Teacher Clarity and Its Relationship to Student Achievement and Satisfaction

Abstract

Relationships between the clarity behaviors of teachers and the dual outcome measures of student achievement and satisfaction were examined. Relatively reliable measures of clarity (both of a low-inference and high-inference nature) on 32 preservice teachers who taught the same lesson within a small-group laboratory setting were generated by (a) trained observers, (b) participating students, and (c) the teachers themselves. The high and relatively low-inference measures of teacher clarity correlated highly, and both were significantly and positively related to postinstructional measures of student achievement and student satisfaction. A number of specific clarity behaviors have been identified that appear to be strongly and directly linked to desirable student outcomes.