Touching as Teaching: The Effect of Touch on Students' Perceptions and Performance

Abstract

The effect of instructor touch on students' ratings of the instructor and students' performance in the classroom was investigated. A total of 171 male and female college students participated in individual conferences with their instructors following the first examination in the course. Half were touched by their instructors during the conference; the other half were not. Students then evaluated the instructor, the instructor's teaching effectiveness, and the utility of the conference. Analysis of results revealed that students who were touched during the conference gave their instructors significantly higher ratings than those who were not touched. In addition, students in the touched condition showed superior performance on the next course examination, scoring .58 standard deviations higher on the examination compared to the untouched students. The authors conclude that touching, when conducted in a conference situation to help students improve class performance, can be a highly effective teaching tool.