Research on organizational orientations has determined that workers can be categorized into three groups on the basis of their trait orientations toward working in organizations: "upward mobiles," "indifferents," and "ambivalents." Because workers' organizational orientation is predictive of their success, we reasoned that students' orientation…

Assessment refers to the perceived need to measure and evaluate the degree to which the learning objectives are met in either a single class or a whole instructional program during the instructional process or after its completion. To make assessment beneficial, it must be visible to all involved. The instructor must be able to obtain or create…

This study investigated the effect of teacher misbehavior on student affect for the teacher and teacher credibility. Participants completed an Affect Toward Teacher Scale and a Source Credibility Scale in reference to one of four experimental conditions. The first two research questions examined the effect of misbehaviors on student affect for the…

Many studies have demonstrated that student motivation is an important factor in student learning. The recently proposed General Model of Instructional Communication, however, does not include motivation. Based on the assumption that student motivation may be an important factor in student learning, particularly long-term learning and retention,…

Considers how the discipline of communication has much to offer to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning across disciplines and instructional levels. Discusses research which has been conducted by one or more of the coauthors and their students. Notes that it was chosen as a representative sample of kinds of work that are continuing in efforts…

Examines the relationships among receiver apprehension, teacher clarity, and teacher immediacy in the instructional context. Examines the relationships between state receiver apprehension and student motivation, affect, and cognitive learning. Finds that, although state receiver apprehension is significantly related to negative instructional…

Finds that teachers who perceived their students to be more nonverbally immediate with them in their classrooms expressed more positive affect for the students than did teachers who perceived their students as engaging in less nonverbally immediate behaviors. (SR)

Argues that evidence is accumulating that genetics plays a major role in human communication behavior. Looks at the importance of neurological systems in communication behavior, and at the role of cerebral functioning. Addresses implications of the "communibiological perspective" for communication instruction. Argues that, rather than aiming to…

Replies to C. M. Condit's response to the authors' article on communibiology in the same issue of this journal, arguing that some of her challenges to communibiology are seriously flawed. (SR)

Replies to C. M. Condit's responses to the authors' articles and comments advancing a communibiological paradigm. Argues that a general misidentification of the level of abstraction (paradigm not theory) drives Condit's complaints about communibiology, and outlines several misrepresentations of the authors' position. (SR)

Tests the learning-loss scale experimentally to examine the relationship between students' reports of their own learning and their performance on a standard exam. Identifies a moderately strong validity coefficient between students' performance on a recall test and reports of how much they believed they learned during a lecture. (SR)

Explores the relationships of immediacy and verbal aggression with homophily and interpersonal attraction in the higher education instructional context. Finds that immediacy was negatively related to verbal aggression and positively related to all dimensions of homophily and interpersonal attraction and that verbal aggression was negatively…

Finds an inverse relationship between student perceptions of teacher misbehaviors and (1) teacher assertiveness, (2) teacher responsiveness, (3) positive affect for the teacher, and (4) positive affect for the course material. Shows that instructor type (graduate assistant versus professor) was not related to perceptions of teacher misbehaviors.…

Finds strong positive main effects for teacher immediacy and strong negative effects for teacher misbehavior on all three dimensions of credibility (competence, trustworthiness, and caring/goodwill). Finds, however, that with low teacher immediacy, both "nonmisbehavior" and misbehavior produced perceptions of low credibility; whereas when teacher…

Finds that undergraduate student perceptions of caring on the part of their teachers were substantially associated with the students' evaluation of their teachers, their affective learning, and their perceptions of their cognitive learning. Calls for research which helps to identify the specific teacher behaviors which communicate caring to…