Amber N. Finn

A Meta-Analytical Review of Teacher Credibility and its Associations with Teacher Behaviors and Student Outcomes

This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 51 studies (N = 14,378) examining the associations among teacher credibility, teacher behaviors, and student outcomes. When all three dimensions of credibility are considered collectively (i.e., competence, trustworthiness, and caring), the cumulative evidence indicates a moderate, meaningful relationship between teacher credibility and overall outcomes (r=.448). Similar overall effect sizes were observed for competence (r=.481), trustworthiness (r=.477), and caring (r=.554), though the overall effect size for caring was greater in magnitude than that obtained for credibility measured as a single factor (r=.294). On average, higher correlations were observed when researchers measured all three dimensions of credibility (r=.518) than when they only measured competence and character (r=.256). Collectively, the results highlight the unique contributions of perceived caring to the teacher credibility construct, as well as the meaningful role that teacher credibility plays in facilitating student learning.

Examining the Effect of Exposure Therapy on Public Speaking State Anxiety.

Increased public speaking confidence is often cited as a major benefit for undergraduates taking the basic communication course. Several scholars have reported that the state anxiety of novice speakers declines progressively during performance, a phenomenon called within-session habituation. However, the contributions of these short-term reductions in fear to the development of confidence from one speech to the next, or between-sessions habituation, remain unknown. The current study examines brief repeated exposure to audiences as a strategy for creating habituation during public speaking performances in the basic course. One hundred forty undergraduate students enrolled in a required speech performance course participated in a quasi-experimental study in which course lab sections served as intact groups. Results were generally consistent with Foas emotional processing theory. Implications for basic course pedagogy and suggestions for future research in this area are advanced.

Teacher Technology Policies and Online Communication Apprehension as Predictors of Learner Empowerment

In this study, we investigated the association between instructor technology use policies and learner empowerment. Specifically, we employed Turman and Schrodts principle of moderation, predicting that learner empowerment would be highest when instructors moderately encourage course-relevant technology use and moderately discourage nonrelevant use. Results instead indicated a positive linear association between encouraging policies and learner empowerment, and a curvilinear effect for discouraging policies (with learner empowerment lowest at a moderate level of such policies). Apprehension about communicating online moderated the association between discouraging policies and learner empowerment. One implication of these results is that students expect course-relevant technology access yet also desire teacher clarity regarding permissible technology use in the classroom. Students apprehensive about technology may especially value such clarity.

Teacher Use of Prosocial and Antisocial Power Bases and Students’ Perceived Instructor Understanding and Misunderstanding in the College Classroom

This study explored the associations among teacher use of prosocial (i.e., reward, expert, and referent) and antisocial (i.e., legitimate and coercive) bases of power and students’ perceptions of instructor understanding and misunderstanding in the college classroom. Participants included 555 students from a private university in the Southwest. Results revealed that teacher use of prosocial bases of power is positively associated with perceived instructor understanding and negatively related to perceived instructor misunderstanding, whereas teacher use of antisocial bases of power is negatively related to perceived instructor understanding and positively associated with perceived instructor misunderstanding. Additional analysis indicated that coercive, referent, and expert power are significant predictors of perceived instructor understanding (R2=.53) and misunderstanding (R2=.37).

A Model of Anxious Arousal for Public Speaking

With the goal of identifying the characteristics or traits students bring to the classroom that predispose them to panic when faced with the threat of presenting in front of an audience, this study introduced a subtype of public-speaking state anxiety—anxious arousal. Specifically, this study examined the extent to which trait anxiety and physiological reactivity predicted anxious arousal during a public-speaking presentation. When combined with trait anxiety, physiological reactivity accounted for 73.3% of anxious arousal. Suggestions for pedagogical and therapeutic practice are included.

The value of instrumental and affective communication skills in different relational stages

The focus of this study was to assess the value that college students place on instrumental and affective communication skills across progressive relational stages in same‐sex relationships. Existing measures were utilized for affective and instrumental skills, however a newly developed communication skill (companionship) was also included. Relational stages included non‐unit (acquaintance), pre‐unit (testing friendship potential), unit (friend), and super‐unit (special friend). Results indicated that participants in non‐unit relationships valued some affective communication skills less tlian did those in pre‐unit, unit, and super‐unit relationships. All relational stages valued instrumental skills equally. Some gender differences were noted.

Students' Perceived Understanding: An Alternative Measure and its Associations with Perceived Teacher Confirmation, Verbal Aggressiveness, and Credibility

Given recent questions regarding the construct validity of Cahn and Shulmans Feelings of Understanding/Misunderstanding scale, two studies were conducted to develop a low-inference, behavioral measure of students’ perceived understanding in the college classroom. In Study One (N = 265), a pilot inventory was developed to measure students’ perceptions of instructor behaviors that communicate understanding and/or misunderstanding in the college classroom. In Study Two (N = 261), confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesized item loadings from the pilot inventory and yielded a new, Student Perceptions of Instructor Understanding Scale (SPIUS). Correlation analyses revealed meaningful associations between the new measure and students’ perceptions of teacher confirmation, verbal aggressiveness, and credibility.

Why Do Students Use Mobile Technology for Social Purposes during Class? Modeling Teacher Credibility, Learner Empowerment, and Online Communication Attitude as Predictors

Following research indicating prevalent and deleterious use of social communication technology in college classrooms, this study investigated teacher credibility, learner empowerment, and online communication attitude as predictors of such use. The sample included 379 participants who completed an online survey about a college course. Results identified alleviating loneliness and relational maintenance as two distinct forms of social use, with somewhat divergent predictors for each dimension. Teacher competence inversely predicted both use types, although teacher character exhibited an unexpected positive association with relational maintenance use. Learner empowerment demonstrated a curvilinear association with alleviating loneliness use, and relational maintenance use was predicted by the interaction between learner empowerment and online communication attitude. Thus, although teacher credibility and learner empowerment generally buffer against social use, learner empowerment may foster such use for students who particularly enjoy communicating online.

Teacher Verbal Aggressiveness and Credibility Mediate the Relationship between Teacher Technology Policies and Perceived Student Learning

In this study, we extend previous work on teacher technology policies by refining the teacher technology policies instrument to account for the technology purpose (social, academic) and type (cell phone, laptop/tablet), and examine a model of teacher technology policies and perceived learning. We found that students are more sensitive to policies that regulate laptops/tablets than cell phones, and though students want teachers to regulate the use of wireless devices for social reasons, they desire choice when it comes to use of devices for academic reasons. Further, as predicted in our model, teacher verbal aggressiveness and credibility mediate the relationship between teacher technology policies and student perceived cognitive and affective learning. We suggest that students desire both clarity and choice when it comes to use of technology in the classroom.

Audience‐perceived anxiety patterns of public speakers

Grays neurological theory of anxiety (1982, 1990; Gray & McNaughton, 2000) predicts that state anxiety will decrease with continuous exposure to a fear arousing stimulus. Previous studies of psychological and physiological state anxiety patterns during public speaking have reported a pattern of progressively decreasing anxiety levels consistent with this phenomenon, known as habituation. In the current report, the extent to which the state anxiety behaviors of speakers conform to the habituation pattern is examined. In the first of two studies, 30 novice speakers presented informative speeches to audiences of 18 to 20 fellow students. These speeches were videotaped and replayed in their entirety for observers (N=30) who rated the severity of each performers speech anxiety behaviors. In the second study, each videotaped presentation was divided into one‐minute segments and presented in random order to a new set of observers (N=25). Procedures in the second study were designed to control for rater expectations that state anxiety would decline over time. Overall, behavioral measures of public speaking state anxiety displayed a continually declining pattern associated with habituation.