It should come as a shock to absolutely no one that building relationships with students is the first step to their achieving academic success. It's a simple fact-we learn the most from people we like. When we like and respect someone, we unconsciously try to emulate that person. Much of the time, we probably don't even realize we are actively learning from those around us.
In the classroom, successful teachers build strong relationships with their students and great teachers build relationships among their students. When students feel like they are cared for and respected in a safe environment, their willingness to learn begins to form. In the first week of school and the first few minutes
of every class, great teachers devote time to building those valuable relationships. When teachers miss this crucial step in the beginning of the educational process, students are far less likely to buy into the learning process.
When students are learning online, this step is often overlooked. In student-paced courses, there is usually little relationship building. Students complete modules, watch videos and complete assignments. This may work for some learners, but it is far from a teaching best practice. In asynchronous learning, students may be able to develop a fondness or a kinship with their instructor, but true relationships involve back and forth interaction that is impossible to achieve in asynchronous classes. In synchronous online classes, relationship building can be a challenge-but it's certainly not impossible.
We've all read stories online about people who have met their spouses in online chatrooms, dating apps-heck, even in video games. Many companies are eschewing physical offices for an entirely online presence and the successful ones aren't ignoring teambuilding. Relationships between people who have never even been in the same room are thriving all over the world.
Our teachers are experts at building relationships with students. We lay a solid foundation of mutual trust and respect before beginning their online lessons. We also help classroom substitutes and monitors build strong relationships with students as well. When students feel respected and seen, there is no limit to what they can achieve.
If you'd like to learn more about ETS or how we build strong relationships with classroom stake holders, click the "contact" button at the top of the page and one of our specialists will reach out to you.
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