Mark E. Comadena

The Effects of Teacher Clarity, Nonverbal Immediacy, and Caring on Student Motivation, Affective and Cognitive Learning

The present study examined the effects of teacher clarity, teacher immediacy, and teacher caring on student motivation and affective and cognitive learning. Participants (233 undergraduate students enrolled in a freshman-level communication skills course at a large midwestern university) read descriptions of a hypothetical instructor who was described as being either low or high in nonverbal immediacy, teacher clarity, and teacher caring. Results revealed significant main effects for each independent variable and several significant two-way interactions. Data suggest that teacher behaviors, especially teacher immediacy and teacher clarity, play complimentary roles in enhancing student learning.

Fear in the Classroom: An Examination of Teachers’ Use of Fear Appeals and Students’ Learning Outcomes

This study examined the impact of teachers’ use of fear appeals and efficacy statements on student affective learning, motivation, likelihood of taking a course with the instructor, and likelihood of visiting with the instructor for help. The results suggest that fear and efficacy interact to more positively influence students’ perceptions of these variables compared to the use of fear alone. Pedagogical implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

Communication apprehension and academic achievement among elementary and middle school students

This study examined the relationship between communication apprehension (CA) and academic achievement (AA) among 1053 elementary and middle school students in a midwestern community. CA was operationally defined as scores on the Measure of Elementary Communication Apprehension (Garrison & Garrison, 1979). AA was operationally defined as scores on the Stanford Achievement Test. CA and AA were found to be significantly and negatively related. On three tests of achievement (mathematics, language, and reading), students high in CA demonstrated the lowest levels of learning. In the case of mathematics, students low in CA had achievement scores that were 23% higher than students high in CA.

Brainstorming Groups: Ambiguity Tolerance, Communication Apprehension, Task Attraction, and Individual Productivity.

This study examines the performance of individuals in zero-history brainstorming groups and determines the relationships among communication apprehension, ambiguity tolerance, perceptions of task attraction, and individual ideational output. Results of a stepwise multiple-discriminant analysis reveal that individuals who were high producers of ideas perceived the brainstorming task as more attractive, were low in communication apprehension, and possessed higher ambiguity tolerance than those individuals low in ideational productivity Discussion focuses on the relative importance of the three variables in discriminating between effective and ineffective brainstormers