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Editorial
. 2022 Oct 26;32(6):1535-1539.
doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01672-0. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Teacher Immediacy for Effective Teaching in Medical Education

Hongmei Dong  1 , Renslow Sherer  1 , Jonathan Lio  1 , Ivy Jiang  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Teacher Immediacy for Effective Teaching in Medical Education

Hongmei Dong et al. Med Sci Educ. .

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of "teacher immediacy," defined as the teacher's communication behaviors that reduce the psychological distance between teacher and students. Though well investigated and recognized in the area of instructional communication, this concept is still new to the field of medical education. The authors first describe the origin, definition, and indicators of teacher immediacy, and then present empirical research findings on teacher immediacy's positive associations with effective teaching. The authors also introduce findings of teacher immediacy research related to the online learning environment. They recommend medical educators adopt the term "teacher immediacy" and explore it in practice.

Keywords: Instructional communication; Medical education; Teacher effectiveness; Teacher immediacy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing InterestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

References

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