The purpose of the current investigation is to examine the self-reported messages and behaviors teachers enact to demonstrate their (in)authentic selves to students. Using a thematic analysis of open-ended survey responses from 51 collegiate instructors, results indicate that teachers demonstrate authenticity through "openness" and…

The purpose of this study is to understand the decision-making process that graduate students engage in when deciding whether to withhold or disclose information about mental health to their academic advisors. Guided by the principles of the phronetic iterative approach and Communication Privacy Management Theory, a thematic analysis of open-ended…

The purpose of this teaching experiment was to examine the causal effect of relevant (compared to irrelevant) instructor self-disclosure on student affect and cognitive learning. Undergraduate students (N = 288) were randomly assigned to a 19-minute classroom lecture with an instructor who taught the same lesson but self-disclosed either relevant…

Guided by emotional response theory, this study examined how students' emotional responses mediated the relationship between their instructors' dramatic teaching behaviors (i.e., humor, self-disclosure, narrative) and their approach-avoidance behaviors (i.e., oral in-class participation, out-of-class communication, classroom citizenship…

Lesbian, gay, and queer (LGQ) teachers often deal with the tension between disclosing and concealing their sexual orientations in the college classroom. This article presents the results of a qualitative interview study with 29 self-identified LGQ college teachers about their choices to disclose or conceal their sexual identities. Using…

The current study examined the relationship between student-to-student communicative behaviors and communication outcomes in the college classroom. The instructional beliefs model was used to examine student self-disclosures, student perceptions of connectedness, and student enactment of instructional dissent. Students (N = 351) completed…

In this study, we examined the potential mediating role of instructor credibility in the relationship of instructor self-disclosure and nonverbal immediacy to student incivility in the college classroom. Four hundred thirty-eight students completed online questionnaires regarding the instructor of the class they attended prior to the one in which…

Guided by Giddens' structuration theory, this study highlights structures that both enable and constrain nonnative English-speaking teachers and students in American college classrooms. Before international teaching assistants (ITAs) step into their American classrooms, several semishaped class structures are already in place: students (mostly…

Using Petronio's communication privacy management theory, this study tested the degree to which content relevance and students' comfort with instructor disclosures moderated the association between instructor disclosures (i.e., frequency and appropriateness) and credibility (i.e., competence, trustworthiness, and goodwill) in the college…

This study investigates college student perceptions of instructor credibility based on the content of an instructor's Twitterfeed and student beliefs about Twitter as a communication tool. Quantitative and qualitative methods were utilized to explore the effects of three manipulated Twitter feeds (e.g., tweeting social topics, professional topics,…

Periodic assessment and scrutiny of the discipline's measurement practices, instruments, and research findings are necessary to provide clarity and direction by revealing what we know, how we know it, and where the knowledge gaps exist. Reflective reviews have produced ample appraisals of the theory, research, and methods employed in the conduct…

This study examines the ways in which privacy rules are developed and boundaries are coordinated within the student-teacher relationship using Petronio's Communication Privacy Management theory as a framework. Forty-one college instructors described the specific criteria they use to develop privacy rules and the conditions under which boundaries…

This experimental study examined the effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on anticipated college student motivation, affective learning, and classroom climate. Participants who accessed the Facebook website of a teacher high in self-disclosure anticipated higher levels of motivation and affective learning and a more positive classroom…

Results show that a basic course in speech communication (1) produced significant reduction in a students' communication apprehension scores; (2) yielded more positiveness about self-disclosure; and (3) reduced discrepancies between self-concepts and ideal self-concepts. (PD)

Provides comparative data on the use of humor, self-disclosure, and narrative by award-winning college and secondary teachers. Indicates that these teachers used these dramatic behaviors to clarify course content, and that they used them significantly more than the nonaward winning teachers from the same educational levels. (MS)