Running head: STUDENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
Communication between Students and Teachers in the Classroom
Andrea Bartlett
University of Kentucky
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STUDENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
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Abstract
This paper examines the relationships developed between students and teachers based on
interpersonal communication and how these relationships effect the success of students in the
classroom. These relationships are based on student perceptions of teacher’s behavior, language
and slang used in the classroom, and the amount and method of self-disclosure on the part of the
instructor, particularly looking at student perception of teacher’s using slang and teacher’s using
social media sites such as Facebook. The paper looks at how these interactions combine to create
a personal relationship between the student and the teacher and how that relationship affects the
learning experience the student has in the classroom.
Keywords: student, teacher, communication, social media, learning outcomes
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Communication between Students and Teachers in the Classroom
Communication in the classroom between students and teachers is essential to the success
of the students. The interpersonal communication between the students and their teachers, both
verbal and nonverbal, is a key aspect in how successful the students are in the classroom. There
is a strong connection between the language used, as well as the nonverbal interactions between
the students and teachers, and the success of students in the classroom.
Teacher Motivation
One aspect of what influences student achievement in the classroom is the amount of
motivation they receive from their teachers. The motivation they receive is directly related to the
interpersonal relationships that are formed between students and teachers in the classroom. These
relationships result in subject-specific motivation, defined as “an organized structure of values,
attitudes and conceptions a student has towards a specific subject or knowledge domain” (den
Brok, Levy, Brekelmans, & Wubbels, 2005, 23). While the study by den Brok, Levy,
Brekelmans, and Wubbels acknowledges that there are some personality traits present in students
that affect their levels of motivation, they maintain that the interpersonal interactions between the
students and teachers has a large impact on the students’ subject-specific motivation (den Brok et
al., 2005). The amount of motivation a student has toward a subject is related to four key
elements- the enjoyment a student feels during a lesson, the relevance of the subject to future
work or other subjects, the confidence the student has toward their ability in the subject, and the
effort they put into the subject (den Brok et al., 2005). The amount of effort teachers put into
how students experience these elements can affect how successful a student is in that classroom.
It is safe to assume that the way students perceive their teacher’s and their teacher’s
behavior in the classroom has an effect on their motivation to do well in the classroom (den Brok
STUDENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
et al., 2005).There have been consistent results in studies showing positive influences of teacher
Proximity- teacher cooperation, and Influence- teacher dominance versus submissiveness, on
student motivation (den Brok et al., 2005). Thus, the more a student perceives that a teacher is
willing to work with them and to help them out with the work in that class, the more likely they
will be motivated to work hard in order to be successful in that teacher’s classroom.
Part of what influences a student’s motivation to do well in a class in terms of the
enjoyment they get out of the lesson depends on the type and nature of the lessons conducted by
teachers. The amount of teacher activated work, or work where the students are motivated to
learn and interact with the material on their own, compared to the amount of teacher-led
instruction, such as lecturing, has an effect on the perception the student has of the teacher. The
success of these more independent activities is related to the amount of leadership and control
shown by the teacher during the teacher-centered activities such as lecture (Wubbels &
Brekelmans, 2005). The studies looked at over two decades by Wubbels and Brekelmans show
that when teachers show more control over class activities that are teacher led, the more
successful the students are when given the opportunity to participate in more independent
activities, such as group work (Wubbels & Brekelmans, 2005).
Student Perception of Teachers
The way students perceive their teachers, whether positive or negative, has an effect not
only on how motivated they are in the classroom, but how successful they are overall in the
classroom. The perception student’s hold of their teachers or professors can stem from many
sources. It can come from the way teachers manage their classes, the amount of personal
information the instructor discloses to the students, or from the language the teacher uses in the
class. Other factors influencing student perceptions of the teacher are gender, age, and ethnicity
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of both the teacher and the students (Levy, den Brok, Wubbels, & Brekelmans, 2003). These
differences can have varying levels of influence on how the student perceives the teacher, as well
as how much it effects their success in the classroom. For example, female students tend to
perceive their teachers, at both the primary and secondary levels, to be more cooperative and
dominant than male students do. However, female students tend to receive less attention and
reinforcement from teachers (Levy, den Brok, Wubbels, & Brekelams, 2003, 9).
Ethnicity of the students also affects how the students perceive their teachers
communication and behavior in the classroom. Ethnicity is one of the most noticeable
characteristics of an individual, one that can be perceived without even communicating directly
with an individual based on their appearance. This means that the way a student perceives a
teacher when looking at ethnicity can affect their perception of them before they actually interact
with them on an interpersonal level. Along with the perceived ethnicity similarities or differences
between the student and teacher, language and acculturation for students who are not natives of
the country they are attending school in, are both additional aspects of ethnicity related
interactions that can affect student perception of the teacher and thus their success in the
classroom (Levy et al., 2003).
Along with ethnicity and classroom management, the type of language a teacher uses in
class and the amount of personal information they choose to disclose have an effect on the
environment and student perception in the classroom. The language a teacher or professor uses
can range from common slang terms such as “awesome,” “cool,” or “sweet,” to academically
advanced terms that are specific to the subject or field of study covered in the course and may go
beyond the students’ comprehension (Mazer & Hunt, 2008). The use of various types of
vocabulary along with the amount of personal information disclosed, whether through the use of
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personal stories and anecdotes or through the use of social media sites such as Facebook, can
determine if the student perceives the teacher or professor as someone they can relate to or as
someone who is seen in a purely academic light and not as a peer.
Teacher Disclosure
The amount of personal information a teacher or professor chooses to disclose to their
students can strongly affect how students perceive them as well as how motivated the students
are to do well in class. The type of language used gives the students a glimpse at the teacher’s
personality (Mazer & Hunt, 2008), which may or may not be an intentional disclosure of
personal information. The use of such language may be a teacher putting on a front, or trying to
“gain social approval of the students because of the high probability of future interaction or the
desire to have students regard the content (and the instructor) warmly” (Mazer & Hunt, 2008,
21). This adoption of slang terms and the type of language used by students is an example of
downward convergence, or using positive slang terms to adopt the speech patterns of their
students in order to appear more relatable to the students (Mazer & Hunt, 2008). In adopting the
language and speech patterns of their students, it comes as a more natural next step in the
development of the relationship between the student and teacher that the teacher begins to
disclose personal information. Overall, in the study completed by Mazer and Hunt, there seemed
to be positive responses from the students to the use of slang terms by teachers. The adaptation
of the language used by students appeared to make the information seem more interesting and
more relatable (Mazer & Hunt, 2008).
The disclosure of personal information may come from the use of social media sites, such
as Facebook, or through the use of personal stories during class time to allow students to gain
insight as to the personal lives of their instructors outside of the classroom. It has been found that
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students who communicate with each other through computer mediated communication (CMC)
are more likely to ask more intimate questions and be more willing to self-disclose, thus creating
more intimate relationships with other students (Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds, 2007). It can be
inferred that if students interact with their instructors in the same ways, they can develop more
intimate and personal relationships with their instructors as well, resulting in the potential for
positive results in the classroom (Mazer et al., 2007). While these types of interactions can help
to create a more personal relationship between the student and the instructor, they can also have
negative effects on the relationship. While looking at a professor’s personal website, which may
be monitored by the school or university that employs them, is expected to be academic and
professional, their personal Facebook page will most likely not be limited to scholarly posts. This
addition of more personal and less professional material may result in the student not associating
the instructor with the academic realm, and thus developing a perception of them that does not
see them as a professional or sees them as less credible (Mazer et al., 2007). The overall effect of
the disclosure, whether through Facebook or other social media websites, or through the telling
of personal stories during class, depends on the amount of information disclosed, the nature of
the information disclosed and how it relates to the class.
Research Evaluation
Overall, the research as to the effects of the interpersonal relationships between students
and teachers in the classroom on the performance and success of students in the classroom is
relatively thorough. However, there are some issues with many of the studies that have been
completed.
One of the most common issues with these studies is the sample sizes used. The study by
Levy, de Brok, Wubbels, and Brekelmans, “Students’ Perceptions of Interpersonal Aspects of the
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Learning Environment,” only looks at student perceptions of teacher’s based on interpersonal
behavior in grades 7-12, it does not look at how students in grades K-6 or at the university level
view these same characteristics. The study performed by den Brok, Levy, Brekelmans, and
Wubbels, “The Effect of Teacher Interpersonal Behaviour on Students’ Subject-Specific
Motivation” only looks at a group of 32 teachers, a very small sample of teachers. The study
performed by Mazer and Hunt, ““Cool” Communication in the Classroom: A Preliminary
Examination of Student Perceptions of Instructor use of Positive Slang” looks at 126 college
students views on the use of teacher slang in the classroom, which is an extremely small sample
of all college students.
Another limitation of many of the studies is the small age range of the participants. The
study by Mazer, Murphy and Simonds, “I’ll see you on “Facebook”: The effects of computermediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and classroom
climate” which only looks at how students in a college setting viewed their instructor’s use of
social media. This does not take into account how younger students, such as those at the
secondary level, who are frequently on social media sites, would perceive their teacher’s using
such sites as a means of self-disclosure.
In the future, it would be useful to conduct similar studies to those that have already been
done, but with a more comprehensive sample group. This would include larger sample sizes to
get a more accurate result. Having a larger age range within the sample groups would also help
to have a more comprehensive result.
Conclusion
The interactions that take place between students and teachers on an interpersonal level
effect the relationship between them as well the level of motivation and success the student
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experiences in the classroom. It is important for teachers and professors to use various methods
to interact with their students in order to create relationships that foster positive outcomes for the
students in the classroom. This can be achieved through the ways that teachers conduct lessons
and show their dominance and cooperation with students, to the language they choose to use
during class, to the amount of personal information they choose to disclose to their students
during class. Developing positive perceptions of themselves by their students is key to having
positive results in the classroom.
References
den Brok, P., Levy, J., Brekelmans, M., & Wubbels, T. (2005). The effect of teacher
interpersonal behaviour on students’ subject-specific motivation. The Journal of Classroom
Interaction, 40(2), 20-33.
Levy, J., den Brok, P., Wubbels, T., & Brekelmans, M. (2003). Students’ perceptions of
interpersonal aspects of the learning environment. Learning Environments Research,
6(1), 5-36.
Mazer, J.P., & Hunt, S.K. (2008). “Cool” communication in the classroom: A preliminary
examination of student perceptions of instructor use of positive slang. Qualitative
Research Reports in Communication, 9(1), 20-28.
Mazer, J.P., Murphy, R.E., & Simonds, C.J. (2007). I’ll see you on “Facebook”: The effects of
computer-mediated teacher self-disclosure on student motivation, affective learning, and
classroom climate. Communication Education, 56(1), 1-17.
Wubbels, T., & Brekelmans, M. (2005). Two decades of research on teacher-student
Relationships in class. International Journal of Educational Research, 43: 6-24.