Characteristics of teaching and students’ emotions in the classroom: Investigating differences across domains

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis study investigated the relations between eight characteristics of teaching and students' academic emotions (enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, helplessness and boredom) across four academic domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English). 121 students (50% female; 8th and 11th graders) were asked about their perceptions of teaching characteristics and their academic emotions using the experience sampling method (real-time approach) for a period of 10 school days, with intraindividual analyses conducted using a multilevel approach. Multilevel exploratory factor analysis revealed that the eight teaching characteristics (understandability, illustration, enthusiasm, fostering attention, lack of clarity, difficulty, pace, level of expectation) represented two factors, labeled supportive presentation style (e.g., comprising understandability) and excessive lesson demands (e.g., comprising difficulty). In line with our hypothesis, we found clear relations on the intraindividual level between the two factors of teaching characteristics and students' academic emotions in the classroom (e.g., supportive presentation style positively related to students' enjoyment and negatively related to their boredom). Further, and supporting the universality assumption of teaching characteristics/academic emotions relations, the strength of relations between the two factors of teaching characteristics and academic emotions was very similar across the four academic domains. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.

Enjoying working and learning in vocational education: a multilevel investigation of emotional crossover and contextual moderators

“…In line with this reasoning and previous studies that examined links between teaching characteristics and student emotions, we expect teachers' communicative clarity and individualized support to foster students' enjoyment of lessons, because, implicitly, these features foster students' control appraisals (e.g., Goetz et al 2013;Hagenauer and Hascher 2010;Titsworth et al 2013). By providing comprehensible explanations, by using illustrative examples and plain language, and by assisting to overcome individual difficulties with feedback, hints and encouragement, teachers can strengthen students' expectations to cope successfully with instructional demands.…”

Meta‐analysis of mindfulness training on teacher well‐being

“…Teacher emotions significantly influence student academic achievement as well as student emotions (Becker et al, ). Research suggests that emotions are contagious; when a teacher is angry, their students are more likely to feel anger, when a teacher is calm the same is true (Becker et al, ; Goetz, Lüdtke, Nett, Keller, & Lipnevich, ; Hatfield et al, ). Thus, if teachers feel burnt out their student's will as well, and this has the potential to diminish student performance.…”

Mathematics: I don't like it! I like it! Very much, a little, not at all... Social support and emotions in students from 2nd and 3rd cycles of education

“…In recent years the literature concerning classroom atmosphere and social support from teacher and peers has shown that teacher-student and student-student relationships are critical for their involvement in learning and subsequent academic performance (Ahmed, Minnaert, van der Werf, & Kuyper, 2010;Goetz, Ludtke, Nett, Keller, & Lipnevich, 2013;Stephanou, 2011). The literature has stressed that the perception of positive or negative social support in the classroom context may influence students' affective and emotional experiences.…”