A study explored student perceptions of how instructors of the speech communication basic course utilize affinity-seeking strategies to establish a communication climate in the classroom. Subjects were 147 undergraduate students enrolled in the basic course at a large midwestern university. Each subject was asked to complete two instruments: (1)…

Grounded in a communication theory that assumes that the form of communication affects the content of the knowledge that a teacher conveys to his or her students, a study attempted to determine how violence is treated in the classroom. The site for the study was Darbin Elementary School, in a suburb of San Francisco. The method was observation,…

A study verified and extended the utility of three topologies of embarrassment (types of embarrassment, face saving strategies, and goals of embarrassment) to the college classroom context. Subjects, 209 undergraduate students enrolled in 12 introductory, lower-division, interpersonal communication classes at a large western United States…

A study investigated whether proficient non-native speakers of English teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) modify their speech when addressing less proficient students, as has been observed among native teachers of English as a Second Language. Fourteen Peruvian teachers' classroom interactions were recorded. Comparisons were drawn…

The study reported here tested a proposed teacher efficacy model by examining: (1) whether perceived teacher efficacy, teacher communication competence, and teacher immediacy are significant predictors of perceived affective and cognitive student learning; and (2) whether perceived teacher communication competence and teacher immediacy are…

This pamphlet discusses the use of questioning in the college classroom and its contribution to learning. Starting with a brief examination of the ways children question, discussions cover: (1) the effects of linguistic and socio-linguistic characteristics in questioning; (2) questions in psychotherapy, law, and opinion polling; (3) classroom…

A study defined more clearly the role of apprehension, motivation, and gender in student questioning. A survey of 118 questions was given to 156 students enrolled in an introductory communication course. The questions were designed to study student perception of the nature of questioning and to examine student-related and instructor-related…

A case study examined the processes by which girls and boys in their first month of primary school assume particular, highly gendered subjectivities within the school setting. Subjects, 28 children of diverse multicultural origins entering a suburban primary school in a large regional center in southern Victoria, Australia, were observed in the…

Techniques for getting students of English as a second language to communicate in the classroom beginning on the first day are based on a relaxed classroom atmosphere and a well-prepared teacher. First-day activities should be well-planned, clearly presented, and move at a pace that keeps students' attention. The goal is for students to respond…

Author suggests various methods to improve teacher-student relationships such as open houses, learning students names and being available for informal talk sessions. (BR)

The findings of this study showed that a certain type of teacher had a significantly greater impact on the task orientation of one type of student than another. (RC)

A discussion of student competence focuses on two types of competence required of students: the integration of academic content and interactional form (e.g., turn-taking, producing ordered and coherent discourse, making coherent topical ties), and the integration of teacher and student agendas, examining what happens when students' display of…

Researchers at the Institute for Research on Teaching (IRT) at Michigan State University studied how teacher behavior influences what youngsters learn and how teaching can be improved. IRT found that how teachers teach is as important to student learning as what they teach. IRT found that many teachers believe they do a good job and don't see the…

This pamphlet presents a series of tips for teachers to use in establishing classroom discipline. The first 11 tips provide guidance for the teacher in the use of language to maintain discipline: (1) be specific and clear; (2) be simple, brief, and to the point; (3) state directions positively; (4) use hard-line phrases selectively; (5) offer…

A study represented an initial attempt to assess the functional equivalence of two techniques for compliance-gaining research in the classroom, the constructionist approach and the strategy checklist approach. First, a system for coding teachers' message constructions was developed. Then those messages were analyzed to assess the relative…