How students perceive teachers’ nonverbal and verbal communication at agricultural universities in Austria,Slovenia and Albania

Purpose: This study attempts to close the research gap created by the fact that existing studies neglect the problem of how effectively agricultural professors from different European countries communicate. The aim is to identify similarities and differences in the numbers of agricultural professors perceived by students as engaging in verbal and nonverbal immediacy communication.

Methodology: An online survey was conducted among students of agricultural universities from Austria, Slovenia and Albania.

Findings: The results show that professors of agriculture from Austria, Slovenia and Albania should generally not be satisfied with their own communication patterns and should thus try to improve their communication. The result also reveals cultural differences in the shares of agriculture professors employing different communication patterns in Austria, Slovenia and Albania. Compared to Austrian and Slovenian students, their Albanian peers perceive that most of their professors use nonverbal immediacy communication. According to Austrian students, the majority of their professors use verbal immediacy. On the contrary, Albanian students assessed that some of their professors employ verbal immediacy.

Practical Implications: The results show the professors of agriculture should improve the way they communicate to students. In particular, the Albanian professors should improve their verbal communication especially in terms of providing timely and quality feedback to students.

Theoretical implications: The study reveals differences in immediacy communication among countries (Austria, Slovenia and Albania) which the scientific literature considers to have a high-context culture.

Originality/Value: Given that no study has yet examined how students perceive professors’ communication in different European countries, this research helps understand the characteristics of agricultural professors’ communication.     

Enhancing the facilitation of online groups in higher education: a review of the literature on face-to-face and online group-facilitation

There still appears to be a gap between what online learning promises and what it can deliver in terms of student learning. Developments in online pedagogies and professional learning appear to lag behind the developments in technology and the promised benefits of technological transformation may not be realised. In this paper, we bring together perspectives that highlight vital aspects of online group-learning by reviewing the group-facilitation literature and the latest online learning literature to interrogate the pedagogical theories and practices currently used in online group-learning in higher education. We specifically focus on the interpersonal interactions between teachers and students, which are described in the online learning literature using the terms instructor immediacy, teaching presence, and social presence. We note differences in the literature regarding how teacher presence is interpreted and enacted and we expound the importance of the personal characteristics of the online teacher. Finally, we provide some signposts that might help course designers and teachers to improve online group learning: the intentional use of effective online learning pedagogies; a deeper understanding of what constitutes teacher presence; and strategies to enact that teacher presence with online groups. Recommendations for further research in online group facilitation are provided.     

影响学生英语学习动机的教师言语亲近行为研究——对宁波某高职英语教师Jane的个案研究

在二语学习的课堂中,有效的师生沟通有助于建立更亲近的师生关系,更有效地促进学生参与学习活动。本研究旨在从教师和学生两个角度调查教师主要的言语亲近行为以及这些行为如何对高职学生英语学习动机和学习成绩产生作用。在此基础上,本文提出了教师应该如何改进自己的行为以助于提高学生英语学习动机的建议。     

Advisee‐advisor communication: An exploratory study examining interpersonal communication variables in the graduate advisee‐advisor relationship

The objective of this study was to investigate graduate students' perceptions of their graduate advisors' communication (competence, credibility, and nonverbal immediacy), and how these perceptions impact advisees' perceptions of learning, effectiveness of the advisee‐advisor relationship, and advisors' degrees of mentoring. Advisee perceptions of her or his advisor's competence and caring/goodwill accounted for 43% of the variance in advisee cognitive learning. Advisee perceptions of her or his advisor's caring/ goodwill accounted for 39% of the variance in advisee perceptions of the effectiveness of the advisee‐advisor relationship. Lastly, this study noted that the linear combination of advisee perceptions of advisor credibility and communication competence accounted for 55% of the variance in an advisee's perception of the amount of mentoring an advisee received from her or his graduate advisor.     

Fashion in the classroom III: Effects of instructor attire and immediacy in natural classroom interactions

This is the third of three studies using complementary designs to investigate the effects of teacher attire on student perceptions of instructors and instruction in contemporary college classrooms. In line with Studies One and Two, modest effects of attire on perceptions of extroversion and competence were found; however, previous conclusions that instructor attire has little meaningful, predictable effect on ratings of attributes related to either approachability or credibility were reinforced. Student judgements of such attributes were influenced far more by teacher use of immediacy behaviors than by attire. In particular, positive effects resulting from teachers’ choice of formal professional attire were not supported.

This is the final study in a three‐part series designed to investigate the implications of instructor attire in the contemporary college classroom. Interest in this topic was sparked by collegial conversations regarding advice for new teaching assistants: What can they do to enhance credibility, approachability, and teacher evaluations? Does what they wear make a difference?     

班主任工作与"破窗理论"

在班主任工作中,如何调动学生的积极性,涉及的因素很多,本文试用"破窗理论"来探讨班级的教育和管理.     

基于引文分析的HIFU国内发展研究评价

为探究HIFU领域的国内发展情况,把期刊评价指标引入主题研究,进行主题被引频次、主题影响因子和主题即年指标的分析研究.研究结果显示,2000-2009年被引频次不断增加,至2009年篇均被引数达到3.3次;主题影响因子在2002、2008年最大;即年指标在02和06年达到最高.可见,十年间,被引频次呈逐年增加趋势,文献交流速度无明显增长,HIFU领域整体学术水平有所提高,但文献引用、吸收和利用较之其它学科尚存在差距,学者间应加强协作和交流.     

多种指标在期刊评价中的实证研究——以《北京体育大学学报》为例

采用典型分析、数学和文献计量学方法,对《北京体育大学学报》2006-2010年的h指数、核心作者、被引频次、主题分布、即年指标等多项指标进行实证分析,验证了上述指标在期刊评价中的有效性.     

Changing Criterion Designs: Integrating Methodological and Data Analysis Recommendations

Abstract

Changing criterion designs (CCD) are single-case experimental designs that entail a step-by-step approximation of the final level desired for a target behavior. Following a recent review on the desirable methodological features of CCDs, the current text focuses on an analytical challenge: the definition of an objective rule for assessing the correspondence between criterion levels and behavior. We review extensively applied research and methodological recommendations for establishing experimental control, such as the range-bound CCD, and integrate them into a proposal for a formal expression of an objective rule. We illustrate how this proposal can lead to establishing the acceptable level of behavior prior to gathering the intervention phase data and how it leaves space for professional judgment. A discussion of software implementing the suggested proposal is included.