Instructor Clarity, Humor, Verbal/Nonverbal Messages; Students' Closeness Perceptions; and Learning

What is it about?

In this study, we tried to determine whether research measures created and research results found 20 or more years ago were still valid a generation later. Specifically, we looked at what instructor behaviors would predict sutdent learning. What we found was that instructor clarity was not a strong predictor of learning; students' perceptions of how close they feel to the instructor help explain the relationship between instructor behaviors (humor and verbal closeness messages, and nonverbal closeness messages) and student learning, regardless of which learning measure is used.

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Why is it important?

The study indicated a need for more communication researchers to engage in replicating previous findings with new, and more diverse, samples as well as validating the measures we are using in our research.