Building rapport with students
One of the most important factors for student retention is building a good rapport with your students. Make an effort to be supportive even when their answers may not be correct, coax them and help to work them to the point where they will feel confident enough to trust and respect your judgement. Never belittle your students and always find ways of making them want to learn. Every mind is different, it is important to find the right key to fit and be able to build a successful rapport with each and every student.
I agree that as an instructor, our job is not to judge or ridicule but teach. Students need to feel safe and ask questions to learn. If you make a student feel uncomfortable it could stop them from asking questions and learning.
Amy,
This is such an important point. We all want to avoid unpleasant situations. Our classrooms should be supportive and comfortable for our students so they will put forth their best effort. If they don't I want it to be because they just don't want an education bad enough to work for it and never because I didn't support them in their learning.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree. We have to provide a safe environment for our students that will make them feel comfortable. They may often have the wrong answers, but it is our job as educators to make sure they get the correct knowledge so they can be successful in each course. We get alot of students that have lacked encouragement their entire life and are just used to being told they are wrong or they cannot do something. My goal is to change their way of thinking through support and understanding of each of them as individuals.
Kathy,
You have a tremendous goal set for yourself as mentioned in your last sentence. This is what being a learning leader is about. You are illustrating to your students the value of the content you are sharing in relation to the value you place on them as individuals. This is a win win for everyone. I wish you continued success in your teaching.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I agree that building rpport with students is as important as delivering the content of you class lecture because, you want each student to feel comfortable enough so they can actively participate in the calss discussions. If you do not develop rapport with your students, they may think that you really don't care about them. This thought process can lead them to the development of lack of interest in the class, and as the result the student(s)could drop out from the class.
Naimah,
Good comments about rapport. This is the human factor in teaching and it needs to be a part of all of what we do in interacting with students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I like to find at least one point in the student's comment that is partially true and show the students the correct answer through this, this way the students feels he is correct and I expand on this point and teach what they need to learn, nobody looses face.
Murielle,
Good way to provide support while helping them to expand their knowledge base and expertise in the subject matter area. They need to know what they have done well and what they need to do better. This is how growth is experienced.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
