Building Rapport: Key to Success in Virtual Education (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Nikki with Florida Virtual School. What is your responsibility as a teacher? One of the single most important responsibilities we have as teachers is building rapport with our students. Creating your first two positive interactions with your students will serve you well if and when hard conversations are needed in the future. When you establish a relationship with a student, they feel cared about and valued. In turn, the student will feel motivated to succeed in the course. As a virtual educator, this relationship begins with a welcome call. Use this moment to get to know your students. Don't be afraid to open up and share with them. Use the welcome call as an opportunity to connect the curriculum to their interests, creating relevance for the student. Familiarize yourself with their interests and their learning styles, providing a safe learning environment for the student where they feel comfortable reaching out for help. An amazing free tool for online educators to use to contact students and families is Google Voice. Another helpful tool is a reference sheet or chart to record student interests and information. Additional columns included might be the student's phone number, best method of contact, best time of day to contact the student and parent, as well as areas of struggle. This sheet will serve as a great reference as you make regular contact with the student. In addition, students need to feel our presence through their online experience in order to feel a part of the class. A great tool to use to connect with your students is Zoom. This platform allows you to connect with your students through live lessons, discussions, and regular contact. This is an excellent resource for students with accommodations and for teacher collaboration. Finally, as you continue to learn about your students, consider incorporating personalized feedback that includes their interests. For example, before you give assignment feedback, you might write, Hey John, I hope your soccer tournament went well last weekend. Whether it's through a phone call with your student or through personalized feedback, building and maintaining rapport will lead to student success.