Instructor Credibility as a Mediator of Instructors’ Prosocial Communication Behaviors and Students’ Learning Outcomes

Abstract

This study tested two models of instructor credibility as a potential mediator of instructors’ prosocial communication behaviors (e.g., confirmation, clarity, and nonverbal immediacy) and students’ learning outcomes. Participants included 1,416 undergraduate students from four different institutions across the United States. Results of structural equation modeling provided greater support for the partial mediation model, whereby credibility partially mediated the effects of teacher confirmation and clarity on learning outcomes, though it fully mediated the effects of nonverbal immediacy. When combined, students’ perceptions of all three prosocial behaviors accounted for 66% and 57% of the variance in credibility and learning outcomes, respectively. Among the more important implications of this research is the finding that confirming behaviors and clarity have both direct and indirect effects on student learning.

Keywords:

• Instructor Credibility
• Teacher Confirmation
• Teacher Clarity
• Nonverbal Immediacy
• Learning Outcomes

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul Schrodt

Paul Schrodt (Ph.D. 2003, University of Nebraska–Lincoln) is an Assistant Professor and Graduate Director in the Department of Communication Studies at Texas Christian University

Paul L. Witt

Paul L. Witt (Ph.D. 2000, University of North Texas) is an Associate Professor

Paul D. Turman

Paul D. Turman (Ph.D. 2000, University of Nebraska–Lincoln) is Director of Academic Assessment for the University of South Dakota Board of Regents

Scott A. Myers

Scott A. Myers (Ph.D. 1995, Kent State University) is an Associate Professor and Graduate Studies Coordinator in the Department of Communication Studies at West Virginia University

Matthew H. Barton

Matthew H. Barton (Ph.D. 2002, University of Nebraska–Lincoln) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at Southern Utah University

Kodiane A. Jernberg

Kodiane A. Jernberg (M.S. 2008, Texas Christian University) is an Instructor at Texas Christian University