Effects of Instructor Speech Rate on Student Affective Learning,Recall, and Perceptions of Nonverbal Immediacy,Credibility, and Clarity

Although research indicates that speech rate affects perceptions of speaker credibility as well as persuasiveness and information recall, research has failed to address how instructor speech rate affects student perceptions and learning. This study randomly assigned basic communication course students to one of three speech rate conditions (slow, moderate, fast), using a videotaped lesson by an instructor. Findings revealed significant differences for credibility, affective leaning, and nonverbal immediacy, but did not reveal significant differences for recall or clarity. Implications for instructional practice and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

The Combined Effects of Instructor Communicative Behaviors,Instructor Credibility,and Student Personality Traits on Incivility in the College Classroom

This study investigated the combined role of instructor communication variables (nonverbal immediacy and self-disclosure), instructor credibility (competence, caring, and trustworthiness), and student personality traits (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness) in predicting students’ uncivil behaviors in class. A total of 406 students completed online questionnaires regarding the instructor of the class they attended prior to the one in which the study was administered. Personality and instructor behavior variables contributed approximately equally to explaining variance in student incivility. Students’ conscientiousness and agreeableness had direct negative relationships with incivility, whereas instructors’ amount and negativity of self-disclosure had direct positive relationships with incivility.     

Understanding Academic E-books Through the Diffusion of Innovations Theory as a Basis for Developing Effective Marketing and Educational Strategies

Academic libraries are choosing to purchase electronic books (e-books) rather than print more frequently for multiple reasons. Unfortunately, e-books are not being used as much as they should be. With increasing academic e-book collections, many studies have examined student and faculty use of and attitudes towards this innovation. This paper will analyze the results in this area of research and align them with the Diffusion of Innovations Theory that includes the Rogers Diffusion of Innovations Curve, innovation categories, and the factors affecting the diffusion process of an innovation. This analysis will give libraries a better understanding of who is using academic e-books, why academic e-books are being used, and how to influence the behaviour of the academic libraries' patrons to increase their use of academic e-books. An analysis of these three areas will help libraries to develop effective marketing and education strategies aimed at increasing e-book usage.     

Teacher Influence in the Classroom: A Preliminary Investigation of Perceived Instructor Power,Credibility, and Student Satisfaction An earlier version of this paper was presented on a program of the Communication Education interest group at the annual convention of the Central States Communication Association,Milwaukee, WI,April 2002.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived teacher power, teacher credibility, and student satisfaction. Respondents were 67 undergraduate students (30 males and 37 females) enrolled in Communication classes at a southwestern university. Students’ perceptions of their teachers’ expert, referent and reward power use were found to be positively related to their perceptions of their teachers’ competence, caring, and trustworthiness. Teacher power use contributed to the prediction of a significant amount of variance in teacher credibility. Additionally, student satisfaction was positively and significantly related to both teacher referent power and expert power. Surprisingly, students’ perceptions of coercive power were not significantly and negatively related to student satisfaction. Implications, limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.