Brief Measure of Student-Instructor Rapport Predicts Student Success in Online Courses

At all educational levels, researchers show a positive link between student-teacher rapport and student outcomes. However, few scales have been developed to measure rapport at the university level and no study has examined the link between student-instructor rapport and objective measures of student...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal for the scholarship of teaching and learning Vol. 7; no. 2
Main Authors Lammers, William J., Gillaspy, J. Arthur
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Centers for Teaching & Technology at Georgia Southern University 01.07.2013
Georgia Southern University
Subjects
College Faculty
College Students
Educational Technology
Factor Analysis
Factor Structure
Online Courses
Psychometrics
Rapport
Scale
Student learning
Surveys
Teacher Student Relationship
Technology Uses in Education
Test Validity
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:At all educational levels, researchers show a positive link between student-teacher rapport and student outcomes. However, few scales have been developed to measure rapport at the university level and no study has examined the link between student-instructor rapport and objective measures of student learning in online courses. We developed a brief, 9-item rapport scale, the Student-Instructor Rapport Scale-9 (SIRS-9), and administered it, along with an existing "connectedness" scale, to university students taking online courses. Student outcome measures included three course evaluation questions and student's final course grade. Results support the internal consistency, concurrent validity, and predictive validity of SIRS-9 scores. The research and practical usefulness of the SIRS-9 are discussed.
ISSN:1931-4744
1931-4744
DOI:10.20429/ijsotl.2013.070216