participants for how to improve IC in EMI programs: the findings recommend the use of IC theory and linguistic relativity to examine EMI programs; also, collaboration among IC researchers, cognitive linguists, and EMI researchers will help understand how the MI influences students’ success; furthermore, policymakers must design curricula that consider the perspectives of content instructors and provide them with training to overcome several IC barriers in EMI programs.

The contribution of instructional communication research to teaching–learning beyond the classroom

The contribution of instructional communication research to teaching–learning beyond the classroom

Instructor strictness: instrument development and validation

ABSTRACT Three studies (N = 1,346) detail the development of three theoretically grounded instruments operationalizing instructor strictness. Using open-ended questionnaire data (n = 427), study 1 inductively derives an understanding of the instructor behaviors that students perceive as strict. These patterns of behavior are then condensed into a comprehensive item pool designed to measure the relevant constructs. Study 2 (n = 391) evaluates the underlying factor structures comprised by the patterns of strictness identified in study 1 through a series of exploratory factor analyses. Study 3 (n = 528) establishes factorial validity of each new measure through confirmatory factor analyses. Studies 2 and 3 also provide evidence for convergent and concurrent validity between the newly formed measures of evaluative, regulatory, and interactive strictness and relevant variables within the nomological network, including the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) strictness inventory, the QTI admonishing behavior inventory, instructor caring, and cognitive flexibility. The research provides a roadmap to investigate how instructors who enforce classroom rules or demonstrate inflexibility may influence instructional outcomes in nuanced ways. The theoretical and practical implications of the new measures for instructional communication research, as well as future directions, are discussed.

Breaching Learners' Social Distancing through Social Media during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Higher education has been shifted toward blended learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. An increase in social media usage intensity and reduced face-to-face interaction due to the COVID-19 pandemic urged instructional communication researchers to revisit the dynamics of learners’ group development in terms of their socialization and academic performance during the COVID-19 crisis. This research aimed to determine the mediating role of social media sociability between face-to-face socialization and academic performance of higher education students in blended learning environments during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the aim of the study to determine the moderating effect of social media usage intensity on social media sociability. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with the students (n = 340) enrolled in science teacher education departments of universities in Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for multivariate analysis. Results revealed that face-to-face socialization gave an essential start to develop a learning group. However, when face-to-face socialization was reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was mediated by social media usage in blended learning environments to increase their socialization and academic performance during the crisis. The findings of the study are useful for higher education institutions to adopt social media strategies for students’ socialization during the crisis.

Testing the Applicability of the Instructional Beliefs Model across Three Countries: The Role of Culture as a Theoretical Parameter

ABSTRACT Instructional communication research is critiqued for lacking theoretical development and limited cultural understanding. This study tested the instructional beliefs model (IBM) in three countries: US, Turkey, and Finland. Participants (N = 376) reported perceptions of teacher relevance, state motivation, procedural justice, learner empowerment, and revised learning indicators. Results revealed that the IBM provided a good fit to the data in Turkey and Finland but not in the US. In all models, procedural justice and state motivation were significant predictors of learner empowerment, and learner empowerment strongly predicted revised learning indicators. However, teacher relevance only predicted learner empowerment in non-US classrooms. These results have practical implications for teaching in increasingly diverse classrooms and understanding higher education abroad. This study supports and extends IBM.

CAT in the classroom: A multilevel analysis of students’ experiences with instructor nonaccommodation

ABSTRACT This study incorporates communication accommodation theory to investigate how student perceptions of instructor nonaccommodation influence affective and cognitive classroom outcomes. A series of two-level hierarchical linear models (students nested within instructors) revealed significant, negative associations between specific modes of instructor nonaccommodation (i.e., nonaccommodation related to nonverbal responsiveness, content knowledge, and student support) and students’ reported outcomes. Specifically, nonaccommodation related to nonverbal responsiveness and student support resulted in less communication satisfaction and instructor–student rapport when controlling for student sex and expected grade in a course. Contrarily, only nonaccommodation related to content knowledge predicted processing fluency. The research provides instructional communication researchers with a unique theoretical framework for conceptualizing and assessing student perceptions while also raising important questions regarding how students prioritize effective teaching behaviors in context. Practical implications are provided for how instructors better assess and enact behavior relative to individual student needs.

Student Evaluations of Instructor Email Response Speed as Chronemic Expectancy Violations

Instructional communication researchers have begun exploring the effects of instructor email response speed on student evaluations of their instructor. To date, researchers have concluded that faster response times result in more favorable evaluations. To extend this line of research, this experiment explores student evaluations of instructor response speed through the lens of expectancy violations theory, arguing that eliciting positive evaluations is not just about responding quickly, but rather, responding more quickly than students expect. Results indicated that positive violations of instructor email response speed are evaluated more favorably than negative chronemic violations in terms of instructor credibility and relational closeness. These findings contribute practical implications for instructors inundated with email exchanges with students and offer theoretical nuance to the study of chronemics in instructor-student email communication.

“Minor Setback, Major Comeback”: A Multilevel Approach to the Development of Academic Resilience

This study examined communicative processes at multiple levels that may influence students’ academic resilience through transitions. Participant interviews (N = 23) revealed that at the individual level, students develop a resilient mindset and effective academic strategies, engage in self-care, and compartmentalize. At the relational level, students rely on teachers to demonstrate positive teaching behaviors, receive academic and emotional support from a variety of sources, and find role models to inspire resilience. Finally, students reported that the campus community gave opportunities to build support networks and access campus resources, but identified threats to effective use of these resilience-building opportunities. Finally, all but one theme demonstrated that the development of academic resilience typically happens outside the traditional classroom yet affects student performance inside the classroom. These findings contribute to instructional communication research because of the application of an underutilized theory and method in instructional research, the multilevel focus on communication and resilience development processes, and by providing practical insight to create targeted approaches to improve student resilience and related outcomes.

Communities of practice as purveyors of instructional communication during crises

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the critical role instructional communication plays in effective risk and crisis communication. More specifically, we examined efforts made by the United States’ swine industry to teach biosecurity practices in response to the African Swine Fever virus, a highly contagious novel disease. To do so, researchers interviewed 14 research, veterinary, and extension specialists to assess the swine industry’s capacity to function as a community of practice (CoP). Strategies were coded under the three major functions of CoPs: mutual engagement, shared repertoire, and joint negotiation. Respondents indicated that the industry was successful primarily because they engaged in effective instructional communication as a learning CoP to create a clear shared repertoire and negotiate consistent messages to teach better biosecurity practices among diverse people and facilities. Although the goal of biosecurity remains the same—maintaining a line of separation between infected areas and uninfected areas—the means for achieving it may differ among locations and the instructional strategies for achieving it must be tailored for diverse populations to achieve the desired affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning outcomes. Implications for instructional communication research to address other risk situations and crisis events are also proposed.

Problem-solvers in the academy and beyond

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we first frame Sprague’s vision in the historical context from which it emerged. From there, we explore some contemporary concerns instructional communication researchers must grapple with, and then propose some practical next steps for envisioning instructional communication research as a platform for meaningful contributions throughout the subfields of the communication discipline both within and beyond traditional classroom walls.

Bridging campus and community: religion and violence as expansive and socially relevant communication research

ABSTRACTGiven that instructional communication happens beyond college classrooms, a small group of voices have called for expansive explorations of instructional communication. This essay continues this conversation by calling for research to explore instructional communication's role in religious settings as well as in mitigating violence. Researchers are encouraged to apply instructional communication research to these areas, and enhance the social impact of their research by working in translational formats (e.g., workshops, community partnerships, and popular press writing).

Instructor Clarity, Humor, Immediacy, and Student Learning: Replication and Extension

This study replicates and extends three widely cited instructional communication research studies regarding instructor clarity, humor, immediacy, and students’ learning: Richmond, Gorham, and McCroskey (1987), Wanzer and Frymier (1999), and Chesebro and McCroskey (2001). Students across four diverse institutions of higher education (N = 1,109) completed survey measures. Replication results suggest that findings from the original studies (clarity, humor, immediacy, and student learning) persist, and extension results, exploring verbal immediacy and perceived immediacy, reveal statistically significant correlations with the original studies’ variables. However, results of the replication and extension reveal measurement validity uncertainties that require further investigation.

Students’ Discrete Emotional Responses in the Classroom: Unraveling Relationships With Interest and Engagement

Recent instructional communication research reveals that the communication and emotional processes at play in the classroom can influence class-specific emotions experienced by students. Students’ enjoyment and pride were positively related to their emotional interest, while students’ enjoyment, hope, and pride were positively associated with their cognitive interest. While students’ anger and boredom were inversely related to their emotional interest, students who reported greater hopelessness and anger indicated decreases in cognitive interest. Students’ hope and pride were positively associated with their overall engagement behaviors. Anger, anxiety, shame, and boredom led students to report decreases in their engagement. Follow-up tests highlighted challenges in the assessment of specific emotional responses; exploratory factor analysis simplified the measurement of these variables and provided additional insight into expected relationships.

The machines are coming: future directions in instructional communication research

Education has long involved the use of machines, ranging from calculators, to computers, to multimedia presentation systems, to mobile phones. Yet, the central players in education—teachers and stu...

Do we know what we think we know? On the importance of replication in instructional communication research

Replication is a fundamental principle of social science, enabling researchers to verify the accuracy of empirical findings, clarify the conditions under which phenomena occur, and further validate...

Making tough choices to continue instructional communication research

Making tough choices to continue instructional communication research