Investigating the influence of student–teacher Facebook interaction in Thailand

ABSTRACT

In Thailand, older individuals or ‘Phu Yai’ are people with higher social status and power as compared to younger people or ‘Phu Noi’ (Komolsevin &; Knutson, 2010). In the realm of education, teachers are considered Phu Yai while students are considered Phu Noi. This concept reinforces Hofstede’s (1991) major finding on Thailand being categorized as a high power-distance culture. The current study examines students’ perspective of the effect of student–teacher Facebook interactions on intercultural communication concepts such as power distance and submission to authority within the Thai student–teacher relationship. Questionnaires were administered to 353 students (N?=?353) at a large international university in Thailand. The study found that social media use between Thai students and teachers influence how students view the face-to-face power dynamics between them and their teachers. Specifically, the more students and teachers interact on Facebook, the lower students perceive the power distance between them and their teachers.     

Affective learning,teacher clarity,and student motivation as a function of attributional confidence

This study examined the differences in student affective learning, teacher clarity, and student motivation as a function of attributional confidence. More specifically, the degree to which students’ report being able to predict the behavior of his/her teacher should be related to affect toward course and instructor, teacher clarity, and student motivation. Results indicated significant positive correlations between attributional confidence and affective learning, student motivation, and teacher clarity. Results are discussed in terms of implications for Uncertainty Reduction Theory.     

Correlates between communication apprehension and listening style preferences

Research suggests that initial impressions are important and set the tone for future interactions; however, little is known about which teacher communication behaviors create positive initial judgments by students. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among a set of teacher relational communication behaviors and students' early judgments about the future outcomes of the course. Specifically, students reported perceptions of their instructors' use of power, confirmation, nonverbal immediacy, and communication skills in the beginning of a semester and their predictions about future interactions with that instructor. Results indicated that teachers' use of coercive and legitimate power were negatively related to students' predicted outcome value (POV) judgments, whereas the use of reward, referent, and expert power, along with confirmation and communication skills, were positively correlated with students' POV judgments. Hierarchical regression further revealed unique relational message predictors of these judgments.     

Students' Perceptions of Classroom Group Work as a Function of Group Member Selection

Course: Small Group Communication

The purpose of this assessment was to examine whether differences exist between students who self-select their classroom work group members and students who are randomly assigned to their classroom work groups in terms of their use of organizational citizenship behaviors with their work group members; their commitment to, trust in, and relational satisfaction with their work groups; and their self-reports of affective learning and cognitive learning. Participants were 126 students enrolled in a small group communication course. While students who self-select their group members and students who are randomly assigned to their groups do not differ in their use of organizational citizenship behaviors with their classroom work group members, students who self-select their classroom work group members do report higher levels of commitment, trust, and relational satisfaction, as well as more affective learning and more cognitive learning, than students who are randomly assigned to classroom work groups.     

The relationship between college student feedback orientation and classroom engagement

ABSTRACT

This study explored the relationship between the four dimensions of students’ feedback orientation (i.e., utility, retention, confidentiality, and sensitivity) and the four dimensions of students’ classroom engagement (i.e., silent in-class, oral in-class, thinking about course content, and out-of-class) using the tenets of Feedback Intervention Theory (FIT) as a guide. Participants were 208 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of introductory communication courses at a large mid-Atlantic university. It was found that varying combinations of students’ feedback orientation influence students’ engagement, providing further support for FIT. Specifically, feedback utility was positively related to all four dimensions of student engagement. Furthermore, feedback confidentiality was negatively related to oral in-class behaviors. Future research should continue to examine the influence of instructional feedback on students’ classroom engagement.     

Toward a contingency approach to marital interaction: An empirical integration of three approaches

Dindia and Fitzpatrick (1985) identified three main approaches to the study of marital communication: the satisfaction approach, the pragmatic approach, and the typological approach. This study reports an empirical integration of the key variables of each approach: Fitzpatrick's couple types, relational control, and marital satisfaction. It is hypothesized that (a) control behaviors and patterns have nonlinear associations with marital satisfaction and (b) different behaviors and patterns are satisfying to different types of couples. Marital couples discussed eight potential problem areas and their coded behaviors were submitted to interaction analysis using Morley's (1984) procedure. The results suggest that: (a) → behaviors had a positive association with marital satisfaction, and ↓↑ and →↓ interacts had significant convex quadratic associations with satisfaction, (b) ↓ control behaviors and ↑↓, ↓→, and ↑→ patterns interacted with couple type in predicting marital satisfaction. These results suggest a contingency model of marital satisfaction.     

How They Search,How They Feel,and How to Serve Them? Information Needs and Seeking Behaviors of Chinese Students Using Academic Libraries

ABSTRACT

America has become a choice for international students to study abroad because of its advanced education system and environment. Libraries become a way for international students to access resources and experience campus life, while Chinese students are increasing gradually as the biggest component of international students. This article investigates how Chinese students use American academic libraries and their information needs and seeking behaviors, as well as Chinese students' satisfaction with library facilities, resources, and services, and their expectation for other services. The article aims to better understand Chinese students, analyze their search strategies, and better provide relevant library services for them.     

Students’ Discrete Emotional Responses in the Classroom: Unraveling Relationships With Interest and Engagement

Recent instructional communication research reveals that the communication and emotional processes at play in the classroom can influence class-specific emotions experienced by students. Students’ enjoyment and pride were positively related to their emotional interest, while students’ enjoyment, hope, and pride were positively associated with their cognitive interest. While students’ anger and boredom were inversely related to their emotional interest, students who reported greater hopelessness and anger indicated decreases in cognitive interest. Students’ hope and pride were positively associated with their overall engagement behaviors. Anger, anxiety, shame, and boredom led students to report decreases in their engagement. Follow-up tests highlighted challenges in the assessment of specific emotional responses; exploratory factor analysis simplified the measurement of these variables and provided additional insight into expected relationships.     

An In-Depth Look at RACE: Creating a Public Relations Plan

Course: Introduction to Communication

Objectives: To provide students with a fun and interactive way to practice and observe communication concepts discussed in class. Students will (1) be able to identify nonverbal behaviors, (2) practice the stages of group development, (3) understand how important listening is in solving a murder mystery, and (4) gain an understanding of how perceptions are formed.     

Consumer Use and Business Potential of Virtual Worlds: The Case of “Second Life”

Abstract

Several months ago, the virtual social world “Second Life” (SL) received considerable interest in both the popular and business press. Based on a series of 29 qualitative, in-depth interviews, this article investigates what types of behaviors consumers show within this environment and what business opportunities it offers for companies. The results indicate that users do not consider SL as a mere computer game but as an extension of their real lives. This has implications for how marketing managers can use this online application that go beyond those known from traditional computer or online games.     

Passion and Preparation in the Basic Course: The Influence of Students' Ego-Involvement with Speech Topics and Preparation Time on Public-Speaking Grades

Abstract

Authors of basic public-speaking course textbooks frequently encourage students to select speech topics in which they have vested interest, care deeply about, and hold strong opinions and beliefs. This study explores students' level of ego-involvement with informative and persuasive speech topics, examines possible ego-involvement predictors of students' speech grades, and investigates the influence of preparation time and process activities on public-speaking grades. Results reveal that students' ego-involvement is positively related to their speech success; however, the explanation is more complex than those offered by basic public-speaking course textbooks. Pedagogical implications and areas for future research are discussed.     

Welcoming Our Robot Overlords: Initial Expectations About Interaction With a Robot

This study examined the relationships between faculty workplace bullying with graduate students’ burnout and organizational citizenship behaviors. Graduate students (N = 272) completed a self-report questionnaire measuring the degree to which faculty bully them at work (i.e., through belittlement, punishment, managerial misconduct, exclusion) along with reports of their student burnout (i.e., exhaustion, cynicism, professional efficacy) and use of organizational citizenship behaviors (i.e., helping, civic virtue, sportsmanship). Results of canonical correlations revealed that faculty bullying was related positively to graduate student burnout and was related inversely to organizational citizenship behaviors.     

Relational maintenance and caregiving in the grandparent-grandchild relationship

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between grandparents’ use of relational maintenance behaviors (RMB) and their young adult grandchildren’s willingness to serve as future caregivers for their grandparents. Undergraduate students (N = 209) completed a questionnaire in which they reported on a specific grandparent’s use of RMB and how willing they were to serve as future caregivers for that specific grandparent. Results of a multiple regression analysis provided partial support for the hypothesized positive relationships between grandparents’ use of RMB and grandchildren’s willingness to serve as future caregivers for their grandparents.     

Information Literacy in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Abstract

This annotated bibliography presents a review of articles published on the topic of information literacy in teacher education since the late 1980s. Many of the articles outline concerns about pre-service teachers who graduate with insufficient information literacy skills, who are unprepared to teach these skills to their future students, and who do not understand the role of the school librarian as an instructional collaborator. On the other hand, many articles describe innovative and successful programs where exposure to librarians, integration of information literacy instruction, attention to library research, or introduction of a process approach to information use can produce new teachers who are equipped to collaborate with school librarians and to teach information literacy skills to their students.     

Undergraduate Perceptions of the Reference Collection and the Reference Librarian in an Academic Library

Abstract

Many undergraduate students have no clear idea of the purpose and function of the reference collection and the services offered by the reference librarian. Uncertainty about these resources may cause students to overlook their usefulness, unsatisfactorily complete assignments, and develop a negative attitude concerning libraries. Through a survey, students related their perceptions of the reference collection and reference librarian. The results are intended to give the reference team insight into the students' conceptions and perhaps improve and enhance reference services to undergraduates.     

Gender on the box: Self-reflexivity as a starting point

This self-reflexive activity acts as an introduction to how we talk about and express gender identity, as well as the assumptions we may have about gender identity norms and expression. The activity illuminates student’s subconscious behaviors and understandings of gender, pushing them to sit self-reflexively with their own understandings of gender as an identity, expression, binary, and potential locus of shame/freedom.

Courses: Introduction to Women and Gender Studies, Intercultural Communication, Media Studies, Gender and Communication, Performance Studies

Objectives: Designed to introduce students to their own understandings and embodiment of gender, this activity asks students to be honest about their preconceived notions regarding gender that they bring with them into the classroom. The activity utilizes predesigned components that test students’ subconscious knowledge of the gender binary. This is a one-time activity that can be conducted in one 50- or 75-minute class period.     

Communication civility codes: Positive communication through the students’ eyes

Courses: Presentational courses such as Public Speaking, Interviewing, Business and Professional, Persuasion, Interpersonal; any course where civility may be promoted in the classroom.

Objectives: At the end of this single-class activity, students will have an understanding of civility in order to: (1) identify civility and consequences of behaviors, (2) create their own communication civility code for classroom behaviors and presentations, and (3) practice civility throughout the semester.     

Puzzled by communication? Playing with puzzle pieces to promote teamwork and theory understanding

Play provides an opportunity for students to learn information and concepts in an active format while facilitating different ways of learning. This puzzle activity is designed to increase student engagement, leverage different learning styles, help students make connections in communication theories, and enhance memory of important communication concepts. As an active learning exercise, play requires students to coordinate behaviors and participate in the learning process differently than through traditional lecture formats. Considering the information on active learning strategies, this activity involves using puzzle pieces labeled with theory components to help students learn each theory term and better understand how the terms work together to form the theory.

Courses: This single-class activity is appropriate for courses across the communication curriculum and is particularly well suited for classes with multi-part concepts and/or theories, including communication theory, organizational communication, interpersonal communication, persuasion, conflict communication, and the public-speaking/basic course, among others.

Objective: As a result of participating in this single-class activity, students will demonstrate understanding of key theoretical terms/concepts and how those concepts work together to inform communication theory. Further, students will work together in teams to bring in outside examples of the theory in action and practice explaining the concepts to their classmates to enhance learning and long-term memory of class concepts.     

Teaching intercultural communication through service-learning

Course: Intercultural Communication

Objectives: After completing this intercultural service-learning activity, students should be able to (1) apply effective intercultural communication skills in culturally different sites; (2) analyze cultures different from their own through service-learning; (3) compare and evaluate course readings with service-learning experiences through directed reflection; and (4) build critical empathy, relational, and reflexivity skills by communicating with people who are culturally different.