Interpersonal Complementarity in Moment-to-Moment Teacher-Student Interaction

• In Event: Enhancing Teacher Skills in Classroom Management

Abstract

We investigated how teachers’ and students’ interpersonal behaviour patterns adapt to each other over time. Using a continuous coding approach, observers rated moment-to-moment levels of Agency and Communion in teacher and student behaviour in 35 classrooms. We derived several indicators of interpersonal adaptation (e.g., entrainment of trends and synchronicity of rhythmic qualities) in terms of interpersonal complementarity.
In general, teacher-student interactions showed a pattern of complementarity. We found that teacher-student interactions of teachers with more desirable interpersonal styles were more complementary in terms of trends and overall coordination. We did not find differences in the rhythmicity qualities of interactions.
Our adds process level information to the mainly outcome-oriented, macro-level knowledge that has been carried out to study teacher-student relationships.

Authors

• Helena J. M. Pennings, Utrecht University

• Pamela Sadler, Wilfrid Laurier University

• Jan Van Tartwijk, Utrecht University