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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I agree. When the students can respond in class it also helps us evaluate how well they are learning the material. Engaging the students in brief discussions can be an effective tool to build their confidence and motivate them to prepare for class. In a competitive spirit, some like to speak up and this could encourage others.
I think it is important for students to know that you are for them. This should be demonstrated consistently throughout the term. Development of a rapport with the students helps with this. I like to joke around with the class and individual students. Then, when they need help, I try to show them I care by meeting off hours to help them. This has gone a long way with making students feel less stressed and more at ease in the class.
Developing a rapport helps to build a trusting bond between the teacher and students. We as teachers have to use our personalities,charisma, and humor to win our students over. Once we've accomplished that, our students are willing to follow us. They just have to know that we as teachers have there best interest at heart.
This is probably the best skill that I have developed over the years as an instructor. I have an excellent rapport with all of my students. I see other instructors struggle with student issues that I do not seem to have. I attribute this directly to the relationships that I develop with my students. I have their trust.
MICHAEL,
It is great that you have this relationship with your students. You are right about the need for respect and trust to be present if you are going to have rapport with students. It is obvious you have both and get to enjoy the results of being a learning leader of your students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
When students know that they can trust the instructor, they tend to open up with questions and opinions. I find this helps with the learning process for everyone involved. It also helps the student know that they can approach the instructor with concerns. I try to let each of my students know that I care about their opinions and what is going on outside of the classroom as I know that it affects what happens in the classroom. Because I try to build this type of rapport with my students, I have students who will pull my aside before/after class or during breaks and let me know they need someone to vent to about something. This helps get the emotions of something going on outside of class out in the open and often times helps these students come back to class ready to work.
Students also feel welcome to speak up when they don't understand material. This gives me the chance to re-evaluate how I presented material or come at the material I am presenting from a different stand point. I see good rapport help the students and myself create a good learning environment where the students can get the most out of the class.
rapport with students builds confidence and allows them to be more open and comfortable
I think the development of student rapport is a great thing. When you sit and talk with your students and understand their way of thinking and even why they are thinking a ceratin way, helps you to undertsnad them better and them to understand you as a person and not just their instructor.
At the risk of being repetitive, the importance of rapport is to establish the environment of comfort and validation. This encourages them to not only come out of their shell but also to encourage others within their class to do the same. The 'what do you think?' method works well here to demonstrate that all opinions are valued and safe.
