Connecting with the student.
Creating a connection with your students isn't easy. Most people need lots of time to trust another person. My job is to recognize that a student is suffering and then to try and get them to open up. A lot of students won't do that. You have got to earn their trust.
Good point, Nathan. Trying to force a person to open up to us will most likely have the opposite result.
Loren Kroh
We cannot force a person to open up to us, all we can do is be genuine and fair in caring about our students. Be prepared to listen and try not to cut off students with your point of view on their situation to end the conversation, sometimes you might have to sit with a student for hours if that's what they need.
Showing an interest in the student will help them build trust with the instructor. Once a student believes that the instructor wants them to succeed they usually respond favorable.
We can overcome that experience, by relating a similar experience to the students.
One way I have found to connect is to share a personal story to which they can relate. It could be something that happened to you personally or to someone close to you.
Another way I've found to connect is by setting up a Google Voice account so the students can contact you directly without having your actual personal phone number. You can set it to forward all calls/texts to your personal phone directly or to your email. You can respond directly with either setting without it revealing your personal number to the students. I have found that students are more likely to text/call me directly than to call the school when they are going to be absent/late. This also takes the communication burden off the front desk.
I find that by making eye contact with each and every one in the class everyday helps build the trust from the start of the semester. I appreciate the hard work that our student services folks do, but I'm going to make it a point to learn more about what they do. When I recognize a "bad day" in the eyes of my students first thing, I can provide them with additional support other than myself.
Just as some students are relutant to reach out when they some keep reaching out for help and take advantage of situations from time to time.
students find inspiration in honest sharing of success and failure from educators.
I feel similar to you in regards to connecting with students. I feel that I've become a little skeptical of my students because I feel that I've been burned/hustled by some students in the past. I always try to go out of my way to help but my experience with other students has caused me to be a little guarded in my response. I hate that I feel this way but unfortunately I've had too many students that have fallen on the scam-artist side of the student-faculty spectrum.
I've been working on trying to take the students problems at face value and work with them to come up with solutions, but it is still a constant struggle.
I pride myself on my relationships that I have with the students. I try my best to remain open and non-judgemental. I have many students that come to me with issues or just to talk and some are not even in my program!
That is a good point Dan. We should treat every student equally. We only get to know them on the surface for only a short period of time so we need not judge. Offer help if they want or need it. Once they come for help, listen and see if they need further assistance from a trained professional or is it that they just need to vent a little bit about some things.
Comes very easily to me as an individual. One thing that I do know is that I take time. After each class, believe it or not to spend just a few minutes with a different student after each lecture, so that I get to learn a little bit more about him or her. The class gets used to this sort of policy, because I never deviate from it and in the process. I have opened communication channels as well as fielded questions which would have been lost or quite possibly saved a student, which we're about to lose
It's very interesting that many students do seek you out for a solution to a problem or situation which they've already thought about and have the answer yet, they are testing to see that is the most correct choice. It's very important than for an instructor to listen very closely to what the student is saying so that they can determine that the particular student has selected the right course of action or if not recommend the best possible alternative course of action for the student. It's usually best though to have the student develop their own answer to the question with helpful input from the faculty member
If a student comes to you with a problem, usually it's because they feel that you have the expertise and they feel comfortable enough with you to discuss the problem or the issue. This is a very important time in that we cannot feign trust or act as if we know the answer really don't. Sometimes you do not have the answer for the student Helen must refer them to another individual for follow-up. It's a good practice to check with the individual that they followed up with that, indeed, they did show up to follow
One of the best ways of dealing with students is to find out the problem or question right away and then discuss the particular area briefly with the student and then formulate a resolution and then follow up at a later date as to their particular situation.
In dealing with students and people in general. You have to gain the trust of these individuals in order for them to ask your opinion, or even share a particular problem, our circumstance with you. A good way to encourage and develop trust is by being consistent and fair with all students who have issues or bring you problems to help them resolve.
I agree, I find it easy to connect with most of my students. You can usually early on which students have underlying stressors and have difficulty in class. Most students respond well to respect and honesty
When a student reaches out for help we as Instructors must demostrate an interest towards the student and get involved.
Many of my students are not used to having a support system. They have support possibly with family or spouse maybe children. I find a connection because I myself had a hard time trusting people when I was in school because I had alot of negative people in my life at that time. I found teachers that understood me and that could help me along the way. I give back by doing the same thing and I believe the connection with my students has been great.
