Build Rapport with Learners

<aside> 💡 Learners will feel a meaningful connection that develops into rapport through continuous authentic human interaction with the instructor and with peers.

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Specific Techniques

• Place a personal and professional introduction in your course and course syllabus.
• Send a pre-term introductory email.
• Consider multiple modes of communication to meet accessibility needs as well as learning preferences, i.e. video, audio, etc.
• Adopt student-centered teaching practices.
• Ask learners to introduce themselves and offer specific questions for them to answer that help you and the class get to know one another.
• Provide open and transparent avenues of access to you for questions, comments, and support.
• Proactively reach out to learners who may need support.
• Share content and resources that may appeal to learners and align with their experiences and interests.
• Provide personalized feedback on learners’ assignments and contributions.
• Be present and engage with learners throughout the course in an open and exploratory fashion.

Specific Techniques

• Introduce Yourself: Share your personal and professional background, challenges you've overcome, and pivots you've made in your career. Be vulnerable and use voice, image, and video to convey a fuller sense of yourself.
• Get to Know Your Learners: Ask learners to introduce themselves and/or respond to a questionnaire. Review the items and connect with your students in authentic ways based on what you learn about them.
• Connect with Your Learners: Review learners’ introduction and respond in authentic ways based on what you learn about them.
• Use Videos: Use videos to allow for more face-to-face interaction with learners, creating a more personal connection and fostering a sense of belonging.
• Be Present: Engage with learners, ask them questions, and be open to answering questions and modeling for them how to explore thoughts and feelings safely and appropriately. Let them know when they can expect to hear from you by stating when you will post announcements, provide feedback on assignments (and where to find it), and hold office hours. Make it easy for learners to contact you by including this information in your syllabus, and provide options such as a virtual room link for office hours and a discussion board for questions. Also, state your expected response time to queries so learners know when they can expect a reply.
• Build Trust: Let learners know when they can expect to hear from you by stating when you will post announcements, provide feedback on assignments (and where to find it), and hold office hours.
• Be Available: Make it easy for learners to contact you by including this information in your syllabus, and provide options such as a virtual room link for office hours and a discussion board for questions.
• Encourage Feedback: Encourage learners to provide feedback on the course content and structure, and be responsive to their suggestions. This can help to create a sense of ownership and investment in the course among learners.
• Respond Promptly: Respond promptly to learner questions and concerns, and show a genuine interest in their progress and success. This can help to build trust and establish a positive relationship with learners.
• Incorporate Collaborative Learning Activities: Incorporate collaborative learning activities that require learners to work together in small groups or pairs. This can help to promote teamwork and create a sense of shared responsibility among learners.
• Provide Meaningful Content: Consider learners' experiences and interests when selecting course content and resources. Use feedback to connect with them personally by expressing interest in their ideas and investment in their successes.

Overview

Build Rapport with Learners is a DEI practice that creates rapport in the classroom. This practice benefits instructors and learners by helping to dismantle power dynamics, begin establishing trust, and open communication pathways. When instructors and learners have built rapport, learners are more likely to reach out to instructors when  having academic difficulties and to respond to suggestions for remediation.

Building rapport also facilitates a safe and trusting learning environment, which is an important component of learning. Learners feel higher motivation, increased comfort, and enhanced communication (Weimer, 2010). Learners also report higher satisfaction with courses in which they have rapport with the instructor.

Building rapport particularly helps learners of color and low income learners (Sybing, 2019), as well as other marginalized learners.

The building rapport practice helps dismantle power dynamics, begins to establish trust, and opens communication pathways. When instructors and learners have built rapport, learners are more likely to come to instructors when they are having academic difficulties and respond to suggestions for remediation.

With this practice, learners feel higher motivation, increased comfort, and enhanced communication (Weimer, 2010) in a trusting, learning environment. Learners also report higher satisfaction with courses in which they have rapport with the instructor.

How to Implement the Practice

Course Modality Considerations

Asynchronous

Synchronous

Hybrid

References and Resources

Citations

Resources

Contributors

DW Wood, Leticia Velasquez, Anita Crawley, Sally Baldwin, Casey Woodson, and Ashlie Kauffman Sarsgard