Posted by Denise Seguin.
A student needs to have respect for the teacher and feel that the relationship between teacher and student is a caring and supportive one.
With larger class sizes creating a heavier workload for teachers, this can be a struggle. I used to pride myself on learning all of my students’ names early in the term. I still smile to myself when I recall a student many years ago who could not get over the fact that I knew his name. Apparently none of his other teachers called him by name in the classroom. He thought I had some kind of superpower. But really, it was just a priority for me to learn names. I worked at it. And after he knew that I knew who he was, he was there, every day, engaged in the class.
As class sizes grew larger, I had more difficulty remembering names and even got some wrong. But the students could see I was trying, and I think that mattered.
Arrive to class giving yourself a few minutes after setting up just to chat with students. Or, don’t be in such a rush to leave. Talk about stuff not related to the course. Learn about your students’ lives. Find out where they’re working or what they’re up to on campus. You may find shared interests you didn’t expect.
Stay tuned for Part Four of our series “Fostering Self-Motivated Students.” We’ll offer more tips on relevance.
Read the other posts in this series:Category: