Emotion in Teaching and Learning: Development and Validation of the Classroom Emotions Scale

TLDR

Emotion has been emphasized in communication research, yet classroom communication has received limited systematic study, and the findings are discussed in relation to emotional response theory and philosophical attempts to merge emotion and reason. The authors created the Classroom Emotions Scale (CES) to assess students’ perceptions of emotional experiences in classes and to examine its dimensionality and links to teacher communication behaviors such as nonverbal immediacy, clarity, and competence. The CES was grounded in interdisciplinary theory, tested in two studies that used confirmatory factor analysis to establish dimensionality, and evaluated for criterion and divergent validity. The studies demonstrated the CES’s reliability and validity, showed that teachers’ communication behaviors relate to students’ reported emotions, and linked those emotions to students’ motivation, affective, and cognitive learning outcomes. Keywords include Emotional Response Theory, Emotion Work, Teacher Communication Competence, Teacher Immediacy.

Abstract

Abstract Although scholars from across the field of communication have highlighted the importance of emotion in interpersonal relationships, persuasive messages, and organizations, the topic has yet to receive systematic attention from scholars who study classroom communication. Using interdisciplinary literature from communication and other fields as a foundation, the Classroom Emotions Scale (CES) was created to assess students' perceptions of emotional experiences in classes. Study 1 situates the scale within theory connecting emotions with classroom communication. The study reports initial evidence on scale dimensionality and connections between classroom emotions and three teacher communication variables: nonverbal immediacy, clarity, and communication competence. Study 2 extends those results by reporting a confirmatory factor analysis testing dimensionality of the scale; criterion and divergent validity evidence is also presented. Results of the two studies provide reliability and validity evidence for the CES, show that teachers' communication behaviors are related to students' reports of emotional experiences in classes, and document relationships between students' emotional experiences and various indicators of their motivation, affective, and cognitive learning. Findings are discussed as they relate to previous emotional response theory as well as philosophical works seeking to reduce binaries between emotion and reason. Keywords: Emotional Response TheoryEmotion WorkTeacher Communication CompetenceTeacher ImmediacyTeacher Clarity Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank Dr. Anita James, Ohio University, for her feedback on the manuscript Additional informationNotes on contributorsScott Titsworth Scott Titsworth (Ph.D. University of Nebraska, 1999) is an Associate Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Ohio University Margaret M. Quinlan Margaret Quinlan (Ph.D. Ohio University, 2009) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Joseph P. Mazer Joseph P. Mazer (Ph.D. Ohio University, 2010) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Clemson University