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Teacher clarity and teacher misbehaviors: Relationships with students' affective learning and teacher credibility
... In their formative study, Kearney, Plax, Hays, and Ivey (1991) collected 1,762 instructor misbehaviors, ranging from misspellings to verbal abuse. Subsequently instructor misbehaviors were categorized into three types: irresponsibility, derisiveness, and apathy (Toale, 2001;Toale, Thweatt, & McCroskey, 2001). Irresponsibility refers to an instructor who does not know the material s=he is teaching, forgets test dates, is unorganized, and is not available during his=her office hours. ...
... In general, instructor misbehaviors diminish student learning and negatively affect students' evaluations of instructors. Prior research has shown the negative influence that these misbehaviors may have on student perceptions of the instructor and course experience, including affective learning (Banfield, Richmond, & McCroskey, 2006;Dolin, 1995;Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009;Toale, 2001), cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995;Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009), student motivation (Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009;Zhang, 2007), participation and communication satisfaction (Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009), as well as teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006;Semlak & Pearson, 2008), trustworthiness (Banfield et al., 2006), and nonverbal immediacy (Kelsey,Kearney,Western Journal of Communication 177 Plax, Allen, & Ritter, 2004;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998). In short, misbehaving instructors negatively affect the ideal classroom environment. ...
... Previous research measured student perceptions of the likelihood their instructor would misbehave (e.g., Kearney et al., 1991), created instructor profiles (e.g., Banfield et al., 2006), or used manipulated scenarios (e.g., Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998) to examine misbehaviors achieving reliabilities ranging from .67 to .86 for the three dimensions (Kearney et al., 1991;Kelsey et al., 2004). Toale and colleagues (Toale, 2001;Toale et al., 2001) used items from Kearney et al.'s (1991) study, obtained the same three factors, but had students assess their perception of the misbehaviors that their instructors actually engaged in, using a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). ...
From the frame of expectancy violations theory, we examined the associations between instructors' compulsive communication and three instructor misbehaviors: irresponsibility, derisiveness, and apathy. Results revealed that students who perceived their instructors as compulsive communicators also perceived them as misbehaving. Next, we determined if nonverbal immediacy mediates the associations between instructors' compulsive communication and instructor misbehaviors, as well as student affective learning. Results revealed that nonverbal immediacy partially mediated the relationships between compulsive communication and the misbehaviors of irresponsibility and apathy, and fully mediated the negative associations between compulsive communication and students' affect for instructor and course.
... More recently, scholars (Toale, 2001;Toale, Thweatt, & McCroskey, 2001) factoranalyzed Kearney et al.'s (1991) research on instructor misbehavior items. Although previous research incorporates experimental designs with scenarios for participants to assess (e.g., Banfield et al., 2006;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996), Toale's measurement allows students to consider their own classroom experiences and assess actual instructors' misbehaviors. ...
... Researchers have examined instructor misbehaviors negative associations with students' perceptions of the instructor and instructional outcomes. Research has also examined the construct with effective instructor communicative behaviors, such as instructor clarity (Toale, 2001) and nonverbal immediacy (Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996) to determine if they would counteract the negative impact instructor misbehaviors may have on the classroom experience. For example, Thweatt and McCroskey found that immediate instructors were evaluated more positively than nonimmediate instructors, even when they exhibited instructor misbehaviors. ...
... Overall, instructor misbehaviors erode student learning and negatively impact students' evaluations of instructors. Regardless of the research method employed to examine misbehaviors, prior research has shown the negative influence misbehaviors may have on student affective learning (Banfield et al., 2006;Dolin, 1995;Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009;Toale, 2001), cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995;, student motivation (Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009;Zhang, 2007), participation and communication satisfaction (Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009), as well as instructor credibility (Banfield et al., 2006;Semlak & Pearson, 2008), trustworthiness (Banfield et al., 2006), and nonverbal immediacy (Kelsey, Kearney, Plax, Allen, & Ritter, 2004;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996). ...
Using systems theory as a lens, instructor misbehaviors were examined in the context of the college classroom to determine if student-to-student connectedness mediated the relationships between instructor misbehaviors and student involvement and affective learning. Student-to-student connectedness mediated the relationships between instructor apathy and students’ willingness to talk in class and self-regulated learning. For example, when instructors are perceived as apathetic, students can still create a supportive, connected communication environment that facilitates positive learning outcomes. Connectedness partially mediated the relationships between irresponsibility and derisiveness, and students’ willingness to talk in class and self-regulated learning. However, connectedness did not mediate the relationships between instructor misbehaviors and affective learning. When instructor misbehaviors occur in the classroom, students may still experience positive learning outcomes through a connected classroom climate; however, in the end, students are likely to negatively evaluate the instructor and course.
... Although the literature suggests that teacher incompetence is the most common misbehavior employed (Zhang, 2007), research has overwhelmingly suggested that any misbehavior may jeopardize student learning outcomes (Dolin, 1995;Toale, 2001) and student perceptions of teachers (Kelsey et al., 2004). Extant research reveals that teacher misbehaviors are associated with decreases in cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995), affective learning (Banfield et al., 2006;Dolin 1995;Toale, 2001), student perceptions of teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006;Semlak & Pearson, 2008;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001), and student motivation (Zhang, 2007). ...
... Although the literature suggests that teacher incompetence is the most common misbehavior employed (Zhang, 2007), research has overwhelmingly suggested that any misbehavior may jeopardize student learning outcomes (Dolin, 1995;Toale, 2001) and student perceptions of teachers (Kelsey et al., 2004). Extant research reveals that teacher misbehaviors are associated with decreases in cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995), affective learning (Banfield et al., 2006;Dolin 1995;Toale, 2001), student perceptions of teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006;Semlak & Pearson, 2008;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001), and student motivation (Zhang, 2007). Furthermore, students perceive misbehaving teachers as less immediate (Kelsey et al., 2004;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996). ...
... Although the literature suggests that teacher incompetence is the most common misbehavior employed (Zhang, 2007), research has overwhelmingly suggested that any misbehavior may jeopardize student learning outcomes (Dolin, 1995;Toale, 2001) and student perceptions of teachers (Kelsey et al., 2004). Extant research reveals that teacher misbehaviors are associated with decreases in cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995), affective learning (Banfield et al., 2006;Dolin 1995;Toale, 2001), student perceptions of teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006;Semlak & Pearson, 2008;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001), and student motivation (Zhang, 2007). Furthermore, students perceive misbehaving teachers as less immediate (Kelsey et al., 2004;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1996). ...
The purpose of this study was to examine a theoretical model of the relationship between teacher misbehaviors and both student communication behavior (i.e., student resistance, student participation) and learning outcomes (i.e., cognitive learning, affective learning, state motivation, communication satisfaction). Participants were 343 students who reported on their instructor's behavior in addition to their own classroom behavior and learning. Results of structural equation modeling suggest that teacher misbehaviors are related (a) directly and indirectly with teacher-owned and student-owned resistance strategies, state motivation, and student communication satisfaction, and (b) indirectly with student participation and cognitive learning. Indirect paths were mediated by affective learning.
... Studies by Wilson-Strydom (2015) and Lewin (2014) related to student access and success confirm that academic performance is poor at most South African universities and cite inadequate teaching as a contributing factors. Students' perceptions of those whom they regarded as competent, caring and trustworthy (Toale 2001) suggest that high clarity instructors produce more positive outcomes. Although investigating inadequate Grade 12 learner participation during interactive televised instruction, Evans (2006) found that technical and methodological design limitations were further complicated by presenters' ineffective communication skills. ...
... Lecturers who are rated highly in terms of their instructional clarity are known to produce more positive outcomes (Toale 2001), have a more favourable effect on students (Comadena, Hunt and Simonds 2007), and enhance students' apparent learning, making instructor clarity "additive" (Finn and Schrodt 2012). Therefore, clarity -along with enthusiasm, engagement and achieved outcomes -is considered one of the "four aces" of effective teaching (Bulger, Mohr and Wall 2002). ...
In South Africa, students’ academic success in tertiary environments is generally low, despite governmental or institutional interventions. This article, underpinned by the General Model of Instructional Communication by McCroskey, Valencic and Richmond (2004), explores participant lecturers’ perceptions of lecturer clarity during instruction, and their students’. A mixed methods case study was conducted, with a convenience sample of seven lecturers, interviewed and observed in situ. Questionnaires were completed by 252 first year students at a South African university of technology. Content and statistical analysis of the data revealed that a mismatch existed between lecturers’ perceptions of their own instructional clarity and their students’. The high percentage of students who felt lost during a lecture suggests a high level of instructional dissonance (Evans, 2005) which might account for a less-than desirable academic throughput. We recommend that institutions quality assure lecturers’ oral, written, content and process clarity prior to and during appointment.
... Araştırma bulguları, bu tür davranışların öğrencilerin bilişsel ve duyuşsal öğrenmelerini azalttığı, öğretmen-öğrenci iletişimine zarar verdiği ve öğrenci motivasyonu ve katılımını olumsuz etkilediğini göstermektedir (Semlak ve Pearson, 2008;Thweatt ve McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001). İstenmeyen davranışlar meydana geldiğinde öğrenciler, öğretmenlerini daha az saygın, daha az zeki ve daha kötü karakterli olarak görmekte ve bu durum da öğretmenlerin güvenirliğini sarsmaktadır (Thweatt ve McCroskey, 1998). ...
... No matter which of the classifications are made on misbehaviours of teachers, the research findings show that these misbehaviours decrease students' cognitive and affective learnings, badly effect student-teacher communication and have a negative impact on students' motivation and attendance (Semlak & Pearson, 2008;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001). When such misbehaviours emerge, students take their teachers as less respectful and intelligent, worse characters and this situation shakes the credibility of teachers (Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998). ...
The main purpose of this study was to reveal misbehaviours’ of faculty members from the point views of college students. The sample of the study consisted of 1019 students, studying at Faculty of Education, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, and Faculty of Engineering in İnönü University during 2012-2013 academic year. The data of the study was collected by self-administered survey entitled Instructor Misbehaviour Scale. Descriptive statistics calculations were primarily used while analysing the data gathered. Independent t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) analyses were also conducted according to the independent variables and Scheffe test was used for determining the difference between groups. Results showed that there was significant differences in terms of gender, faculty studied and title of instructor variables. It has been revealed male-participants and students studying at Engineering and Arts & Sciences faculties have negative views about instructors’ misbehaviours. Also it was found that students think that instructors misbehave than professors.
... The third line focuses on the detrimental effects of teacher misbehavior on both student and teacher incurring, according to Kearney et al (1991);McPherson, Kearny & Plax, (2006) adverse and negative consequences to the learning process, student motivation (Christophel & Gorham, 1995;Gorham & Christophel, 1992;Gorham & Milleette, 1997;Zhang, 2007), satisfaction with the effectiveness of the course and the instructor (Banfield, Richmond & McCroskey, 2006;McPherson, Kearny & Plax, 2006;Myers, 2002), student perceptions of teacher credibility (Banfield et al, 2006), affective learning (Banfield et al, 2006;Dolin, 1995;Toale, 2001),teaching evaluations (Schrodt, 2003;Wanzer & McCrosky, 1998), and cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995;Myers, 2002). Kearney et al (1991) defined teacher misbehavior as any communication behavior that impedes or distracts student from learning. ...
... Examples of teacher indolence include forgetting assignments or test dates, failing to grade assignments in a timely manner, and failing to show up for lectures. Zhang (2007) noted that although the most common misbehavior reported in the literature is teacher incompetence, Dolin (1995) and Toale, (2001) note that it has been proven overwhelmingly that student learning outcomes may be significantly jeopardized by any form of teacher misbehavior. In addition, Kelsey, Kearney, Plax, Allen, & Ritter (2004) reiterate that student performance may also be significantly influenced by the students' perceptions of teachers. ...
This study aimed to identify levels of teacher misbehavior and teacher credibility among a group of undergraduate students in
Jordan, and investigate the relationship between them. Data were collected from a questionnaire in the fields of teacher
misbehavior and teacher credibility were administered to a study sample of 273 male and female undergraduate students at the
Hashemite University during the academic year 2015/2016. Results indicated that the student perception of both teacher
misbehavior and teacher credibility was medium level. Moreover, results showed a negative and statistically significant
relationship between irresponsibility and teacher credibility. Upon the findings of the current study, many recommendations
were made to examine the psychometric qualities of the multidimensional perfectionism scale and motivation orientation scale
in other populations such as secondary school students.
DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n2p324
... Kearney et al. (1991, p. 310) defined TMB as "those teacher behaviours that interfere with instruction and thus, learning" and investigated the phenomenon by asking students to identify those actions of their teachers that detrimentally affected their learning: there was incompetence, poor teaching practices; offensiveness that concerned being rude or sarcastic; finally was indolence that involved lateness to class or tardiness of returning work. The centrality of pedagogy to conceptions of TMB has continued in subsequent studies: a lack of teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006) and clarity (Toale, 2001), student attributions of TMB (Kelsey et al., 2004) and teacher non-immediacy (Thweatt and McCroskey, 1998), all of which result in the demotivation of learners (Zhang, 2007). Such behaviours form one half of Lewis and Riley's (2009, p. 399) dichotomy of TMB between pedagogical misbehaviour and those behaviours defined by legality that concern "physical and sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment, and theft or related financial law-breaking". ...
... The multiple impacts of TMB That TMB has an impact is indisputable. Those pedagogical misbehaviours that are presented in much of the literature (Banfield et al., 2006;Toale, 2001;Kelsey et al., 2004) impact upon the learning of pupilseducational development is diminished because of poor pedagogical practices. Yet the findings from this research suggest that the wider impacts of TMB must also be consideredclassroom misbehaviours may negatively impact upon pupils but the consequences spread and threaten to damage the effectiveness and improvement gains that the heads in this research had achieved, some moving from special measures to outstanding in Ofsted's (the schools inspectorate in England) gradings. ...
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of serious teacher misbehaviour (TMB) in schools from the perspective of headteachers, a largely un-researched area.
Design/methodology/approach
– Data were collected via the documentary analysis of misconduct cases from the Teaching Agency and semi-structured interviews with five headteachers who had managed serious cases.
Findings
– The research suggests four primary impacts of serious TMB, affecting other teachers, students, the reputation of the school and headteachers themselves. The paper concludes by suggesting a fifth impact affecting public trust in the teaching profession.
Practical implications
– Although rare, serious TMB can be highly damaging. Furthermore, the findings suggest that it is almost impossible to predict and so this paper suggests a “map” of the impacts helping headteachers to manage and contain it when/if the worst does happen.
Originality/value
– Empirical studies of the impacts of serious organisational behaviour are scarce; empirical studies of serious organisational behaviour in schools are non-existent and so this paper addresses that gap.
... However, when undesirable behaviors at schools are mentioned, inappropriate student behaviors come to the mind first. In fact, teachers may also exhibit some undesirable behaviors, and these behaviors negatively affect the learning process and learners' behaviors (Bonfield, 2003;Dolin, 1995;Toale 2001) or such behaviors might destroy learners' self-esteem and learning abilities (Çıngır, 2004). ...
... However, when undesirable behaviors at schools are mentioned, inappropriate student behaviors come to the mind first. In fact, teachers may also exhibit some undesirable behaviors, and these behaviors negatively affect the learning process and learners' behaviors (Bonfield, 2003;Dolin, 1995;Toale 2001) or such behaviors might destroy learners' self-esteem and learning abilities (Çınkır, 2004). ...
Undesirable behaviors are those actions which are inappropriate for the situation or context in question, but they are consciously developed. In this context, all of the behaviors that hinder educational activities in the class and at school can be considered as undesirable/negative behaviors (Sağlam, 2007). However, when undesirable behaviors at schools are mentioned, inappropriate student behaviors come to the mind first. In fact, teachers may also exhibit some undesirable behaviors, and these behaviors negatively affect the learning process and learners' behaviors (Bonfield, 2003; Dolin, 1995; Toale 2001) or such behaviors might destroy learners' self-esteem and learning abilities (Çıngır, 2004). This study aims to test validity and reliability of "the scale for aggressive teacher behavior in the classroom based on learner perceptions," which was developed to reveal teacher aggression that educational faculty students have encountered so far during their educational life, and it also aims to examine the accuracy of the model that emerged as a result of the analyses. The aggressive teacher behavior scale with totally 38 items was administered to 357 university students and through exploratory factor analysis it was found that the scale had two factors. The values obtained through the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses imply that the scale is valid, reliable and has a strong theoretical background.<
... The pedagogical focus of teacher misbehaviour research (mostly in the US and mostly dealing with college students) has continued in subsequent research to encompass factors such as students' attributions of teachers' misbehaviour (Kelsey et al., 2004), teacher clarity (Toale, 2001), teacher credibility (Banfield et al., 2006), non-immediacy (Thweatt & Croskey, 1996) and learner demotivation (Zhang, 2007). These negative behaviours, termed 'didactogeny' by Sava (2001), can have a range of effects on learners, from making them afraid of the teacher to demotivating them in a particular subject or in education in general. ...
... As such, it is considered as a discrete category of teacher misbehaviour in opposition to the definitions advanced by those writers detailed earlier (e.g. Toale, 2001;Kelsey et al., 2004). ...
This article presents findings from a documentary analysis of 300 disciplinary orders against teachers from the General Teaching Council (GTC) for England. While the extant literature concerning teacher misbehaviour focuses primarily on pedagogical practice, this article draws on the wider organisational misbehaviour paradigm and views teachers as professional employees rather than just classroom practitioners. As such, teachers are embedded within the complexity of organisational systems, procedures and interrelationships as well as being regulated by professional standards. The analysis found that teachers were disciplined for misbehaviours both internal to the employing school and also activities, primarily criminal, that were external to their employment. The article argues that the professional regulation of teaching, being accountable inside and outside of work and the emotional labour of teaching should define teacher misbehaviour as separate from generic organisational misbehaviour frameworks. Furthermore, it argues that, while the GTC viewed teacher misbehaviour as a product of the individual, organisational contexts are also important antecedents of activities that are considered deviant.
... Sonuç olarak, okullarda karşılaşılan istenmeyen davranışlardan söz edildiğinde, akla ilk gelen öğrencilerin istenmeyen davranışları olmakla birlikte, öğretmenler de bazı istenmeyen davranışlar gösterebilmekte ve bu davranışlar öğrencilerin öğrenmeleri ve davranışları üzerinde olumsuz sonuçlara yol açmakta ya da onların istenmeyen davranışlar göstermelerine model oluşturmaktadır (Bonfield 2003;Dolin 1995;Toale 2001 Akt., Ekinci ve Burgaz, 2009). Başar (2001), öğretmenin sınıf yönetimini etkili bir şekilde kullanamamasının olumsuzluklara neden olabileceğini belirtmektedir. ...
Çağdaş eğitim sistemi içerisinde öğrencilerin tüm yönleri ile en iyi şekilde yetişmeleri açısından öğretmenlerin kritik bir rolü vardır. Öğretmenlerin öğrencileri üzerindeki olumlu etkileri tartışılmaz olmakla birlikte, öğretmenlerin farkında olarak ya da olmayarak yaptıkları bir dizi davranış öğrencileri üzerinde olumsuz bir etki oluşturabilmektedir. Bu olumsuz etki öğretmenin yeterli akademik donanıma sahip olmaması, iletişim becerilerini kullanamaması ya da sınıf yönetimini etkili bir şekilde sağlayamamasından kaynaklanabilmektedir. Alan yazın incelendiğinde olumlu-etkili öğretmen davranışlarının kapsamlı olarak ele alındığı ve ortaya konulduğu; ancak olumsuz öğretmen davranışlarına ilişkin yeterli bilgi birikiminin olmadığı göze çarpmaktadır. Özellikle olumsuz öğretmen davranışlarının ölçülmesine yönelik çalışmaların sınırlı olduğu görülmektedir. Buradan hareketle bu çalışmada ortaöğretim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin olumsuz davranışlarının belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaçla araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanan ve açık uçlu sorulardan oluşan anket formları ile öğretmen, öğrenci ve okul idarecilerinden okul içerisinde karşılaştıkları olumsuz öğretmen davranışlarını belirtmeleri istenmiştir. Anket formlarında üç gruba yönelik farklı sorular yer almakla birlikte, anketlerde alan bilgisi, sınıf yönetimi, ölçme ve değerlendirme ile rehberlik olmak üzere dört boyut yer almaktadır. Araştırmanın çalışma gruplarını 2012-2013 eğitim öğretim yılında Kırşehir ili merkez ilçede yer alan uygun örnekleme metoduyla seçilen öğrenci, öğretmen ve idareciler oluşturmaktadır. 1. Çalışma grubunu random yolla seçilen ve gönüllü olan 112 ortaöğretim öğrencisi oluştururken, 2. Çalışma grubunu üç farklı okulda çalışan 38 öğretmen oluşturmuştur. 3. Çalışma grubunu ise aynı okullarda görev yapmakta olan dokuz idareci oluşturmuştur. Bu çalışmadan elde edilen bulgular ilgili alan yazın çerçevesinde tartışılmış ve bu kapsamda öneriler sunulmuştur.
... The centrality of pedagogy to conceptions of teacher misconduct has continued in subsequent studies: a lack of teacher credibility (Banfield et al, 2006), and clarity (Toale, 2001), students attributions of teacher misconduct (Kelsey et al, 2004) and teacher non-immediacy (Thweatt and McCroskey, 1998), all of which result in the demotivation of learners (Zhang, 2007). Such behaviours form one half of Lewis and Riley's (2009) dichotomy of teacher misconduct between pedagogical misbehaviour and those behaviours defined by legality that concern "physical and sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment, and theft or related financial law-breaking". ...
This study was aimed to find out the types of teacher pedagogical misconduct and the reasons of teacher pedagogical misconduct. The research was conducted by using descriptive qualitative. The data were the result of questionnaire and interviewing of English teacher at SMP Swasta Josua Medan. The data were analyzed based on types of teacher pedagogical misconduct by Kearney and reason of teacher pedagogical misconduct by Riley and Lewis. The findings showed that there were three types of teacher pedagogical misconduct. They were indolence, incompetence, and offensiveness. Moreover, the dominant category of indolence is changing assignments every time, while failure to treat student properly is in incompetence and involving sarcasm in offensiveness. The teacher conducted pedagogical misconduct due to treat students differently, teaching in sharp sarcasm technique, restricted, releasing anger and hardly braid good relationship.Keywords: teacher pedagogical misconduct, teaching English
... Current studies have shown that teachers' misbehavior will endanger students' academic performance. Most of the existing studies have shown that any improper behavior from teachers may harm students' academic performance [4,5]. Teachers' misbehavior would hurt students' learning [1,6], and made students feel less confident about their studies. ...
... al., 2016;Myers et. al., 2007), their affective and cognitive learning processes (Goodboy and Bolkan, 2009;Goodboy, Bolkan and Baker, 2018;Toale, 2001). ...
The aim of this study is to reveal undesired behaviors of secondary school teachers and their effects on students from the students' point of view. The participants were ninety-six students. The study was designed as a case study, and the data which was obtained though focus group interviews analyzed with content analysis method. According to findings, the undesired behaviors of secondary school teachers were categorized under four themes as (i) undesired teacher behaviors related to teaching and learning process, (ii) undesired teacher behaviors related to teacher-student interaction, (iii) undesired teacher behaviors related to behavior management, and (iv) the effects of these behaviors on students. It is concluded that secondary school teachers could show undesired behaviors in the dimensions of teaching-learning process, student-teacher interaction, and behavior management. These behaviors also had negative reflections on students' willingness to communicate and on their learning.
... When individuals are in certain social roles, they may show "deviant behaviors" that are in conflict with the expectations of the reference group (Gagne, 1982). Teacher misbehaviors are a classification of behavior that has an effect on students (Toale, 2001). "Teacher misbehav-iors" is first used by Kearney and colleagues (1991) to refer to an obstructive behaviour to teaching and learning process. ...
The purpose of this study is to investigate teacher misbehaviors, their causes and consequences, and what can be done to eliminate them. The sample for the study was chosen according to accessible sampling methods from the elementary schools in the Malatya Province. The sample includes elementary teachers (n = 25), administrators (n = 16), students (n = 25), and parents (n = 19). This research is qualitatively designed and uses a descriptive model. The data was collected using a semistructured interview protocol. After analyzing and categorizing the data, themes emerged. According to the results, the following teacher misbehaviors emerged: lack of business ethics, pedagogical incompetence , and behavioral problems.
... When individuals are in certain social roles, they may show "deviant behaviors" that are in conflict with the expectations of the reference group (Gagne, 1982). Teacher misbehaviors are a classification of behavior that has an effect on students (Toale, 2001). "Teacher misbehav-iors" is first used by Kearney and colleagues (1991) to refer to an obstructive behaviour to teaching and learning process. ...
... Cognitive learning involves retaining and recalling knowledge, synthesizing information, and developing course-related skills (Ellis, 2004). When teachers misbehave, it often results in lower levels of both affective (Banfield et al., 2006;Dolin, 1995;Toale, 2001;Wanzer & McCroskey, 1998) and cognitive learning (Dolin, 1995;Goodboy & Bolkan, 2009). Similar to students' communicative behavior, it is possible that their learning varies based on the type of instructor misbehavior. ...
The current study examined the belief that students’ forgiveness mediates the relationship between instructor transgressions and students outcomes. Students’ descriptions of instructor relational transgressions were consistent with Kearney, Plax, Hays, and Ivey's (1991) typology of incompetent, offensive, and indolent misbehaviors. Results supported the mediating role of forgiveness, indicating that perceived severity and blameworthiness associated with instructor misbehaviors predicted students’ forgiveness, which in turn influenced students’ instructional dissent as well as affective and cognitive learning. Consistent with research in interpersonal communication, results suggest that perceptions and forgiveness of misbehaviors are important to understand in order to maximize positive outcomes in the college classroom.
... Communication scholarship involving instructor misbehaviors has demonstrated that the outcomes associated with fewer misbehaviors tend to be positive, whereas the outcomes in high perceived misbehavior situations tend to be negative for instructors, students, and the classroom environment (Berkos, Allen, Kearney, & Plax, 2001;Dolin, 1995;Kelsey, Kearney, Plax, Allen, & Ritter, 2004;McPherson et al., 2006;Thweatt & McCroskey, 1998;Toale, 2001). For example, instructor misbehaviors are related to negative teacher evaluations (Millette & Gorham, 2002) and lower student motivation to communicate with instructors to obtain information about course content (Goodboy, Myers, & Bolkan, 2010). ...
Using rhetorical/relational goal theory as a guiding frame, we examined relationships between instructor misbehaviors (i.e., indolence, incompetence, and offensiveness) and the likelihood of students communicating antisocial behavioral alteration techniques (BATs). More specifically, the study focused on whether students' perceptions of instructor interpersonal attractiveness (i.e., social, task, and/or physical), humor orientation, and relational closeness mediated the relationship between instructor misbehaviors and students' communication of antisocial BATs. The results from 258 university student participants supported predictions overall, with moderate effect sizes. Perceived humor orientation, interpersonal attractiveness, and relational closeness each predicted reduced antisocial BATs, whereas instructor misbehaviors were associated with an increased likelihood of communicating antisocial BATs. Although interpersonal attraction, humor orientation, and relational closeness predicted a reduction in the use of student antisocial BATs, they did not mediate the relationship between instructor misbehaviors and antisocial BATs use.
... For example, in a report on corruption in education internationally, Meier (2004) cites studies of sexual harassment of students by teachers in Botswana and the problems of teacher absenteeism in countries from Peru to India; Bennell and Mukyanuzi (2005) discuss alcoholism among male teachers in rural primary schools in Tanzania in the context of teacher motivation; de Waal and Mawdsley (2011) discuss the issue of teacher privacy when students make accusations of sexual misconduct in South Africa. Instead, the vast majority of academic studies examining TMB have been conducted in the USA and situate their focus largely within classrooms: Kearney et al. (1991) developed the first typology of TMB consisting of three categoriesincompetence, offensiveness and indolenceall based upon teacher-pupil interactions within a pedagogical setting, a setting shared by the majority of subsequent studies in the USA (Banfield, Richmond, and McCroskey 2006;Toale 2001;Kelsey et al. 2004;Thweatt and McCroskey 1998) and cross-culturally (Zhang 2007). As such, these studies concern the classroom-based side of Lewis and Riley's (2009) dichotomy of TMB, those misbehaviours that detrimentally affect learning, termed 'didactogeny' by Sava (2002); the other side, those behaviours that concern 'physical and sexual misconduct, abuse and harassment, and theft or related financial law-breaking' (Lewis and Riley 2009, 418), have been largely ignored in these studies. ...
This article presents findings from a study of five head teachers who were responsible for the management of serious teacher misbehaviour (TMB) in England. In cases that included the downloading of extreme pornography on a school laptop and a sexual relationship with a pupil, the multiple impacts of TMB were potentially devastating to the well-being of pupils, staff and the reputation of the schools. The article highlights a number of strategies for managing serious TMB considered best practice by the head teachers as well as discussing other, more nuanced issues that accompany such cases including trust relations, the influence of gender and the difficulty of simultaneous immersion and detachment required of head teachers to effectively manage such cases.
... Furthermore, students perceived nonverbally immediate teachers as more credible. Toale (2001) found a positive relationship between student perceptions of teacher clarity and credibility, and found a negative relationship between credibility and the three types of teacher misbehaviors (indolence, incompetence, and offensiveness). Banfield, Richmond, and McCroskey (2006) later experimentally tested the relationship between perceived credibility and teacher misbehaviors finding still a negative relationship between teacher credibility and teacher misbehaviors. ...
The goal of this study was two fold: (1) initiate a dialogue about religious instructional communication and (2) demonstrate how Mottet, Frymier, and Beebe's (2006) rhetorical/relational goal theory of instructional communication could be applied to religious instructional communication. This study found that a religious followers' functional goals positively related to perceptions of religious leader trustworthiness and religious follower perceived cognitive learning and motivation to comply with religious leaders. Religious followers' relational goals positively related to perceptions of religious leader credibility, use of humor, perceived cognitive learning, motivation to comply with religious leaders, and religious climate.
... Out of all of these, goodwill may be the most important aspect of ethos (McCroskey, 1998). Most of the research completed studying credibility outside of traditional persuasion research has been in classroom settings examining teacher credibility (McCroskey & Teven, 1999;Teven & McCroskey, 1997;Toale, 2001;Wrench & Richmond, 2004). ...
Publikace s názvem Podpora rozvoje wellbeingu na školách se zaměřuje na jednu ze současných výzev školství – aktuální problémy mladé generace. Tématem není jen wellbeing žáků, ale také (budoucích) učitelů na různých stupních škol a školních psychologů.
Publikace je rozdělena do jedenácti kapitol, z nichž každá se věnuje specifickému aspektu wellbeingu ve školním prostředí. Kapitoly mapují odlišná prostředí, různorodé přístupy i metody zkoumání školní reality, zároveň publikace zahrnuje i teoreticky orientované kapitoly. I přes tuto rozmanitost na všech úrovních sledovaného tématu je možné nalézt jednotící prvek – kapitoly přinášejí konkrétní doporučení a postupy využitelné ve školní praxi v oblasti podpory wellbeingu. Cílem je přispět k odborné diskuzi o wellbeingu ve školství a nabídnout konkrétní podněty k jeho možnému začlenění do přípravy budoucích učitelů i následné podpory pedagogických pracovníků.
يستهدف البحث الحالي إلى تعرف: 1- الموثوقية بالمدرس لدى طلبة المرحلة الإعدادية . وقد تم بناء مقياس الموثوقية بالمدرس وفقا لنظرية مكروسكي (McCroskey,1999) ، والمكون من (33) فقرة بصورته النهائية ، وقد تم استخراج الخصائص السايكومترية للمقياس من تمييز وصدقه وثباته. وقد تم تطبيق المقياس على عينة البحث البالغة (400) طالبا وطالبة ، بواقع (200) طالب و (200) طالبة من كلا التخصصين من طلبة المرحلة الإعدادية ، تم اختيارهم بالطريقة العشوائية الطبقية ذات التوزيع المتساوي، وبعد تطبيق أداة البحث وتحليل البيانات إحصائيا باستعمال الوسائل الإحصائية الآتية : الاختبار التائي لعينة واحدة ، الاختبار التائي لعينتين مستقلتين، ومعامل ارتباط بيرسون ، معادلة إلفا - كرونباخ للاتساق الداخلي ، تم التوصل إلى النتائج الآتية : 1- تتمتع عينة البحث بالموثوقية بالمدرس. وفي ضوء نتائج البحث طرح الباحث استنتاجات بحثه ، كما وضع الباحث عددا من التوصيات واقترح عددا من الدراسات .
This study aims to investigate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ misbehaviours in class and their students’ reactions to these misbehaviours. Towards this end, 60 classroom observations of six English language teachers (N=10 each) were conducted at a public school in Jordan. Moreover, a survey was used to elicit 201 students’ reactions to their teachers’ misbehaviours by gauging their satisfaction with the teachers’ communication styles. Finally, the teacher participants were interviewed in order to more deeply understand why such misbehaviours occurred. Analysis of the data is grounded in the Expectancy Violation Theory. The results revealed that when the mean value of teachers’ communication style was more than 3 on a 5-point Likert Scale, the students often perceived their teachers as being positive, and the students compensated most of their teachers’ misbehaviours. However, when the mean value was below 3, the teachers were perceived as being negative, and the students reciprocated for most of the misbehaviours. The results also showed that the students are more tolerant towards their teachers’ misbehaviours as long as the teacher is perceived to be positive. The study provides insights into understanding the student-teacher relationship in EFL classes.
The purpose of this descriptive study was to get some information about teaching clarity at the college of agriculture-Mosul University. 692 students participated in responding to an instrument designed to measure their perceptions of teaching clarity of 76 agri–science teachers, and its reflections on their academic achievement. The study pointed out that a considerable proportion of agri-science teachers have a low teaching clarity resulted from low performance on the instrument items as perceived by their students. The results also showed that, students' achievement of high clarity teachers were better than students' achievement of low clarity teachers. Based on the findings, it is important to develop an agricultural education curriculum, which include a courses relevant to their common career as an agricultural instructors.
The goal of the current study was to further the research findings generated by Wrench and Punyanunt (2004, 2005, 2008), and Punyanunt-Carter and Wrench (2008), which examined the influence of a variety of communication variables in the graduate adviser-advisee interpersonal relationship. The current study examined undergraduate and graduate advisee perceptions of advisers’ interactional justice, sociocommunicative style, and credibility. Findings revealed that undergraduate advisees scored higher on adviser assertiveness than did graduate advisees. Moreover, graduate advisees reported higher ratings of adviser trustworthiness and mentoring than did undergraduate advisees.
This article reports the findings of two meta-analyses that explored the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning. Combined, the results suggest that teacher clarity has a larger effect for student affective learning than for cognitive learning. However, neither the effects for cognitive learning nor affective learning were homogeneous. Heterogeneous effects were observed for several additional subsets of the datasets. The first meta-analysis reviews the findings of 144 reported effects (N = 73,281) examining the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning outcomes. The cumulative evidence indicates that teacher clarity accounts for approximately 13% of the variance in student learning. The second meta-analysis reports a random-effects meta-analysis of 46 studies (N = 13,501). Moderators were examined and revealed that study design (i.e., survey versus experiment) moderated the impact of instructor clarity on affective learning. No significant moderators were found for cognitive learning. The cumulative results confirm that teacher clarity has a moderate effect on student affective and cognitive learning; however, persistent heterogeneity among the samples implies the presence of one or more moderating variables. Theoretical, practical, and methodological implications are discussed. Recommendations are made for future clarity researchers including a shift back to using low-inference behavioral measurements instead of high-inference perceptual measurements.
The empirical model tested in this study examined the effects of teacher communication style (TCS) on students' affect and behavioral commitment in college classes. Additionally, the model posited a mediational function for teachers' and students' trait and state communication apprehension for perceptions of teacher style and teacher effectiveness. Multiple regression and commonality analyses indicated that only student perceptions of all three dimensions of TCS were related to teacher effectiveness. Students who perceived teachers as highly versatile and responsive also reported lower fears about communicating in class—regardless of students' trait communication apprehension level.
This study investigated the relationship between teachers' use of Bell and Daly's affinity‐seeking strategies and students' perceptions of teacher credibility (competence and character) in the classroom. The associations among students' motivation to study, teachers' perceived credibility, and teachers’ perceived use of affinity‐seeking strategies also were investigated. Results indicated that several affinity‐seeking strategies were positively and significantly associated with competence and character, indicating that use of affinity‐seeking in the classroom may assist in the development of teacher credibility. Perceptions of teacher credibility and teachers' use of affinity‐seeking strategies also were found to be positively and significantly associated with students' motivation to study.
Teacher clarity was found to be positively correlated with perceived nonverbal immediacy and socio‐communicative style of the instructor. It also was found to be associated with enhanced student affect toward the instructor and the course. Students who perceived the verbal and nonverbal communication of their instructors as being clear and understandable also perceived their instructors as being nonverbally immediate, assertive, and responsive.
This study involved players’ perceptions of their coaches’ nonverbal immediacy, assertiveness, and responsiveness. Previously in the classroom setting, Thomas, Richmond, and McCroskey (1994) found that in the classroom setting nonverbal immediacy was positively, moderately correlated to both assertiveness and responsiveness. College students (N = 192) were asked to fill out a questionnaire based on a coach that they had in high school. Players who perceived their coaches as being nonverbally immediate, also perceived their coaches as being responsive, and to a lesser extent, assertive. Future research directions include considering the relationships between a coach's nonverbal immediacy with player motivation and satisfaction.
100 7th-grade mathematics students were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups defined by possible combinations of 2 lesson continuity conditions (discontinuity vs continuity) and 2 teacher vagueness conditions (vagueness terms vs no vagueness terms). Each group was presented a lesson on application of theorems in plane geometry. After the lesson, each group was tested on comprehension of the material, and each group completed a lesson evaluation. Lesson discontinuity and teacher vagueness both significantly affected student achievement, and the interaction between discontinuity and vagueness was significant. Vagueness terms significantly affected student perception of lesson effectiveness. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Reports that 2 similarly designed studies which were conducted 15 years apart (1956-1957 and 1971-1972) at different universities and which involved over 9,700 students and 277 faculty gave nearly identical answers to the question of what teaching characteristics carry greatest weight in predicting students' general opinion of their teachers. Items used on student evaluation of teaching scales were treated as predictors of students' overall ratings of teaching effectiveness. Reduced-rank regression analysis revealed high multiple correlations (.97 and .93) for items dealing with clarity of exposition, arousal of student interest, and stimulation or motivation to intellectual activity. Neatness of appearance, friendliness of manner, sense of humor, the giving of individual attention, and the handling of examinations carried little weight in predicting students' evaluations of effective teaching. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the effectiveness of an experimental mathematics teaching program. The treatment program was primarily based on a naturalistic study of 40 relatively effective 4th-grade mathematics teachers. Students were tested before and after with a standardized test and a content test (posttest only), which had been designed to approximate the actual instructional content that students had received during the treatment. Observational measures revealed that teachers generally implemented the treatment, and analyses of product data showed that students of treatment teachers generally outperformed those of control teachers on both the standardized and content tests. Since strong efforts were made to control for Hawthorne effects, it seems reasonable to conclude that teachers and/or teaching methods can exert a significant difference on student progress in mathematics. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the combined effect of 6 low-inference variables of teacher clarity (vagueness terms, mazes, utterances of "uh," specification and emphasis on content, clear transitions, and additional unexplained content) on student achievement. The occurrence of the low-inference variables was controlled by a videotape technique. The clarity main effect and the time of achievement (immediate vs delayed) effects were significant. There was no significant differential effect of level of teacher clarity on student retention. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Controlling for such factors as precollege cognitive ability and academic motivation, ethnicity, gender, exposure to college, work responsibilities, and the pattern of courses taken, students reporting that the first-year instruction they received was well organized and prepared tended to demonstrate greater general cognitive development than their peers who reported receiving less organized and prepared instruction. Implications for student affairs are discussed.
The purpose was to administer instruments, refined from a previous study, to junior high school students in widely varying geographical locations in an attempt to cross-validate and extend previous findings. Students from Australia, Ohio, and Tennessee, responding to descriptions of selected behaviors, indicated the extent to which their "most clear" and "most unclear" teacher exhibited these behaviors. The teacher behaviors contained on refined instruments discriminated well between perceived clear and unclear teachers. The specific teacher behaviors which discriminated best were used to posit a description of clear teaching which was subsequently reinforced by factor analytic results. Moreover, the pattern of clear teaching which emerged was found to be consistent over all geographical locations.
This investigation represents a substantial change in the way we examine classroom discipline and student resistance. Rather than focusing on student non‐compliance and other types of student misbehaviors, we examined teachers themselves as potential sources of instructional and/or motivational problems in the college classroom. Study 1 was designed to elicit inductively, college student reports of teacher misbehaviors. Results indicated 28 different categories of teacher misbehaviors. Study 2 was structured to (1) validate the obtained categories of teacher misbehavior types and (2) to determine whether or not a conceptually meaningful factor structure underlies the categories. Even though most students reported that the teachers referenced in study 2 infrequently engaged in each misbehavior type, a representative number of other teachers did. Importantly, the full range of frequencies was obtained across all 28 categories. Results were further corroborated with qualitative data. Factor analyses and factor matching procedures revealed that the teacher misbehavior categories could be both meaningfully and reliably reduced to 3 factors: Teacher Incompetence, Offensiveness and Indolence. Implications for managing student resistance in the classroom are discussed.
This study identified two low-inference variables comprising lesson organization and determined their effect on student achievement. For each of the two main effect variables, two conditions were defined: proper sequence versus manipulated sequence, and explicit organization behaviors present versus explicit organization behaviors absent. Four treatment groups (equated on mathematical ability) were formed by the possible combinations of these conditions. A single lesson on numeration systems was taught to the four groups (67 university students), and achievement was evaluated using an investigator-designed posttest. Although the data indicated no significant effect for sequence, the study did yield a significant effect (p < .01) for explicit organization. No significant aptitude-treatment interaction was found, either for explicit organization or for sequence.
Three decades of research involving the definition and measurement of the source credibility construct are reviewed and a new study reported. It is concluded that factor analytic research reported over the past decade has strayed from the original credibility/ethos construct and has treated that construct as virtually isomorphic with the construct of person perception. It is argued that future factor analytic studies of source credibility would serve no useful purpose, that the historical definitions of the construct should be retained, and that satisfactory measures of that construct already exist.
This study presents the Teacher Clarity Short Inventory (TCSI) as an alternative to existing measures of teacher clarity. Though existing scales measure both the clarity of content and classroom processes, they are disproportionate in length when compared to common instructional measures, such as measures of immediacy, student state motivation, and student affect. Analyses revealed a 10 item scale with an acceptable factor structure, acceptable reliability and validity. Furthermore, the instrument measures both the clarity of instructional content and instructional processes.
The first of two studies investigated the differences between reported relational maintenance strategy usage by high and low interethnic communication apprehensives (IECAs). An instrument based on Canary and Stafford's (1992) relational maintenance strategies taxonomy and Neuliep and McCroskey's (1997a) Personal Report of Interethnic Communication Apprehension (PRECA) was employed. The results indicated that individuals who were law IECAs reported utilizing significantly more of the task, network, and positivity strategies. Differences in openness and assurance strategies followed the same pattern but were not significant. The participant's reported usage and IECA score were inversely related. The second study replicated the first and explored two theoretical explanations for the results. This study revealed significant differences on all of the dimensions and significant negative correlations. This study also examined whether trait communication apprehension (disregarding ethnicity) and/or ethnocentrism (the presumed foundational components of IECA) could account for the differences in reports of relational communication behavior. The results of the second study indicated that both trait CA and ethnocentrism contributed to the prediction of IECA and to overall reported strategy usage, and that ethnocentrism was the better predictor.
This study examined the impact of state receiver apprehension in the instructional context. Because of its negative relationship with information processing effectiveness, receiver apprehension is an experience which can act as a barrier to elective learning. Teacher clarity and teacher immediacy were examined in terms of their relationship with student state receiver apprehension during the learning process. Main effect analyses revealed that both increased clarity and increased immediacy produced main effects for reducing student state receiver apprehension. The results also revealed that clarity and immediacy produced a magnitude interaction. The combination of high clarity and high immediacy was even more effective in reducing student receiver apprehension in the classroom than would be predicted by the two main effects alone.
Relationships between the clarity behaviors of teachers and the dual outcome measures of student achievement and satisfaction were examined. Relatively reliable measures of clarity (both of a low-inference and high-inference nature) on 32 preservice teachers who taught the same lesson within a small-group laboratory setting were generated by (a) trained observers, (b) participating students, and (c) the teachers themselves. The high and relatively low-inference measures of teacher clarity correlated highly, and both were significantly and positively related to postinstructional measures of student achievement and student satisfaction. A number of specific clarity behaviors have been identified that appear to be strongly and directly linked to desirable student outcomes.
The research reported relates to the construct of “perceived caring” in the instructional context which is believed to be related to the classical construct of “good will” in Aristotelian rhetorical theory as well as to more contemporary social scientific views of “intent toward receiver” in conceptualizations of source credibility. Student perceptions of caring on the part of their teachers were found to be substantially associated with the students' evaluation of their teachers, their affective learning, and their perceptions of their cognitive learning. Research is called for which helps to identify the specific teacher behaviors which communicate caring to students.
The present investigation examined: 1) the correlations between teacher verbal and nonverbal immediacy and teacher clarity for ethnically diverse students, and 2) the correlations of verbal and nonverbal immediacy and clarity with four instructional outcomes for ethnically diverse students. A unidimensional measure of teacher clarity was developed for the present investigation. Cultural differences were found in the relationships among verbal and nonverbal immediacy and teacher clarity. The results also indicated that teacher clarity, teacher verbal immediacy and teacher nonverbal immediacy significantly correlated with instructional outcomes for each group in all but one case. The implications of these findings and suggestions for further research are discussed.
The goal of the present study was to determine which power bases and Behavior Alteration Techniques have positive, negative, and no association with student motivation toward studying course content. In addition, teacher immediacy and teacher use of affinity‐seeking techniques were examined for their potential to off‐set possible negative effects on student motivation resulting from teachers’ use of power and BATs to control mundane student behaviors in the classroom. To replicate previous work and place this study within the context of that work, both cognitive and affective learning also were examined. Results are summarized in the context of this and the previous studies in this series.
On the assumption that a teacher's credibility with his students is related to student learning, a measure of teacher credibility was developed and tested. Data obtained from 1,80 students in basic speech communication courses from two universities indicated five dimensions of teacher credibility: “Character,” “Sociability,” “Composure,” “Extroversion,” and “Competence.” These dimensions were found useful for predicting some aspects of student learning. A 14‐item instrument for the measurement of teacher credibility is recommended.
In this article, Cruickshank highlights selected findings from the research on teacher clarity. He then projects from the findings a set of implications for teacher education programming and for faculty instructional practices. In the final section, he identifies a series of clarity-related issues that warrant research attention.
Two low-inference teacher clarity variables, vagueness terms and mazes, are discussed in terms of their effect on student achievement and on student perception of lesson effectiveness. Results indicate that high frequencies of teacher vagueness terms inhibit student achievement and cause students to perceive the lesson as ineffective. (Authors/JN)
Problems of understanding in classrooms, while painfully apparent to most teachers and students, have not been systematically explored. This paper reports the findings of an exploratory investigation designed to identify the types of understanding problems that students experience in classrooms and the tactics that they use to resolve those problems. One hundred and twenty‐four students responded to a survey instrument in which they were asked to describe a particular classroom understanding problem and report on the behaviors that they used in coping with that problem. Our findings indicate that meaningful distinctions can be made among classroom understanding problems and that tactical usage varies systematically in relation to characteristics of the situation (i.e., size of class and typical instructional format) and the type of understanding problem experienced.
Improving the care of persons at the end of their lives is a major priority of medical associations and patient advocacy groups. Central to this effort is the need to better prepare health care surrogates so that they will be able to respect the dying person's wishes if that person loses decision making capacity. But efforts to facilitate communication between dying persons, their surrogates, and health care providers have not been fully successful. We conducted a telephone survey of 174 randomly selected adults from a mid‐sized university community to determine whom people wanted to function as their surrogate, to test the hypothesis that overconfidence in the surrogate's ability may impede communication, and to examine gender differences in communication preferences with surrogates. Spouses were the most frequently selected surrogate, followed by an adult child. Women were more likely to be selected than men were. As expected, persons overestimated their surrogates’ abilities to represent their interests. Two other predictions were not confirmed. Interactions between gender and whether the person was responding as a patient or surrogate were observed. These results confirm the value of applying uncertainty management theories to health issues and lead to recommendations for improving communication between patients and their surrogate decision makers.
The purpose of this paper is to expand and clarify the construct of teacher clarity. In doing so, this paper summarizes the findings on teacher clarity, points out two neglected areas, and presents an instrument that incorporates both content and process clarity. This study posits that clarity must be incorporated as a goal of general classroom understanding which includes content and process messages and that teacher clarity is a relational variable. The development of this instrument will allow future scholars to measure teacher clarity as it relates to other communication variables from a relational perspective. Also, the items on this expanded instrument will help teachers to become aware of and identify, more inclusively, the behaviors that constitute teacher clarity.
College teaching effectiveness, as perceived by students, can be predicted from specific, observable classroom behaviors of the instructor and can be improved through feedback and training procedures designed to modify these behaviors.
Incl. bibliographical references, index
Research has demonstrated that confusing styles of parental communication--"communication deviances" (CD)--are associated with cognitive disorder in offspring. The present study examined the immediate effects of adult communication clarity versus deviance on sixty-one 11- to 15-year-old male and female adolescents with learning disabilities (LD). Subjects were randomly assigned to complete the Rorschach Arrangement Task (RorAT) under conditions of either clear (n = 30) or unclear (n = 31) instructions from an adult. Immediately thereafter, the adolescents were administered a test of abstract thinking--The Twenty Questions Task (TQT). Strategies used to solve the task were assessed. As hypothesized, adolescents in the clear communication condition performed significantly better on the RorAT and used more efficient cognitive strategies on the TQT than did adolescents in the unclear communication condition. A new theory with implications for teaching and parenting is proposed for understanding the influence of adult communication on students with LD.
NY (Fall, 1995) Paid position as the head coach of the Junior Varsity and assistant coach for the Varsity women's soccer teams
- William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY (Fall, 1995)
Paid position as the head coach of the Junior Varsity and assistant coach for the
Varsity women's soccer teams.
Interethnic Communication Apprehension and Relational Maintenance Strategy Usage
- M C Toale
Toale, M.C. (1999, November). Interethnic Communication Apprehension and Relational
Maintenance Strategy Usage. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication
Association, Chicago, IL.
Players' Perceptions of Their Coaches' Immediacy, Assertiveness, and Responsiveness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association
- K A Rocca
- M M Martin
- M C Toale
Rocca, K.A., Martin, M.M., & Toale, M.C. (1999, April). Players' Perceptions of Their
Coaches' Immediacy, Assertiveness, and Responsiveness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of
the Eastern Communication Association, Charleston, WV.
Teaching Experience
Graduate Level Instructor
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV (1999 – current)
Business Communication Teleweb Course (Fall, 2000)
Communication Problems of Children (Summer, 1999 and Summer, 2000)
The communication perspective
- G A Sorensen
- D M Christophel
Sorensen, G. A.& Christophel, D. M. (1992). The communication perspective. In V.
Ain't Misbehavin': A study of teacher misbehaviors, related to communication behaviors, and student resistance
- D J Dolin
Dolin, D. J. (1995). Ain't Misbehavin': A study of teacher misbehaviors, related to
communication behaviors, and student resistance. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, West
Virginia University, Morgantown.
Communication in coaching: A look at coaches' immediacy and verbal aggression with player motivation
- K A Rocca
- M C Toale
- M M Martin
Rocca, K.A., Toale, M.C., & Martin, M.M. (2000, April). Communication in coaching: A
look at coaches' immediacy and verbal aggression with player motivation. Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the Eastern Communication Association, Pittsburgh, PA.
Teacher clarity and misbehaviors as predictors of students perceptions of teacher credibility
- M C Toale
- K S Thweatt
Toale, M.C. & Thweatt, K.S. (2000, March). Teacher clarity and misbehaviors as predictors
of students perceptions of teacher credibility. Top paper in instructional communication presented at
the annual meeting of the Southern States Communication Association in New Orleans, LA.
The impact of teacher clarity and teacher misbehaviors on student perceived affective learning
- K S Thweatt
- M C Toale
Thweatt, K.S. & Toale, M.C. (2000, November). The impact of teacher clarity and teacher
misbehaviors on student perceived affective learning. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.
Media and Messages: An effects orientation, 12 th and 13 th Edition
- S Booth-Butterfield
- M C Toale
Booth-Butterfield, S. & Toale, M.C. (2000). Media and Messages: An effects orientation, 12 th
and 13 th Edition. Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.
Informing and persuading in public contexts, 2 nd and 3 rd edition
- J L Cheseboro
- M C Toale
- S Booth-Butterfield
Cheseboro, J.L., Toale, M.C., & Booth-Butterfield, S. (2000). Informing and persuading in
public contexts, 2 nd and 3 rd edition. Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.