Co-constructing Student Involvement: An Examination of Teacher Confirmation and Student-to-Student Connectedness in the College Classroom

Abstract

In order for students to succeed academically instructors must foster a supportive and connected learning environment. Importantly, not only do instructors need to connect with students, they also need to allow students the opportunity to connect with one another. Following that framework, aligned with the Dimensions of Learning model, we examined teacher confirmation behaviors and student-to-student connectedness as predictors of students' willingness to talk in class and preparedness for class (e.g., reading assigned chapters). Results found student-to-student connectedness mediated the relationships between teacher confirmation behaviors and in-class student involvement. Thus, this co-constructed, positive classroom climate nurtures student involvement. Student-to-student connectedness also served as a stronger predictor of student involvement than class size. Regardless of class size, student-to-student connectedness is an important classroom resource that instructors need to tap into as they try to engage their students.

Making Students Feel Better: Examining the Relationships between Teacher Confirmation and College Students' Emotional Outcomes

“…As previously mentioned, research on teacher confirmation has shown a host of positive outcomes occur as a result of this effective teaching behavior (Ellis, 2004;Goodboy & Myers, 2008;Schrodt et al, 2009;Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010). Taken together, these findings suggest an underlying theme from the confirmation literature; that is, teacher confirmation helps students to feel better about their classroom experiences and the learning process (Ellis, 2000).…”

“…In a live in-class experiment, Goodboy and Myers (2008) discovered that students not only recognized confirming attempts by an instructor, but also acknowledged that these attempts significantly influenced their ability to learn and stay motivated in the class. In addition to the ability to enhance student learning outcomes, teacher confirmation has been related positively to students' relational, functional, and participatory motives for communicating with their instructor (Goodboy & Myers, 2008), willingness to talk in class (Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010), classroom satisfaction (Goodboy & Myers, 2008), student effort and interest (Campbell, Eichhorn, Basch, & Wolf, 2009), communication satisfaction (Goodboy, Martin, & Bolkan, 2009), and predicted outcome value for the course (Horan, Houser, Goodboy, & Frymier, 2011). Furthermore, Ellis (2004) asserted that the confirmation-learning relationship is mediated by students' receiver apprehension, or the anxiety students feel when receiving and interpreting messages (Wheeless, 1975).…”

When Instructors Misbehave: An Examination of Student-to-Student Connectedness as a Mediator in the College Classroom

“…Prior research found positive associations between student-to-student connectedness and affective learning (Johnson, 2009), cognitive learning (Prisbell, Dwyer, Carlson, Bingham, & Cruz, 2009), and selfregulated learning (Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010). Furthermore, students, rather than the instructor, may have a greater influence on one another in the classroom.…”

“…The MSRQ subscale was modified slightly in order to focus only on students' outof-class involvement (Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010). One statement, ''During class time I often miss important points because I'm thinking of other things'' was altered to ''During study/reading time I often miss important points because I'm thinking of other things.…”

Examining the Role of Self-Disclosure and Connectedness in the Process of Instructional Dissent: A Test of the Instructional Beliefs Model

“…Connectedness has been positively related to a variety of student outcomes such as affective learning (Ifert-Johnson, 2009), cognitive learning (Frisby & Martin, 2010), and participation (Frisby & Martin, 2010). Students who feel connected to their peers are also likely to participate more (Frisby & Martin, 2010), be more involved in the class (Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010), and engage with their instructors for participatory reasons (Myers & Claus, 2012). Outside the classroom, students participating in extracurricular activities, such as alternative spring-break trips, are also more likely to persist within these activities when they feel strongly connected to their peers .…”