Three investigations exploring relationships between perceived teacher communication behaviors and student learning

This essay reports three investigations which examined the relationship between perceived teacher communication behavior and either student perceptions of teaching effectiveness or student learning. Teachers who were perceived as having greater interpersonal solidarity and a more positive communicator style (more dramatic, open, relaxed, impression leaving, and friendly) were perceived as more effective. Furthermore, positive perceptions of teacher communicator style resulted in greater student affect toward the instructor, the course content, and the overall course. It also resulted in greater student behavioral intent to use the course. The relationship of communicator style to cognitive learning, however, was less clear and basically nonexistent. The relationship between perceived teacher immediacy (a variable previously demonstrated to be highly predictive of affective and behavioral commitment) and communicator style was also examined and discussed.