Student Perceptions of Instructor Immediacy in Online Program Courses

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Nontraditional Approaches to Teacher Education

Abstract

Instructor immediacy is the degree of psychological closeness students perceive there to be with their instructor. Overall, though, there has been very little research conducted on instructor immediacy in online learning. Given this, the purpose of this study was to explore behaviors that students perceive to contribute to or detract from instructor immediacy. More specifically, I conducted a sequential explanatory mixed methods research study to investigate student perceptions of instructor immediacy in online programs. Quantitative results found significant and moderate correlations
between instructor immediacy and student learning and course satisfaction. Additionally, five themes emerged in the qualitative phase of the study. Synthesis of the results led to seven key findings.

Author

• Anthony Charles Saba, Boise State University