An important part of the history of communication, particularly in the US, focused on how to train teachers to teach this subject. From the first issues of the academic journals in the early 1900s (Quarterly Journal of Public Speaking) until today, when entire journals provide research reports for and about teachers, the topic has been
When teachers use verbal and nonverbal messages to elicit laughter and smiling from students, they employ a teaching strategy labeled instructional humor. Classic and contemporary scholarship on this topic has shed light on the benefits of teacher humor, how teacher humor relates to student learning, challenges of studying the relationship between humor and learning, and
The communication of social support is central to relationships in and outside of the classroom. Although scholars offer many definitions, social support is widely understood to be resources – time, money, comforting – that people possess and extend to others. These resources can be further defined by the type of help that is provided, using
Teacher communication concern (hereafter abbreviated TCC) is a concept and research line that developed from attempts to describe specific behaviors of teachers that could influence student learning. Initially conceived as three factors of worry or anxiety about self (confidence and competence as teacher), task (mastering the specific skills), and impact (affecting learning), it is an
Education scholars interested in the communication that transpires within the classroom have often mentioned the importance of studying the teacher as a pivotal source of that communication. After searching the literature, Norton (1977) wrote that very few studies had specifically investigated teacher communication style as it relates to teacher effectiveness, though many of the exciting
Teacher confirmation is the transactional process by which teachers communicate to students that they – the students – are valuable, significant individuals. Like other affective variables such as teacher immediacy and teacher caring, studies indicate that perceived teacher confirmation plays a very important role in students’ learning. Philosopher Martin Buber (1957) was the first to
Teacher feedback is considered one of the most powerful instructional variables in terms of enhancing student achievement (Hattie 1993). Because teaching and learning are relational processes, teachers are both sources and receivers of feedback. Teachers provide feedback to their students about their learning and they receive feedback from their students about their teaching. Ilgen et
Teacher immediacy is the term used to describe communication behaviors that reduce the perceived distance between teacher and students. By definition, immediacy behaviors convey teacher warmth, communicate positive relational affect, signal approach and availability for communication, and create increased physiological arousal in receivers. Introduced in research based on her dissertation, J. Andersen (1979) identified teacher
Teaching is a social influence process. Teachers influence students to learn. Influencing students to learn requires teachers to find ways to change students’ existing attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Teachers may need to induce a positive attitude toward learning mathematics or science. They may need to alter students’ beliefs about the causes of World War II.
Teacher self-disclosure occurs when teachers intentionally or unintentionally reveal information about themselves to students (Nussbaum & Scott 1979), often concerning their education, experience, family, friends and colleagues, beliefs, opinions, leisure activities, and personal problems (Downs et al. 1988). Moreover, these early studies suggest that teacher self-disclosure is related in various ways to student learning and