Instructional Communication Research Articles

Communicating Democracy: Opportunities for Election Knowledge Communication and Voter Education in Technical Communication

ABSTRACT This article considers opportunities for election knowledge communication and voter education in technical communication pedagogies. Drawing on three projects – the “Advocacy White Paper,” “Technical Instructions & Infographic Design,” and “Non-Profit Social Media Content Strategy” projects – the article considers how technical communication instructors can design pedagogies that engage civic exigencies related to democracy. The article argues that technical communicators should make election knowledge communication and voter education priorities in their pedagogies, practices, and discipline.

Good critics, good criticism: rethinking critical pedagogy in a production economy

ABSTRACT As symbolic production has eclipsed critical consumption, teaching critical communication methods is marked by challenges and opportunities. In this essay, I describe the impact of a critical-pedagogical incongruity on our discipline’s ability to fulfill its vocational and civic potential. I trace the confluence of historical, institutional, and economic factors contributing to our discipline’s critical-pedagogical challenges. And I consider how critical communication instructors can reaffirm the centrality of criticism through a meliorative pedagogy that amplifies critical communication’s unique contributions to a comprehensive liberal arts education by teaching students how to unite critical methods, character, and lived experience.

“Doing” and “Undoing” power as critical intercultural assessment: Original teaching idea—semester for the core intercultural communication course

ABSTRACT This essay highlights a critical assessment approach for intercultural communication courses that engages in a “doing–undoing” practice for instructors, with the aim of “doing” culture as learned through society and traditional intercultural communication instruction with the limited, romanticized, and settler colonial presumptions and representations about culture and then subsequently “undoing” these constructions of culture. Students engage in a traditional intercultural communication assignment staple—the cultural interview—in order to traverse and trace how culture is framed and the presumptions and ideologies based in power are deeply embedded. This essay seeks to share this “doing–undoing’ practice via an explication of this original teaching idea for a semester through one activity.

Teaching Pronunciation to EFL Learners at the Tertiary Level: Perspectives of Professors at Saudi Universities

This study aimed to provide a novel, focused program for instructing English pronunciation to Saudi EFL university students, grounded upon identified mistake patterns. In addition, to execute the customized curriculum in pronunciation instruction for a group of Saudi EFL students. Furthermore, to evaluate the efficacy of the tailored curriculum by measuring enhancements in pronunciation accuracy. Additionally, to investigate the attitudes and experiences of EFL professors at various Saudi universities regarding the designated pronunciation curriculum using surveys. The researchers adopted the analytical-descriptive research method, utilizing the questionnaire as a tool for collecting data from thirty-three EFL university professors who teach English at different Saudi universities. The main findings of this study were: excessive focus on instructing individual phonemes, prioritization of suprasegmentals; overdependence on standardized evaluations. The significant levels of disagreement suggest that these techniques may not adequately meet the pronunciation requirements of Arabic EFL learners. Allocating time for pronunciation may possess some merit, while its execution necessitates additional investigation. The consensus on communicative instruction suggests potential for this methodology if effectively employed. Technological tools were regarded as beneficial instruments, consistent with studies on computer-assisted pronunciation instruction. The efficacy of customizing curriculum to address faults made by Arabic learners; Emphasis on pronunciation instruction within educational institutions. The main recommendations were adopting communicative instructional methodologies for teaching pronunciation enhances the growth of EFL learners, employing technological equipment acts as advantageous tools in enhancing pronunciation education, and additional comparison investigations and lectures must be undertaken to establish a correlation between the phonological systems of learners' native language and the target language.

A Study on Technology Integration Practices in Arts Instructors: Exploring the Mediating role of Value and Ability Beliefs

Teachers are the crux of every developing mind of newly blooming pupils in the education institutes and it is a universal factor in the learning process of every nature or aspect of study. Nowadays, the use of innovative technologies has become an essential practice in learning and teaching systems of every subject including art studies which indicates the constant incorporation of technology in instructional communication and reflects an advancement in the teaching process. Quantitative research design was implemented to assess the cause-and-effect relationship among variables. Primary data was collected through the survey strategy and a close-ended questions comprised questionnaire was designed. The researcher disbursed 350 questionnaires and finalized 331 questionnaires for the data analysis. The study encountered significant results for all synthesized associations except for the mediating role of ability beliefs. The present result hold numerous theoretical and practical implications. This study extends the growing body of literature regarding technology integration practices through the professional development, ICT knowledge and technical assistance. However, the study also provides practical implications as beneficial insights can be provided through which professional development can be fostered through technology integration practices. Research limitations and future indications have also been explained to increase the generalizability of this research.

Essential instructional communication concepts for effective health campaigns

Essential instructional communication concepts for effective health campaigns

Does the human professor or artificial intelligence (AI) offer better explanations to students? Evidence from three within-subject experiments

ABSTRACT Three within-subject experiments were conducted by providing students with answers to content questions across different subject matters (a definition, explanation, and example) offered by a human professor (subject-matter expert) versus generative artificial intelligence (ChatGPT). In a randomized order, students read both the expert and ChatGPT’s responses (both were de-identified and declared to be “professors,” so students were not aware one was artificial intelligence), rated both explanations on teaching clarity and competence, and then reported on their affect toward the content and situational interest. Study 1 (interpersonal communication content) revealed no significant differences in repeated measure ratings comparing the expert versus ChatGPT. However, in Study 2 (business communication content) and Study 3 (instructional communication content), compared with the expert, ChatGPT (impersonating a professor) was rated by the same students as higher in teaching clarity and competence, and it generated more student affect and situational interest. In Study 2 and Study 3, a within-subjects mediation analysis revealed that ChatGPT generated more student affect toward the content through the clarity in responses it provided to students.

Managerial Instructional Communication Strategy On The Quality Of Graduates Of Administrator Leadership Training At The Human Resources Development Agency Of North Sumatra Province

<p><em>This study aims to analyze the instructional communication strategies that training managers apply to the quality of graduate administrator leadership training at the North Sumatra Provincial Human Resources Development Agency. The qualitative research method was conducted by in-depth interviews with training managers, instructors, and trainees. The study results show that the training manager implements various instructional communication strategies, including using learning methods that are responsive to the participants' learning styles. The application of communication technology is also an integral part of this strategy, providing diversity in learning approaches. It was found that two-way interaction between managers and trainees significantly increased participants' understanding and engagement. This research contributes to a further understanding of the importance of instructional communication strategies in the context of administrator leadership training. It guides the development of training programs in similar institutions.</em></p><p class="TableParagraph"><strong><em>Keywords:</em></strong></p><p><em><em>Instructional Communication; Quality of Graduates; Administrator Leadership Training</em><br /></em></p>

Interpreting Spatial Instructions for Effective Human-Robot Communication in Construction Environments

Interpreting Spatial Instructions for Effective Human-Robot Communication in Construction Environments

Closing the Gaps: An Examination of Student Self-Sabotage, a Willingness to Ask for Help, and Personal-Enacted and Enacted-Relational Identity Gaps in the Student-Instructor Relationship

ABSTRACT The authors investigated students’ (N = 262) perceived personal-relational and enacted-relational identity gaps (for communication instructors) as mediators for the relationship between students’ self-sabotage and students’ willingness to ask their communication instructors for help. The study offers empirical support for the communication theory of identity by observing personal-relational and enacted-relational identity gaps as mediators explaining the relationship between participants’ self-sabotage scores and their willingness to ask for help. Additionally, the study overviews the implications and outlines how communication instructors may combat student self-sabotage and identity gaps.

Eye-Tracking Analyses of a Coach's Pointing Gestures Timed With Speech: Implications for Players' Recall of Basketball Tactical Instructions.

Coaches often use pointing gestures alongside their speech to reinforce their message and emphasize important concepts during instructional communications, but the impact of simultaneous pointing gestures and speech on learners' recall remains unclear. We used eye-tracking and recalled performance to investigate the impact of a coach's variously timed pointing gestures and speech on two groups of learners' (novices and experts) visual attention and recall of tactical instructions. Participants were 96 basketball players (48 novice and 48 expert) who attempted to recall instructions about the evolution of a basketball game system under two teaching conditions: speech accompanied by gestures and speech followed by gestures. Overall, the results showed that novice players benefited more from instructional speech accompanied by gestures than from speech followed by gestures alone. This was evidenced by their greater visual attention to the diagrams, demonstrated through a higher fixation count and decreased saccadic shifts between the coach and the diagrams. Additionally, they exhibited improved recall and experienced reduced mental effort, despite having the same fixation time on the diagrams and equivalent recall time. Conversely, experts benefited more from instructional speech followed by gestures, indicating an expertise reversal effect. These results suggest that coaches and educators may improve their tactical instructions by timing the pairing of their hand gestures and speech in relation to the learner's level of expertise.

Student-to-student confirmation: a review and recommendations for research

ABSTRACT Research on student-to-student communication continues to grow into a robust area of scholarship for instructional communication researchers. The communicative process by which students are made to feel valuable and significant as members of the classroom, student-to-student confirmation comprises three factors (i.e., individual attention, acknowledgment, and assistance) that have been associated with a myriad of positive student outcomes. The following essay reviews work on student-to-student confirmation and offers distinct recommendations for researchers to advance this area of scholarship. These recommendations include exploring the ways that student-to-student confirmation relates to emerging constructs of interest in the instructional communication literature (i.e., persistence and student mental health), as well as considering contextual factors of confirmation, and the potential impact of not just receiving but also providing confirmation. Finally, this review ends with reflections on the limitations of this work and the way in which theory can be used to extend and further understand its influence in the teaching–learning process.

Technological innovation: Instructional communication media in History and Civic Education

Background: The teaching of history and civic education, intended to foster national identity, is not fully achieved due to the absence of technological innovation in the instructional communication media used in high schools. Purpose: This research explores the need for ICT among students and teachers as instructional communication media to promote national identity in history and civic education. Method: This research used the Research and Development (R&D) method. The initial design involved an exploratory qualitative approach, with data collected through interviews with teachers and students from four high schools in Malang City, along with documentation from the Kurikulum Merdeka. The data were then analyzed using interactive analysis techniques to understand the information technology and communication needs of students and teachers for simulating national identity in history and civic education. In the next stage, a development approach was carried out to construct a model for instructional communication media that incorporated technological innovation to simulate national identity in history and civic education. Results: The results indicate that instructional communication media for promoting national identity through simulated history and civics education require technological innovation in the form of the NUSANTARA.IN application, which offers. Teaching materials on history and civic education tailored to students’ characteristics, A virtual reality feature that provides students with a virtual learning experience in history and civic education, and User-generated content to build a network among students for learning history and civic education. Conclusion: NUSANTARA.IN, which includes three distinct features, is a technological innovation designed to serve as an instructional communication media, enabling students and teachers to simulate national identity in history and civic education. Implications: The findings from this study contribute to the theoretical advancement of instructional communication media by incorporating concepts such as virtual reality, user-generated content, and student networking in high school education.

Editorial: Instructional communication competence and instructor social presence: enhancing teaching and learning in the online environment

Editorial: Instructional communication competence and instructor social presence: enhancing teaching and learning in the online environment

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.

Engineering students’ thoughts on teamwork and approaches to solving a problem with an underperforming member

Engineering programs have to develop students’ teamwork skills. However, the onus on content specialists to teach teamwork skills may be challenging partly because of students’ negative attitudes towards and experiences with teamwork. This study investigated 295 engineering students’ thoughts on teamwork and the strategies they used to solve problems with underperforming team members. Data were collected using a survey and a discourse completion task. The results revealed that among the key reasons why the students liked such activities was the exchange of information and experience, increased quantity and quality of work, and interpersonal communication. However, they indicated lack of harmony, social loafing, lack of attention paid to tasks, and individual approaches to learning as reasons for skepticism about teamwork. As to problem-solving strategies, emphatic inquiry and judgmental questioning were most common. Based on these results, we suggest that engineering faculty collaborate with communication instructors in planning and executing soft-skills training for students. Engineering faculty should also be provided with technical support for the incorporation of teamwork activities in virtual environments.

Sistematika Ilmu Komunikasi

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role that instructional communication plays in the learning process. This study use explanatory research methodologies in conjunction with a quantitative methodology. The study's findings demonstrate the significance of communication as a fundamental human need and as a means of communicating with others in order to exchange experiences, opinions, feelings, knowledge, and guidance. In order to transmit educational messages during the learning process, effective communication is also a crucial component of educational communication. Effective educational communication is defined as one in which the material presented by teachers is well-received, easily comprehended, and results in favorable student feedback. This research concludes that educators must acquire "communication science," as well as the fundamentals of educational communication, successful communication, intercultural communication, and the components, functions, and aims of communication. Because teachers' capacity for effective communication plays a major role in determining the effectiveness of education.

Investigating the correlation between teachers’ instructional communication and students’ motivation: A quantitative study

There is an anecdotal evidence that teachers’ instruction communication can affect students’ communication. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the correlation between teachers’ instructional communication and students’ motivation. The present study applies a quantitative approach by distributing a set of questionnaires to 52 participants in a senior high school in Bekasi, Indonesia. The findings of the present study indicate a strong correlation between teachers’ instruction communication and students’ motivation. In addition, the most salient factors of teachers’ instructional communication are feedback and organization of instructional units or teachers’ ability to deliver the materials. Regarding students’ motivation, the majority of the respondents are motivated by integrated regulation. The latter refers to the respondents’ ability to internalize their goals. It can be said that feedback and teachers’ ability to present learning materials in an engaging manner can help students to see the merits behind their learning process and internalize the goals. The present study also discuss the implications and further studies.

Economical Approaches to Increasing Communication Instruction for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Efforts to implement high-quality communication instruction for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and complex communication needs (CCN) may be difficult for some educators with limited time and resources. In this article, we offer guidance on implementing several economic strategies that can be easily embedded into existing classroom routines to improve student communication outcomes. These strategies include (a) facilitating observational learning, (b) using instructive feedback, (c) embedding communication instruction throughout the school day, and (d) programming for generalization.

Relationship Between Developmental Stage of Congenitally Deaf-Blind Children and Instruction in Communication: Interviews With Teachers

Relationship Between Developmental Stage of Congenitally Deaf-Blind Children and Instruction in Communication: Interviews With Teachers