Instructors' message variables and students' learning orientation/grade orientation and affective learning

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among instructors' message variables and students' learning orientation (LO), grade orientation (GO), and affective learning. Participants were 193 students (109 men, 83 women) enrolled in introductory communication courses at a large eastern university. Participants completed the Revised Self-Disclosure scale (Wheeless, 1978), the Humor Orientation scale (Booth-Butterfield & Booth-Butterfield, 1991), a narrative scale created for this study, the LOGO II scale (Milton, Pollio, & Eison, 1986) and the Instructional Affect Assessment Instrument (IAAI) (McCroskey, 1994). Results indicated instructors' message variables were not significantly related to students' LO/GO, no significant differences among the four categories of LO/GO, and when controlling for LO/GO, few significant relationships were obtained between instructors' message variables and affective learning. Future research should examine if instructors' own learning orientation or grade orientation influences how LO/GO students perform in their course. The following individuals' encouragement, support, and guidance have made this thesis possible. Scott-Thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to always proof read my work and make sure that everything was perfect. I greatly appreciate your help. You are a wonderful instructor despite the red pen! Melanie and Jim-Thank you for your insight and ideas I greatly appreciate all of the time that you spent reading my work and giving me your ideas and opinions. Corey-Without your love I would have never made it through this program. You pushed me to do my best and never gave up on me. I know this year was not fun for you either but you never complained and always came to visit. Thank you for being there for me. I love you! My family-Thank you for always being there to wipe away my tears. Your support and encouragement helped me get through this program. Thank you for having faith in me. I have learned to always work hard and dedicate myself to my work through watching you. You have made me the person I am today. I love you all. Alicia (my six-footer friend)-We never thought we were going to get through this but we did and I am glad that we did it together. Thank you for always being there for me. I will never forget our long walks to procrastinate work, our cookie fudge fantasies after the hard work, and our dilemmas and drama that always seemed to occur when we were together. "Yesterday brought the beginning, tomorrow brings the end, but in the middle we have become the best of friends." The Master's Class-Congratulations, we made it through this program! We all stuck together through the rough times and all became stronger for it. I am sure that you will all succeed in whatever you put your mind to. I will always remember each of you. Take care, keep in touch, and always keep in mind that anything worth having isn't easy to get.