On the basis of the number of participants, the communication a teacher has…

Concept

Communication can be classified by the number and relationship of participants.

Interpersonal communication is typically dyadic, group communication involves more than two interacting participants, and mass communication addresses a large dispersed audience through media.

Application

A classroom teacher ordinarily communicates with a class as an interacting set of learners. Because the setting includes the teacher and multiple students participating within one shared group, the participant-level classification is group communication.

Contrast

• Interpersonal communication chiefly describes a two-person exchange, such as a private teacher–student conversation.

• Mass communication reaches a large, dispersed audience through channels such as television, radio, newspapers, or digital media.

• Face-to-face communication describes the direct mode or physical co-presence; it can occur between two people or within a group, so it is not the participant-level category asked here.

Cross-check

Counting the participants distinguishes the categories: one teacher plus several learners is more than a dyad and is not a dispersed media audience.

Therefore, the classroom setting is classified as group communication.