I provide personal experiences and actually share the mistakes I have made in the past. I am also empathetic to each student's learning environment as many students do not have a PC so online assignments are challenging or they may have some technical difficulties and cannot turn in assignments on time. I have office hours as well which provides students with a means to address any issues, problems and concerns.
I feel that each student learns at their own pace and level. As an instructor, I fee that we need to be delivering the information with great adherence to their learning environment.
Hi Louis,
What are some of the strategies that you us to develop rapport with your students?
Gary
Developing student rapport is very important in student learning because students are more open to engage new concepts and ideas in class. When student rapport is created, students can participate in class with a sense of comfort and be less likely to be nervous about what he/she will say.
The development of student rapport is key in any classroom/lab environment as well especially in the kitchen lab classrooms. Without rapport, students may hide information or the mistakes they have made and feel that they do not need to tell the instructor. This opportunity for learning then is missed and the student/instructor relationship will then be difficult to grow.
Without rapport there is no framework for trust, safety and fearlessness in communication. Developing a rapport opens avenues for all communication, both positive and negative. Rapport also creates a norm in the communication which allows variances to show up more clearly if a student is losing focus or struggling scholastically.
If you lose rapport with your students, you can lose them for the life of the course. It is easier to build this respect then to have to re-build. It is important in teaching because it enables you to reach the student. The perfect teacher is one that never ruins rapport and is able to captivate the students attention so much that 100% of what is taught, is retained. Ofcourse...you would need the perfect student for that too! Let that be our goal!
I like what you said about compliance...it is easier to follow protocol when you have a relationship with an instructor
Roberta...so true...no rapport and you have just lost your student
Students need to realize that you are there to suppot them, not dominate the classroom.
The student needs to realize the instructor respects them as a person and values their opinion in class.
Developing student rapport makes the student comfortable with the instructor and the student will be more likely to ask questions if he/she feels like the instructor has their interest at heart
in order to be an effective instructor , you need to have communicatin on some leel. the more the students feel at ease woth you, the better the ability to learn. Studnts need to feel they can ask questions, or make a mistake
With rapport often comes respect, when students feel respected they are more motivated to learn.
Hi Lisa,
Good point about the need to be very careful about student relationships. There has to be a balance between supporting students and keeping a professional relationship.
Gary
Building a rapport really = building a relationship with students and some may be wondering how to strike the perfect balance so as not to undermine your authority in the classroom. And we absolutely should be highly cautious in this area. Striking a balance is absolutely necessary. Instructors most at risk for going too far are novices most likely still in their honeymoon phase of teaching. These instructors are more likely to push too far into the "friend" zone, ultimately losing more ground than they gain with students in the classroom. Don’t get me wrong here. Students like teachers who they feel are their friends. Who wouldn’t like a friend in an authority position? However, this type of student-teacher relationship does not yield solid ground to stand firm on for the long-term. True friends vow to do anything for one another, while teachers are bound by many ethical, professional, and moral restrictions. Confusing these is a recipe for disaster.
So many good things come out with having a good relationship with my students. First, Iam able to engage them, they know I care about them, and I try to understand their situation or what's going on with their lives, also, they see the human side of me, and therefore, they can come with problems, there is a certain amount of openness, they are not afraid to come and ask for help if they are getting frustrated. At the same time, I can easily come to them if I need volunteers for group activities or extracurricular events, because they trust me
Repport brakes the ice and begins trust between student and instructor.
Developing a good relationship fosters compliance, active participation, and allows students to assimilate information for their personal growth and advancements.
Hi Cynthia,
Right you are about the needs for our incoming students. Many of them are being retrained in a completely different career area after many years of success in another field. This is scary for them and they need an instructor that is understanding of what they are going through.
Gary
Students in career colleges are changing their lives, often moving in a completely new direction. This is exciting, and scary. They want - and need - to trust their instructor, and feel they can turn to them for advice and guidance during this new experience. Alienation from their instructor creates a negative experience, interrupts learning, and can be the cause for dropping out of the program. They need to feel supported as they move into a new job arena.
I agree. It is an amazing feeling having the professional respect from the students and having a relationship that promotes a healthy learning environment.
