Effects of Classroom Technology Policies on Students' Perceptions of Instructors: What is Your Syllabus Saying about You?

ABSTRACTThe technology policies included on instructorsu0027 syllabi vary greatly and, in some cases, may unfavorably influence studentsu0027 perceptions of the instructor. To examine this hypothesis, we randomly assigned college students enrolled in psychology courses at two different institutions (N = 163) to groups in which they viewed different syllabi for a community psychology course. The syllabi varied by the hypothetical instructoru0027s technology policy (encouraging of appropriate technology use in the classroom, discouraging of all technology use, or a mixture of both) and instructor gender. Results showed that students rated instructors similarly on the Competency/Communication factor across all conditions but rated them significantly lower on the Rapport factor when the syllabus included a discouraging technology policy. Rapport ratings were also associated with studentsu0027 self-reported dependence on technology. High instructor Rapport was associated with high levels of studentsu0027 technology dependency in ...