Be fully engaged and present
How often do we look up during office hours to see a troubled-looking student standing at the door? He needs help, but we are working against the clock to prepare the next lecture or reviewing materials to be discussed in an upcoming committee meeting. As I write, I’m seeing numerous student faces—some looking hurt, others angry, some seeming as though they just might implode. Our students experience strong emotions. These faces remind me that at times I have been abrupt, and at other times, I have been inviting.

Being fully engaged and present suggests that I stop what I am doing and give students my full attention. Glancing up from the computer while I continue to type or looking at the clock does not suggest that I am present. Being fully present means just that. For the next five or 30 minutes, I have nothing more pressing than the time I give to my student. Certainly, I may state that I have 10 minutes before my next appointment, but for those 10 minutes, my student’s voice is the only one sending messages to my brain. I sit with him, and I keep my thoughts on what he is saying. We may schedule another time for a deeper discussion, but the time I spend with him belongs to him alone.

Use silence to clear space
Let’s face it, we are teachers, and we like to talk. That’s how we make our living. We walk into our classes and begin class by opening our mouths. Our students benefit greatly from the knowledge we impart; it helps prepare them for their careers. However, important as our wisdom is, when students come to us with their misunderstandings, problems with assignment deadlines, or difficulties balancing family, work, and school, what they need from us, in addition to our presence, is our silence. I am not referring to the crossed-arms, closed-body postures that convey contempt and disdain. This silence is a quiet indicating that as teacher or advisor, I want to understand and will listen without interruption or assumption. I want my student to be heard without my butting in. The gift of silence is offered, and an invitation is given for the student’s voice to enter into the space created. By being quiet, I also become a thinking partner with my student as she begins to communicate her pressing concerns.

Refrain from giving advice
Being fully present and using silence to create space are both challenging; however, perhaps the most difficult behavior for teachers is allowing students to construct and choose their own solutions. We admonish our students to study, to read, to prepare, to work hard, to think critically, to be creative, and more. We are, after all, recognized experts. We know what it takes to learn and to succeed in life. As difficult as it may seem, we must let go of this proclivity to tell our students what they need to do. Most of the time, they probably know what they should do, but they need to be heard, not to hear us. When we engage with our presence and our silence, we can ask questions that invite students to think about the choices they make and the attention they pay to competing demands. By refraining from giving advice, we are suggesting that our students are fully capable of reaching conclusions that will lead them to their desired outcomes. And we know the advice they give themselves is probably more persuasive than the advice we offer.

Final thoughts
When we make ourselves fully present and attentive, use silence to create space, and encourage students to construct their own solutions, we are giving a gift that costs nothing but has great value. It is the gift that lets students know how much we care.

Dr. Patricia Kohler-Evans is an associate professor at University of Central Arkansas. Dr. Candice Dowd Barnes is an assistant professor at the University of Central Arkansas.

Reprinted from The Teaching Professor, 26.4 (2012): 5.

Giving feedback about the learning experience might be new to some students. In order to get students on board with this process, Schiefelbein includes two videos in her courses: one that introduces the instructor and one that explains course expectations. “I make these two separate videos because they are for two very different purposes. I don’t want to put them together. I want them to be short and to the point,” Schiefelbein says.

These videos are more personal than text announcements and help establish rapport and clearly explain the purpose and benefits of students providing feedback. “Video is a much more personal channel, and people will gravitate to it more than if you [communicate] via email, for example. Once you’ve established that rapport and that relationship with your students, you can definitely ask for feedback via email because they already feel that they know you,” Schiefelbein says.

Follow-through on this feedback is essential. “Actions speak louder than words, and when you say that you’re open to a culture of feedback, you need to actually be open to that feedback. You need to be aware that what you’re doing may not always be the best way to do things. If you’re of the mind-set that what you do is best and nothing is going to change that, then creating a culture of feedback won’t be genuine and students will see through that,” Schiefelbein says.

Formal feedback
Creating an environment that encourages student feedback is the foundation for actually getting feedback; unless you ask them for specific feedback, it’s unlikely that students will be very forthcoming. This is why Schiefelbein asks specific questions when providing feedback to her students.

In each of her courses, Schiefelbein provides quarterly feedback to students, what she refers to as “email check-ins,” letting students know where they stand in the course. In these emails, she also asks students the following questions:

• How has your experience been with the organization of the course and the course materials?
• How have you found the discussion questions in helping you understand the course content? Have they been helpful? Why or why not?
• Is there anything else that you’d like to add about your experience in the class? If you’re having any difficulties or if you’re enjoying a particular part of the course, I’d really love to hear about that.

“I always make sure to ask a yes-or-no question followed by why or why not? It balances quantitative and qualitative feedback. At the very least, students will answer that quantitative question. You’ll get some feedback, and the vast majority will also follow up with responses,” Schiefelbein says.

Schiefelbein replies to each of these feedback responses from students. In low-enrollment courses, she sends personalized emails. In high-enrollment courses, she uses a form email that says, “Thank you so much for contributing your feedback. This feedback helps me fine-tune this class not only for you but for other students in the future. Thank you for being part of that effort. As always, if you have any questions, please continue to ask.”

Informal feedback
Beyond the quarterly check-ins, Schiefelbein recommends checking in less formally at regular intervals, which “lets the students know that I care about them as individuals, not just [as] numbers who are enrolled in the course.”

One way she accomplishes this is through engaging with students in “hallway conversations.” Each of Schiefelbein’s online courses has an area where these informal conversations take place. “It’s supposed to mimic what students might talk about in the hallway before class starts or after class ends,” she says.

When topics come up in these hallway conversations, Schiefelbein will mention them in a text or voice announcement. “I’ll post an announcement that says, ‘Check out the hallway conversation area and chime in on the discussion about …’ and I’ll give the subject line of whatever discussion is relevant. A more organic type of feedback emerges.”

In some instances, students will use these hallways conversations to ask one other about assignments or topics that they are struggling with. Schiefelbein responds to these questions and asks other students to share their experiences or offer help. And because of the culture that she fosters in the course, students respond. “Once you foster this community of feedback, you have other students chiming in, feeling a part of this community, feeling this reciprocal relationship with the instructor and with other students in the class and wanting one other to succeed. If you have students in this culture of feedback you’ve created actively participating, it really works to foster that sense of community, and I’ve had many students comment that they feel that they had more input, more agency, and more control over their learning. And I think when students feel that they are in control of their learning, they feel that they have more responsibility to do that learning.”

Excerpted from Reciprocal Feedback in the Online Classroom Online Classroom, 12.5 (2012): 4,5.

Humor in educational settings serves a variety of positive functions beyond simply making people laugh. Humor builds group (as in class) cohesion. People respond more positively to each other when humor is present. It brings them together. Humor can facilitate cohesion by softening criticism. Research also establishes that humor helps individuals cope with stress. It relaxes them. But not all the functions of humor are positive. If humor is used divisively or to disparage others, it weakens group cohesion. Humor has negative impacts when it is used as a means of control. For example, given the power dynamic in the classroom, it is highly inappropriate for instructors to target students by making fun of their ignorance or beliefs.

There are many different types of humor that have been identified and explored in research. Among those listed in a comprehensive table in the article are humor related to class material, funny stories (hopefully related to the content), humorous comments, self-disparaging humor, unplanned humor (spontaneous, unintentional), jokes, riddles, puns, funny props, and visual illustrations. Humor related to course material, funny stories, and humorous comments are almost always appropriate. Other kinds of humor are appropriate depending on the context. And some kinds of humor are never appropriate, such humor that manipulates, denigrates, ridicules, or mocks others and offensive humor that is racially or sexually based.

Research has documented that the use of humor can benefit instructors in a couple of important ways. For example, the review lists five studies reporting positive connections between the use of humor and higher student evaluations. Conversely, overuse of humor and sarcasm has been related to lower evaluations. Nine studies document a positive relationship between the use of humor and an instructor’s credibility. The opposite has also been verified. Using too much humor, negative and aggressive humor, and humor disparaging to students damages credibility.

Believe it or not, there has been considerable research (11 studies referenced in this review) on the effect of including some humorous material on exams. Does the presence of humorous material improve exam scores? Very little evidence supports positive effects from humorous material. Humorous material does not have a negative impact on scores; in most of the studies, it had no measurable impact.

But the most important question is whether using humor promotes student learning, and here the research results are quite mixed. The article highlights findings on both sides, and its authors conclude, “The conflicting findings regarding the effects of humorous communication on information acquisition and recall make it difficult to form unequivocal conclusions regarding the relationship between humor and learning.” (p. 132) They identify some problems with the research and the difficulty of finding appropriate measures that link humor and learning. And finally, they use examples to illustrate the very disparate methods that have been used in studies addressing the humor-learning question.

As for the advice offered educators based on the review, the researchers begin by suggesting that teachers use humor that fits comfortably with who they are and how they teach. They point out that humor is not a necessary ingredient of effective instruction and that few things are worse than people trying to be funny when they aren’t. They suggest if an instructor doesn’t use humor but would like to accrue its benefits in class, the instructor should use the humor of others—by sharing cartoons, comics, or video clips.

Second, they reiterate the findings that humor is related to positive perceptions of the instructor and the learning environment and advise again against the use of humor that is negative or hostile. “Teachers should utilize humor that laughs with students rather than at them.” (p. 136)

Finally, if the goal is to use humor to increase learning and retention of course material, then use the humor to illustrate a concept just taught. This way, the humor helps students remember the material, and material can’t be learned unless it is remembered. And one thing about humor and learning is well-supported by the research: Humor positively affects levels of attention and interest. It’s a way to keep students engaged and involved with the course material. So if the concept is an important one, consider incorporating some humor.

Reference: Banas, J. A., Dunbar, N., Rodriguez, D., and Liu, S. (2011). A review of humor in education settings: Four decades of research. Communication Education, 60 (1), 115-144.

Excerpted from Humor in the Classroom: 40 Years of Research, The Teaching Professor, 25.10 (2011): 3.

Teachers tend to focus on the instructional aspects of their role—they want their courses to have standards, to be well organized; they want their instruction to be clear and effective at stimulating student interest. Students agree that these aspects of instruction are important, but they consider the personal aspects of teaching just as important. They want teachers who welcome their questions, who acknowledge their input, and who are available—in short, teachers who establish rapport with individual students and the class as a whole. Said succinctly, caring is more important to students than it is to professors, according to a variety of research findings reviewed in this article.

But should faculty be concerned about what students consider important? Research findings say yes. One study cited reported that when instructor-student rapport increases, those increases are associated with greater student enjoyment of the class, improved attendance and attention, more study time devoted to the class, and more courses taken in that discipline. Another study documented that a professor’s positive attitude toward students accounted for 58 percent of the variability in the students’ motivation, 42 percent of the variability in course appreciation, and 60 percent of students’ attitude about the instructor. (p. 206)

Meyers addresses three faculty criticisms and cautions about caring, starting with “My students don’t appreciate how much I care.” The problem here, according to Meyers, is that faculty don’t always express their care in ways that students understand. Faculty express caring through their devotion to the instructional aspects of their role. They always come to class prepared. They devote time and energy to keeping current in their field. They spend countless hours reading and reviewing potential texts. Those commitments bespeak their care, but according to the research, those are not the behaviors students associate with caring. Research on something called “verbal immediacy” has identified a number of behaviors that do convey caring to students—things like using personal examples, asking questions and encouraging students to talk, using humor in class, addressing students by name, and many others listed on a table in the article—and Meyers recommends that faculty consider using more of these behaviors.

Some faculty are reluctant to express care for students because they don’t want to get too close to students. And Meyers agrees: “Faculty must maintain an awareness of interpersonal boundaries when creating supportive relationships with students.” (p. 207) It’s a question of finding an appropriate balance between caring for students and maintaining professional boundaries. Meyers offers this advice: “Effective, caring faculty members balance their connection with students by setting limits as needed, by enforcing classroom policies in consistent and equitable ways, and by maintaining democratic and respectful authority in the college classroom.” (p. 207)

And finally, there are faculty who believe “My job is to teach, not to care.” These faculty worry that caring compromises academic rigor and lowers standards. They think that caring means always being nice, never pushing students, and always avoiding criticism. But it’s not a case of either-or—caring or doing those things associated with the instructional role. Teachers should do both because students benefit enormously when they do. And caring benefits teachers as well. Research has documented that when faculty don’t care or fail to communicate their concern for students, students respond in kind. When students don’t care about the teacher, they are much more willing to disrupt the class and make learning more difficult for everyone.

This is a first-rate article that convincingly establishes the importance of caring in the college classroom. It ends with an interesting set of questions on the topic that would make for excellent discussion with colleagues.

Reference: Meyers, S.A. (2009). Do Your Students Care Whether You Care About Them? College Teaching, 57 (4), 205-210.

Reprinted from Caring for Students: How Important Is It? The Teaching Professor, 25.5 (2011): 5-6.

I found that self-disclosure bridged the gap between the students and me and led to increased student engagement. In my case, I told them my educational history. I told the story about all of the failures, mishaps and bad decisions. I showed them the real me in a presentation accompanied with real photographs of key individuals in my life. My intentions were to let the students know that they can succeed, no matter how insurmountable the obstacles may seem. At the end of the story, I realized that my story had impacted the students. Further, grades increased in my courses by about 20% after the talk.

When I spoke, it was to a very attentive audience that seemed poised at the edges of their seats. No one was texting or doing anything disruptive. They found out their professor is a human. Not a robot.

What I shared was this: I went to college with the goal of becoming a medical doctor and majored in biology with a minor in chemistry. During my second year of college, I lost my academic scholarship because I made a “D” in a course in my major. In my junior year after meeting all the prerequisites, I was accepted into dental school. Upon arrival at dental school, I found out I was pregnant. During my first year of dental school, I gave birth to a daughter. I discovered after the first two years that I did not like dentistry as much as I thought I would. I dropped out of dental school and began working as a receptionist. Due to the input and influence of a mentor who had taught me biochemistry in dental school, I applied and was accepted to graduate school. Because of this chance I finally had the opportunity to follow the dream I had denied myself all along … to teach.

Graduate school was a very difficult time for me and being a mom did not make things any easier. After the first semester, I was placed on academic probation. At the end of the second year, I took the written qualifying exam and failed. The director of my program told me that he honestly did not think that I could complete the program. One year later, I retook the qualifying exam and passed. Two years after that, I received my PhD.

All of these experiences made me a better student. More importantly, these experiences make me a more empathetic and effective professor. As a result of having told my real story to my students, I have become a “mother of another color” to many of my students and I am very proud of this title.

Feedback from my self-disclosure was all positive. Here are just a few of the things students shared in response:

• I know you have to work hard to achieve your goals and now I know I can do it too.
• It let me know that that even though I may start off bad; I can still have a chance to be what I want to be.
• At times, i have been scared to ask you questions but from now on it won’t be a problem.
• I now realize you weren’t given anything; you earned it all.
• This talk makes me want to be like you in a sense because you were able to persevere.
• You seem more approachable now and I know that you are not perfect. Most professors make it seem like they are perfect and did excellent throughout their career.
• You are the best professor I have ever met in my life.

Being able to have an impact on students has been my goal from the beginning of my teaching career. I believe that my self-disclosure had a direct impact on my effectiveness as a professor.

Now it’s your turn. What are some ways you humanize yourself to help build rapport with students? Please share in the comment box.

Dr. Leslie Wooten-Blanks is an assistant professor in the department of biology at Claflin University.

Often it happens when two people are very much alike or have lots in common. That’s one of the reasons it isn’t always easy for professors to establish rapport with students—sometimes there’s a big age difference; others times it’s having few (if any) shared interests. However, there are good reasons for faculty to work on establishing rapport with students. The article referenced below lists outcomes, all established by research, that result when rapport is established.

Here’s a selection from the larger list that does seem particularly relevant and that is supported by some research involving teachers and students.

• Higher motivation—When students feel rapport with their teachers and feel that their teacher’s personalities are something like their own, motivation is higher.
• Increased comfort—When there is rapport, students tend to answer more freely and with a greater degree of frankness.
• Increased quality—In a degree program, when students feel rapport with faculty, their perceptions of the quality of that program increase.
• Satisfaction—Rapport leads to satisfaction—supported by much research, including research done in classrooms. When students report having rapport with the instructor, their satisfaction with the course increases.
• Enhanced communication—As rapport grows, so does understanding and comprehension. Teachers and students understand each other better when there is rapport between them.
• Trust—Sometimes trust is necessary for rapport to develop. But trust can also be an outcome. Once rapport has been established, trust between parties grows.

Rapport does not result in learning, but it certainly helps to create conditions conducive to learning—things like higher motivation, increased comfort, and enhanced communication. Teaching doesn’t always result in learning either, but, like rapport, it is one of those factors that can contribute positively to learning.

Five factors for building rapport
The researchers in this article queried business faculty about their perceptions of rapport—what must a teacher do to establish it with students? Five factors appeared almost twice as often as others.

1. Respect. Teachers and students must show respect for each other, for the learning process, and for the institution where it is occurring.
2. Approachability. Students have to feel comfortable coming to faculty and faculty must be willing to speak with students, after class, during office hours, via email, on campus.
3. Open communication. Faculty must be honest. There needs to be consistency between what faculty say and what they do.
4. Caring. Faculty must care about students; they must see and respond to them as individuals. They also need to care about learning and show that they want students to learn the material.
5. Positive attitude. Faculty should have a sense of humor and be open to points of view other than their own.

Rapport is not something developed by announcement. Rapport is developed by actions—it results from things teachers do. The good news, as demonstrated by the content of this article, is that we know empirically what teachers can do to establish rapport. The even better news is that the actions required aren’t all that difficult to execute.

Reference: Granitz, N. A., Koernig, S. K., and Harich, K. R. (2009). Now it’s personal: Antecedents and outcomes of rapport between business faculty and their students. Journal of Marketing Education, 31 (1), 52-65.

Reprinted from Rapport: Why Having It Makes a Difference, The Teaching Professor, volume 23, number 6, page 2.