Changing attire, changing impressions: How instructor attire influences undergraduate student perceptions

As time passes, different groups of students might perceive things differently than those who preceded them. The idea of what higher education should be, look like, feel like, and be reflected upon in the aftermath might be shifting from the worldviews which have existed in recent decades. Added to the generally changing nature of perspectives, students have endured a substantial paradigm shift caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which upended their anticipation of what the classroom will be like, including assessing their instructors and the content of those courses. Literature has suggested that nonverbal signals, including attire, can influence perceptions of others which further suggests that by manipulating how one dresses, they can have a strategic impact on how others perceive them. As such instructors in higher education may not be up to date with the knowledge of how students are perceiving them which in turn could affect engagement, grades, content utilization, evaluations, and enrollment, all of which have implications for the entire organizational apparatus. A quantitative methodology utilizing an experimental survey design was utilized with a convenience sample of 144 undergraduate students enrolled in Communication Studies courses at a large mid-Atlantic university to determine what styles of instructor attire influenced student perceptions of the instructor's credibility, approachability, and affective learning qualities. Data was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) via SPSS which revealed that significant differences in attire for approachability and affective learning existed between attire styles, but not for credibility. While this study was helpful in updating knowledge of student perceptions of instructor attire, it was limited to only the perspectives of a Caucasian male and only the perceived characteristics of credibility, approachability, and affective learning qualities. Future researchers may want to replicate this study for greater generalizability, explore other instructor demographics and/or to add additional perceptual attributes or characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

At the Heart of Learning: Affect, Identity and Care

Over the last few years, learning scientists have become increasingly interested in research around student's motivational and emotional processes, guided by a commitment to affirm learners' individual identities and support justice-oriented design and pedagogies. With ample evidence to show that the Covid-19 pandemic has exaggerated learner's struggles with their thoughts, feelings, and identity, the importance of such research has never been higher. This symposium brings together an international group of scholars with varying research contexts (online, in-person, hybrid, blended), working with students of different age groups (K-12, Undergraduates, pre-service teachers) to present their work around affective learning and teaching. The symposium's focus on affective learning designs that acknowledge learner emotions, affirm their identity, foster designer empathy and build a pedagogy of care will springboard deeper discussions in the ISLS community to further explore "global perspectives on equity and justice that promote the empowerment of educational innovation for all” (ISLS, 2022). © ISLS.

Students’ Affective Learning Outcomes and Academic Performance in the Blended Environment at University: Comparative Study

This study examines how the gender of students and their level of education (undergraduate or postgraduate students) influence affective learning outcomes in a mixed environment. The research model is based on four key indicators: satisfaction, perception of experience (perceived usefulness, ease of use, and perceived behavioral control), perception of benefits (general learning effectiveness, knowledge sharing and increasing, study skills improvement, and sense of progress), and academic performance. Moderating factors, including gender and education level, were used to define the distinctions in the measured results. The study was conducted in the fall semester of 2021. The target samples were students of undergraduate and postgraduate levels studying during the semester in the blended environment. A total of 513 students from Peter the Great Polytechnic University took part in the research. The online questionnaire was conducted to define the affective learning outcomes of students in the blended environment and the influence of affective outcome factors on academic performance. The Likert-type five-point scale was used to determine all the variables. For our statistical analysis, we used SPSS 24.0 and SmartPLS 3.0 programs. Two tests were implemented to determine the differences between gender and education level in relation to students’ affective learning outcomes. Finally, our study revealed how distinctive aspects of affective learning outcomes impact academic learning outcomes in a blended format using linear regression analysis. According to the results obtained, the results between males and females were similar and academic performance results were mostly predicted by satisfaction level. A difference was revealed between undergraduate students’ results and postgraduate students’ results. Perceived benefit has a greater effect on academic performance for postgraduate students, while satisfaction level has a greater effect on academic performance results for undergraduate students than for postgraduate students.