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

Abstract

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.

Acknowledgment

A version of this article was presented at the 2012 meeting of the National Communication Association, Orlando, Florida.

Notes

Note. All correlations are significant at p < .001.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Scott A. Myers

Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University.

Alan K. Goodboy

Department of Communication Studies, West Virginia University.

Members of COMM 600

Members of COMM 600 include Zac Johnson, Jessalyn I. Vallade, Lori E. Vela, Hailey G. Gillen, Sara LaBelle, Kelly G. Odenweller, Michael Sollitto, Tiffany Berkebile, Meagan Bryand, and Jenny R. Thoma.