Instructional Development Division

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Interest Group Awards 2025

Listed here are awards given by the Interest Group to its members. Interests Groups are smaller communities within NCA’s large membership that provide a range of resources including networking opportunities, Annual Convention programming, leadership opportunities, awards, and specialized information dissemination channels, among others.

Read more about this Interest Group.

Distinguished Article Award

Year	Award Winner
2025	Tiffany R. Wang, “Understanding the Memorable Messages First-Generation College Students Receive from On-Campus Mentors”
2024	Heather J. Carmack and Leah E. LeFebvre, “Walking on Eggshells”: Traversing the Emotional and Meaning Making Processes Surrounding Hurtful Course Evaluations, published in Communication Education in 2019.
2023	Hayeon Song, Jihyun Kim, and Wen Luo, “Teacher-Student Relationship in Online Classes: A Role of Teacher Self-Disclosure” published in Computers in Human Behavior in 2016.
2022	Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff, Stevie Munz, & Scott Titsworth, “Mobile Phones in the Classroom: Examining the Effects of Texting, Twitter, and Message Content on Student Learning,” published in Communication Education in 2022.
2021	No award given
2020	Katherine G. Hendrix & Cicely Wilson, “Virtual Invisibility: Race and Communication Education,” Communication Education, 63:4, 405-428.
2019	Jeffrey H. Kuznekoff & Scott Titsworth, “The Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on Student Learning,” Communication Education, 62:3, 233-252.
2018	Frymier, A. & Houser, M. (2000). “The teacher-student relationship as an interpersonal relationship.” Communication Education, 49, 207-219.
2017	Joseph Mazur, Cheri Simonds, & Richard Murphy. “I’ll See You on Facebook: The Effects of Computer-Mediated Teacher Self-Disclosure on Student Motivation, Affective Learning, and Classroom Climate.” Communication Education, 56(1):1–17.
2014	Paul L. Witt, Lawrence R. Wheeless, and Mike Allen, “A Meta-Analytical Review of the Relationship Between Teacher Immediacy and Student Learning,” Communication Monographs 71 (2004): 184-207.
2013	Patricia Kearney, Timothy G. Plax, Virginia P. Richmond, and James C. McCroskey “Power in the Classroom III: Teacher Communication Techniques and Messages,” Communication Education 34 (1985): 19-28.

Distinguished Contribution to Instructional Development Award

Year	Award Winners
2025	Alan K. Goodboy
2024	Tiffany Wang, University of Montevallo

Top Paper Award

Year	Award Winner
2025	Sara LaBelle & Muhrah Alakeel, “‘Graduate school is supposed to make you consider getting hit by a bus’: Advisor and Advisee Memorable Messages about Mental Health in Graduate Education”
	Shuai Guo, T. Kody Frey, and Erin B. Hester, “The feedback vaccine: Using inoculation theory to address cultural differences in negative instructional feedback”
	Soo Yun Kim & Wan-Lin Chang, “Enhancing student engagement in basic communication courses: The role of instructor nonverbal immediacy, student’s perceived connected classroom climate, and academic self-efficacy in a flipped classroom setting”
	Cassidy Taladay and colleagues, “The Graduate Classroom as a Site for Critical Reflexivity in (Un)Learning Culture in Health Communication: A Collaborative Autoethnography”
2024	Liliana Herakova, Jen Bonnet, & Tausif Sanzum Karim, “Queering Collaborative Learning Online: Meanings and Communication Practices for Greater Regard of Differences”
	Drew T. Ashby-King, “Prestige, Neoliberalism, and Higher Education: Examining U.S. College Students’ Understandings of and Socialization Toward Institutional Prestige”
	Scott Allan Myers, Stephen Kromka, & Sara Pitts, “Students’ Listening Predispositions and Motives for Communicating with Their Instructors”
	Renee Kaufmann, Jessalyn I. Vallade, Brandi Frisby, & Joe Martin, ” ‘It’s Not Allowed:’ Instructor Course Policy and Message Framing about Generative AI”
2023	Sara LaBelle, Allie White, and Emma Forman, “Graduate Students’ Privacy Boundaries in Communicating about Mental Health with their Advisors”
	Pauline C. Alvarez, “Hood Girls Gettin’ Hooded: The Impact of Preserved Comments and the Other Half of the Story”
	Mark P. Orbe & Jou-Chen Chen, “Manifesting the Freedom to Teach-Learn: Engaging Through a Pedagogy of the Taboo”
	Zac D. Johnson, “Student-to-Teacher Confirmation: The Development and Validation of a Student-to-Teacher Confirmation Scale”
2022	Teacher Antagonism and Sustained Attention: Reduced Affect Toward Instructors, Diminished Motivation, and Student Disengagement” San Bolkan, California State University Long Beach; Alan K. Goodboy, West Virginia University; Matt Shin, West Virginia University; Rebekah Melanie Chiasson, West Virginia University
	“Is that how you learn, if so, damn. Are you actually trying?’: Memorable Messages about the Academic Abilities of Students of Color” Melissa Tindage, California State University Northridge; Daisy R. Lemus, California State University Northridge; Cynthia Stohl, University of California, Santa Barbara
	When Online Learning Goes Wrong: Using Humor to Cope to Build Resilience” Brandi N. Frisby, University of Kentucky; Robert J. Sidelinger, Oakland University; Nicholas T. Tatum, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Audra McMullen, Towson University
	Identity negotiation and psychological needs of Mexican American first-generation students: Associations with intrinsic motivation, academic resilience, and intention to persist” Andrea Ruiz, California State University Fullerton; David Alvarado, California State University Fullerton; Zac D. Johnson, California State University Fullerton
2021	Xialing Lin, Renee Kaufmann, Stephen Spates, Kenneth A. Lachlan, & Patric R. Spence;”Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Identity and Helper Heuristics in the Online Classroom Discussion Board”
	Melissa Lucas, Lindsey B. Anderson, & Katlin Gray”Micro, Meso, and Macro: A Multi-Level Approach to Civic Engagement in the Communication Classroom”
	Matt Shin, Alan K. Goodboy, & San Bolkan”Profiles of Doctoral Students’ Self-Determination: Motivation, Burnout, and Instructional Dissent in Graduate School”
	Kristen Farris, Marian L. Houser, & Erik Timmerman”Restoring the Teacher-Student Relationship amidst Turbulence”
2020	Making Content Relevant: A Teaching and Learning Experiment with Replication” Kevin C. Knoster, West Virginia University; Alan K. Goodboy, West Virginia University
	“The Effects of Instructor Self-disclosure on Student Affect and Cognitive Learning: A Live Lecture Experiment” Stephen Michael Kromka, West Virginia University; Alan K. Goodboy, West Virginia University
	“Student Dissent Behaviors as Explained by Their Self-Efficacy and Intrinsic Motivation” Ryan D. Goke, North Dakota State University; Stephanie Kelly, North Carolina A&T State University; Kenneth Rocker, Massey University; Emeline Anne Ojeda-Hecht, Murray State University; Nikki Christen, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
	“They’ve Ruined My Profession”: The Heartbreaking Evolution of the Occupational Identity of K-12 Public Educators” Rowdy Dale Farmer, University of North Texas; Karen Anderson-Lain, University of North Texas
2019	Cathlin Clark-Gordon & Nicholas David Bowman, “Instructor-Student Out-of-Class Communication: A Media Multiplexity Approach”
	Jessalyn I. Vallade, “Instructor Misbehavior Frequency, Severity, and Impact on Learning: Comparing Student and Teacher Perceptions”
	Hannah E. Jones & Sean M. Horan, “Guns on campus: Campus carry and instructor-student communication”
	Emily Haverkamp, “Predicting Disclosure of Student Mental Health Problems to Instructors: A Communication Privacy Management Perspective”
2018	Kristin Farris, Marian Houser, Logan Carpenter, Trevor Kauer, Hlly Van Eynde, “The Road to Hel(!)copter Teaching: An Emperical Examination of a New Student Communication Construct”
2016	Nicholas T. Tatum, Brandi N. Frisby, Derek Ray Lane, and Elif Bengu, “Learner Empowerment Across Cultures: The Influence of Learner Empowerment on Student Outcomes in U.S. and Turkish University Classrooms”
	San Bolkan, Alan K. Goodboy, and Scott A. Myers, “Conditional Processes Behind Effective Instructor Communication and Student Increases in Cognitive Learning”
	San Bolkan, “Development and Validation of the Clarity Indicators Scale”
	Dana Borzea and Alan K. Goodboy, “When instructors self-disclose but misbehave: Conditional effects on student engagement and interest”
2015	San Bolkan, and Alan K. Goodboy, “Rhetorical Dissent as an Adaptive Response to Classroom Problems: A Test of Protection Motivation Theory”
	Natalie Yrisarry, Lindsay Neuberger, and Ann Neville Miller, “Instructor Response to Uncivil Behaviors in the Classroom: An Application of Politeness Theory”
	Zachary Goldman, Alan K. Goodboy and Keith D. Weber, “Reconsidering Student Motivation: An Application of Self-Determination Theory”
	Scott Titsworth, Joseph Mazer, Alan k. Goodboy, San Bolkan, and Scott Myers, “Two Meta-Analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning”
1991	Philip A. Thompson
1990	Virginia Richmond
1989	Marjorie Nadler & Lawrence Nadler
1988	Eva Rose & Daniel Canary
1987	Patricia Kearney, Timothy Plax, Gail Sorenson, and Vail Smith
1986	Robert Abelman
1985	Joe Ayres & Tim Hauck
1984	James Hughey
1983	Patricia Kearney, Timothy Plax, Virginia Richmond, and James McCroskey
1982	Peter Andersen
1981	Ann Staton-Spicer

Top Student Paper

Year	Award Winner
2025	Isaac Ewuoso, “AI is Not Thinking about Audience: How Basic Course Instructors Adapt to AI in the Classroom”
	Ellanore Foltz, “Trans* Student Experiences with Pronoun Disclosure in the Higher Education Classroom”
	Emma Reynolds, “Is Seeing Believing?: A Narrative Review of Communication Efficacy in Presentation Software in Higher Education Students”
	Han Zhang, Zinyi Cheng, Zhihao Meng, “Exploring the Role of Faculty-Student Relationships in Preventing Social Media Addiction through Propensity Score Matching”
2024	Xiaotong Liu, Mir Rabby, & Jeremy Martin, “Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: A Thematic Analysis of ChatGPT in Discourse”
	Nicholas B. Lacy, ” ‘Because I genuinely love learning’: Using Racially Validating Pedagogy to Hold Black College Students at AANAPISI/HSIs in a Higher Regard During Quadruple (Endemic) Pandemics
	Omolola Lasisi, “Exploring Self-Efficacy: Affective Learning, Motivation, and Class Climate as Predictors of Student Self-Efficacy”
2023	“So sorry your grandma died. Get that paper in.”: Graduate Teaching Assistant’s Experiences of Institutionalized Grief in the Communication Classroom”, Jessica Cherry, Ohio University; Carly Densmore, Ohio University
	“Student Relational Maintenance with Instructors: Scale Development and Validation”, Emily Napier, East Tennessee State University
	“Student academic anxiety and liberatory ungrading practices: A review and argument for their place within communication studies classrooms”, Kate Swartz, University of Kansas
	“Audible Pedagogical Expansion: Framing Podcasts as Social Pedagogy in the Field of Communication”, Cassandra Ryder, Arizona State University
	“A Comparison of Instructional Communication and Education Empirical Research: 5 Years in Review”, Leslie Sweeney LeRoy, University of Kentucky; Madison Adams, University of Kentucky; Yolanda Jackson, University of Kentucky
2022	Emily Napier, East Tennessee State University, “Getting Excited for Our Class: Instructor Immediacy, Clarity, and Professionalism in Online Teaching”
	Melissa Leigh McCormick, University of South Florida, “Do You Measure Up? A study of graduate student academic comparison, privacy management, and perceived program competition”
	Melissa Leigh McCormick, University of South Florida; Aaron Nichols, University of South Florida, “Going Through it or Growing Through It: Reactive and Anticipatory Resilience in Undergraduate Students Following a Shift in Learning Modality”
	Bianca Sofia Candelaria, University of Tampa; Stephen Michael Kromka, University of Tampa, “Confirmation and College Persistence: How Teacher and Student-to-Student Confirmation Relate to Intentions to Persist”
	Katherine E. Armstrong, West Virginia University, “The Role of Teacher Confirmation and Instructor Misbehaviors in Student Achievement Emotions and Learning Outcomes”
2021	Maria Hannah”Harmful Self-disclosures in Classroom Contexts: Instructor Descriptions of Associated Vulnerability, Fear and Risk”
2020	“He Said I’m Just Not Good At It: The Influence of Attributional Information in Written Feedback on Student Mindset and Resilience” Alexis A. Hadden, University of Kentucky
	“Exploring College Students’ Perceptions of Diversity Related Classroom Communication” Drew T. Ashby-King, University of Maryland, College Park
	“Toward a Model of Rhetorical-Relational Growth: Dynamic Flexibility and Deweyan Instructional Development” Clayton L. Terry, University of Texas, Austin
	“Putting Your Best Face Forward: An Extension Study of Instructor Emoji Use and Student Impressions” Kyle R. Vareberg, North Dakota State University; Olivia Vogt, North Dakota State University; Maranda Marie Berndt, Pennsylvania State University
2018	James Baker, Alan Goodboy, “The Choice is Yours: The effects of atonomy-supportive instruction on students’ learning and communication”

Top Panel Award

Year	Award Winner
2025	Jessica Furgerson, Carlos Tarin, Brent Mitchell, and Drew D. Shade, “Ditching Grades: Exploring the Shift Away from Traditional Grading”
2024	Kasey Hudak, Pennsylvania State University-Penn State New Kensington; Carolina Bown, Salisbury University; Rachel Davidson, Hanover College; Jenny Moss, Hanover College; Renee Hobbs, University of Rhode Island; Jasmine Linabary, University of Arizona; Hyunsook Youn, California State University Channel Islands, “Considering Connections Beyond the Classroom: Building Community Partnerships with Greater Regard for Local Concerns”
2023	Lionnell “Badu” Smith, Divine Narkotey Aboagye, La Royce Batchelor, Bisadeep Bhattacharyya, DiArron M., & Kelly L. Opdycke, “Let Freedom Teach! Towards an Instructional Communication of Freedom”
2022	Marian L. Houser, Texas State University, Sara LaBelle, Chapman University, Timothy Mottet, Colorado State University, Pueblo, Scott A. Myers, West Virginia University, “Honoring Place of Faculty and Students’ Mental Health: Conversations among Faculty, Students, and Administration in Higher Education”
2020	Marian L. Houser, Texas State University, Diana K. Ivy, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Scott A. Myers, West Virginia University, David Roach, Texas Tech University, and Jordan Atkinson, Missouri Western State University, “Caught in the Crossroads of Instructional Communication and Communication Pedagogy: Ideas for Future Teaching, Research, and Service”
2019	David Roach, Texas Tech University, Diana K. Ivy, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Marian L. Houser, Texas State University, and Scott A. Myers, West Virginia University, “Communication for Survival and Instruction”
2016	Theodore Avtgis, Deanna L. Fassett, Ann B. Frymier, Alan K. Goodboy, Jeff Kerssen-Griep, Jason J. Teven, and Scott Titsworth, “Best Research Ideas from Leading Instructional Scholars”
2015	Carolyn Cunningham, Holly Custard- Pearson, Bahaa Gameel, Andrew Iliadis, and Carolyn Cunningham, “Embracing Opportunities of MOOCs”