Building Rapport with Students
Again and again research tells us teachers that one of the sure fire ways to create a positive classroom environment for children to learn at their best is to build rapport with the students in our classes. I connect to this because this is one of my favourite parts of teaching. But as I utter that sentence I also question myself as to how I actually manage to build rapport with my students. It is not something you can record easily, bring attention to in your school promotional material or identify in your programs and behaviour management strategies but we know it needs to happen to build strong connections between teachers and their students.
So much so that even the accreditation authorities recognise ‘knowing your students’ as one of the integral professional teaching standards.
Here are some of ways I build rapport with students:
1. Listen attentively
I listen carefully to students, especially when I am first getting to know them. This way I can tune in to things that we might have in common or special interests that might help when I need to connect with them. Knowing that a five year old has a pet Macaw at home might not seem important initially, until a few days later when you are trying to distract them from the nasty scrape on their knee.
Just recently I was able to get a little girl back on task when she was refusing to work for her teacher simply because I knew she had recently had pizza for dinner and there was pizza on the worksheet. It really only needs to be things as simple as these examples (well depending on the age of course), to connect and once the connection is in place it is easier to get students to cooperate.
2. Be human
Showing a little of who you really are, while also remaining professional, can really help teachers connect with students. It could be as simple as letting them know what sport you play on the weekend or the team you support. Teachers are in a position of power compared with students and this can manifest in various ways. Sometimes students (or groups of students) might try to fight this power and this can lead to challenging behaviour and a generally uncomfortable classroom climate. However, this is less likely to occur if students see your humanity and have a sense of connection with you.
One way I show I am a human is to not hide my mistakes. If I make a mistake with a sum or a spelling word I point out that I often make mistakes since I am a human. With my older classes I joke that despite having two bachelor degrees I am a terrible speller and I would appreciate if they kept this quiet.
3. Be kind and respectful. Expect kindness and respect
I can’t emphasis this enough. A classroom where kindness and respect is the norm is a wonderful place to be and so the opposite it also true.
Kindness is at the heart of all social connection. Praise kindness when you see this between students so that they know this is what you are looking for and practice the same. It means so much to a little person when you tell them how neat their work is or when you notice and praise them for helping their friend tie their shoelaces.
Even when enforcing ‘school rules’ or ‘classroom agreements’ we can remind students that these are in place because we care about them and want to keep them safe. When students are not being kind to others we can still demonstrate and correct them with kindness and respect so they know that we practice what we preach and we are there for them as well.
No matter what mistakes students might make they still deserve kindness and respect.
4. Do your research.
Be aware of your students and what they might be going through. Do they have a new baby in the house? Are their parents separated? Has a family member recently passed away or become ill?
Of course you can’t flat our ask your students and depending on your school and the community it might not be easy to find out. Some communities are close knit and everyone knows everyone’s business while some schools have thorough notes on their families and detailed handovers as children progress through the years so at least the teachers of students know about their home lives. Meanwhile this is not the culture in other schools, at some schools parents are less likely to disclose personal information so it is up to teachers to support the children as best they can with or without knowing their backgrounds.
If you are in a privileged position of knowing about your student’s family background then be sensitive to this. Maybe they need some time at recess or lunch to finish homework as there is too much going on at home? Gently and subtly offering adjustments like this is not ‘special treatment’, it is equity- giving every child what they need to achieve. If you are not in a position of knowing the background of your students be acutely aware of this. There could be a plethora of things that they are battling on a daily basis, if you can be their ally at school then you will most certainly start to build rapport with them.
There are numerous other ways to connect with students and build rapport with them but these, I believe, are some of the most professional and effective ways for teachers to build valuable connections with their students.
