Immediacy and Learning Meta-Analysis 20
shared variance between verbal immediacy and perceived learning (average r = .491, k = 25, N =
8,017). Studies that reported only the combined verbal/nonverbal measure accounted for the
highest association with perceived learning—40% shared variance (average r = .634, k = 10, N =
2,812). These results are significant and meaningful in terms of how much students think they
are learning. Apparently, as verbal and nonverbal immediacy increase, students perceive that
they are learning more. Again, however, verbal and nonverbal assessments are most often taken
at the same time in sequence or combined.
The cognitive learning outcome reflects the lowest learning-type association across types
of teacher immediacy. Also, this category reflects the fewest number of studies and the largest
proportion of experimental designs. Associations with cognitive learning were found to be less
than 1% for studies reporting verbal immediacy (average r = .057, k = 4, N = 1,437), 3% for
those reporting on nonverbal immediacy (average r = .166, k = 11, N = 3,777), and 1% for the
single study reporting on combined-only immediacy and cognitive learning (average r = .122, N
= 223). While significant, associations with cognitive learning were less than meaningful when
viewed in isolation from other studies. However, many of the studies were experimental or time-
bound snapshots that restricted the ability to deal with cognitive learning over time. If affect
precedes and motivates cognitive learning (as many researchers in this area believe) over time or
long-term, then the significant (albeit small) results provide credibility and have implications for
future research. Nevertheless, given the low associations of types of teacher immediacy with
actual cognitive learning, care should be taken when interpreting the magnitudes of associations
between immediacy and learning that are sometimes reported as "cognitive" but derived from
studies relying on survey questionnaires like the learning loss measure. Students' perceptions of
their own learning provide useful data that help us understand the effects of teacher immediacy,
Convention