I feel as though a good rapport with students improves many areas of the classroom experience. If the student knows that you sincerely care about them and their educational well being, they will respect you more. This will make your classroom experience much more pleasant and they will actually care about you as well.
Hi! I agree with you. I agree that building rapport will allow you to make it a great learning environment. If a student is confident and comfortable there are better chances of them remaining focused and learning.
Stanley,
Great comments on how to prepare for interacting with students. By following your suggestions instructors will earn the respect of students while forming the foundation upon which rapport will develop. By helping students to understand they have a caring and supportive learning leader there to instruct and help them move forward with their career development the students will be more engaged and a part of the learning community.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Building rapport with students can be an effective way to improve classroom management. Teachers and students must show respect for each other, for the learning process.
Approachability is very important, Students should feel comfortable coming to faculty and faculty must be willing to speak with students when it is needed. Open communication. Faculty must be honest. There should be consistency between what faculty say and what they do.
The instructor/ Teacher must see and respond to the students as individuals. The instructor should care about learning and show that they want students to learn the material.
A positive attitude should be second nature and having a sense of humor really helps to build that rapport with the students.
It really gets my students to "buy in" and look forward to coming to class. I come from a high school teaching background so I'm a little more used to trying to entertain while also teaching than some of my colleagues. My only issue sometimes is letting a tad too much classroom discipline slip while attempting to maintain rapport.
Bonnie,
For me student rapport is the pay off as an educator. By earning their respect and then developing rapport with students I can see their engagement grow and their professional development expand on a regular basis. This is exciting because when it start to happen you know that you are impacting your field by preparing the next generation of individuals to enter your field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Developing rapport with the students is one of the most important things I do as an instructor and one of the most enjoyable! It makes teaching more fun and interesting and the students become more involved in the course content because they feel safe to share their opinions, give feedback, and discuss any concerns that the have. I strive to be approachable by treating the students as adults who will, in just a short period of time, work in my profession as peers.
Erica,
Your last sentence really puts everything in perspective. Student rapport is such a great connection between the instructor and the students. This is when teaching is really a lot of fun and you have a great feeling about the impact you are having on the lives of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
The development of rapport with students is so important in teaching because it creates a comfortable learning environment. As a teacher we want to get to know what motivates our students in order to keep our classrooms engaging. We also want to build trust; this will ensure that our students will let us know if they do not understand something or of any personal barriers which may be keeping them from successfully participating and/or completing your course work. Building rapport will also be helpful in building respect.
Steven,
I really enjoy classes where I have developed rapport with my students. This is when learning is fun and the students are engaged. Each class session becomes an exchange of ideas, knowledge and expertise. We need to first earn their respect and then strive to develop rapport with them and when we do the results are very rewarding for everyone.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I believe student repport is critical for a number of reasons. It developes understanding of both parties and the challenges they face, it demonstrates that both parties have respect for each other and it demonstrates the instructor has a ondividual commitment to the student. I extend that report to the educational process as well and allow my student the freedom to discuss their own understanding of a skill set.
Summer,
Thank you for mentioning accommodations because they are often the difference between success and failure for a student. By making a small adjustment the instructor can keep the student in the course and moving forward toward their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Having good rapport with students will allow for a better learning environment. The rapport allows students fell welcome in the classroom and able to verbalize their thoughts during discussion. Having a good rapport can also lead to students feeling open enough to come to you when they are facing other issues in their lives. This can help instructors understand and make accomodations for these students. Sometimes these small accomodations are what students need and help us retain more students.
Developing a good rapport with students is important in teaching because if the students do not like you, or think you don't really care about their education, they will begin to tune you out and lose interest in the course. This could lead to them dropping the class, dropping out, or failing the class-all bad situations.
Robert,
This is a very good point to impress on instructors. Respect needs to start from the beginning and this will lead to the development of rapport and student engagement. When all of this comes together then it is a pleasure be a teacher and help students to move closer to their career goals.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I need the students to trust in me ASAP so we can begin the learning process. Reservations, misunderstandings, concerns, and doubt will rob the effectiveness of the course until rapport is adequately gained.
I know that sometimes it takes a few assignments before you figure out what it is the instructor is looking for. And, by then, depending on the length of the course, a perfect grade in the course can be in jeopardy.
It has always been my policy that in my courses, I avoid surprises in course expectations.
Sheena,
Respect is the foundation upon which rapport grows. When you have rapport with your students it is a joy to be an educator and enjoy watching your students learn and grow in their knowledge.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When we develope a rapport with students, it gives them a sense of belonging. If they feel like they are a part of their own educational learning, they are going to become more involved and thus more sucessful as a student.
Ed,
Thank you for sharing this example with us as it truly reflects how many students perceive teachers in their past. We all have had some challenging teachers and as a result like you mention we strive to not be like they were. As a result we can focus on the human factor in our teaching and work at providing support to our students as they move through our courses.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I can relate back to my elementary school. I distinctly remember how kind my all of my teachers were except for my 4th grade teacher Ms. Sullivan. I hated her. The interesting thing is I have no good recollection of the things I learned in that grade although I must have learned something or I wouldn't have been promoted to 5th grade. So I think the rapport we had had an impact on what I remember of that class and even what I learned. A wall develops when there is no rapport and it can be difficult to work around it. It can work both ways as an instructor can feed off of negativity from poor rapport and develop a poor attitude towards a student. I do recollect she didn't like me much either.
I use that example to remind myself of where I don't want to be with my students.
