This study investigates the predictive effects of student-instructor interaction on student engagement in both live online courses and recorded online courses. Drawing on Wubbels’ Model of Interpersonal Instructor Behavior, eight types of student-instructor interaction were examined, including Directing, Helpful, Understanding, Compliant, Uncertain, Dissatisfied, Confrontational, and Imposing. The study employed stratified random sampling of 630 undergraduates from three Chinese universities and applied multiple regression analysis. This approach aims to address the gap that the Wubbles’ Model has not been used to compare interaction effects across live and recorded scenarios, while clarifying the different predictive value of student-instructor interaction on engagement. Results showed that different forms of student-instructor interaction have distinct predictive effects on behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement across live online courses and recorded online courses. The findings extend the applicability of the interpersonal model in online education and offer practical implications for enhancing teaching strategies and training instructors to foster student engagement in diverse online learning environments.
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