College teacher immediacy and student ratings of instruction

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between college student perceptions of teacher immediacy and student ratings of instruction. Two hundred sixty‐six students responded to instruments designed to measure the frequency of teachers' verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors and to gather students' perceptions of quality of instruction. Significant positive correlations were found between immediacy and student ratings of instruction. Students who observed frequent verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors in their professors were more inclined to give high ratings to such things as the overall quality of instruction and value of the course. In particular, verbal and nonverbal immediacy were strong predictors of ratings of faculty/student interaction and lectures/communication. Post hoc analyses confirmed that class size, subject area, and students' expected grade may influence immediacy scores as well as student ratings. The findings of this study have theoretical and methodological implications for instructional communication research and the assessment of effective teaching.