A study related the communication responsiveness of instructors to the affective and cognitive outcomes of students in basic speech communication courses. Specifically, the study investigated both the instructors' overall responsiveness and their responsiveness as climate makers. The communication responsiveness of instructors was measured by the Conversation Self Report Inventory, which gauges (1) the way people view the purpose of communication, (2) the communicative climate they create, (3) the way they transmit information, (4) the way they receive information, (5) the way they sequence messages, and (6) the way they cope with communication barriers. Student affective outcomes were judged from teacher/course evaluations provided by them, and cognitive outcomes were judged from scores on midterm and final examinations. Overall communicative responsiveness of instructors was found to be related to affective but unrelated to cognitive course outcomes. However, the analysis of climate making responsiveness revealed that students with supportive instructors registered significant cognitive gains in the course. (FL)