Chapter 8: Teacher Immediacy and Student Motivation

As I stepped into the classroom, I felt excited and slightly nervous, but confident. I had taught this introduction to communication course several times before and was looking forward to the new class I was about to encounter. All thirty students were sitting quietly in their seats, facing forward. I introduced myself, explained a bit about the course, and asked for questions or comments. I waited, and waited, and then prompted again. “Would anyone like to ask a question about me or the course?” No one raised a hand or a question, so I chalked it up to first day jitters and moved on. I attempted to get a class discussion started about communication. I wanted them to tell me what they thought communication was, what it wasn’t, how we do it, what does it do for us…anything! What I got was blank, slightly embarrassed stares (eyes averted or down) and silence. Finally, I called on a student who seemed to have been watching me and asked if he would like to contribute something to the discussion. He mumbled something I couldn’t quite understand and lowered his head. After several more failed attempts at getting students motivated to start a discussion, I gave up. I was at a loss. I wasn’t quite sure how to continue so I dismissed the class early and tried to re-group. My confidence was shaken and I suddenly felt very discouraged. What was I doing wrong? Why weren’t they talking? This type of activity had always worked in my classes at home. At home.