Student success and socio-emotional well-being, including coping and adjusting to college life (particularly during their first year) continue to be pervasive issues (van der Zanden et al., 2018; Welle & Graf, 2011). Social support received from a variety of sources (including faculty) are linked to better physical and emotional well-being and academic performance (Hartung et al., 2015; Mattanah et al., 2012; Micari & Pazos, 2012; van der Zanden et al., 2018; Walton et al. 2015). In particular, building rapport and relationships with faculty, and even informal interactions with faculty have all been found to contribute to various positive outcomes including greater student engagement, achievement, motivation, and socio-emotional functioning (Decker et al., 2007; Halawah 2006; Pascarella & Terenzini 2005; Thompson, 2001; van der Zanden et al., 2018; Woodside et al., 1999).
Supporting students is important for their success and this task is not a singular activity completed by a single person. There are various people in positions at the institution which contribute to supporting students and their ultimate success, including but not limited to, faculty, student advisors, student support services (writing center, library, accommodation office, etc.), department administrators, etc. One avenue within the faculty role that is important to highlight is our everyday communications, interactions with, and feedback to students.
Our focus here is on student feedback and how that can contribute to their success, broadly defined, which includes both meeting academic milestones, and mental health and well-being. We use the term feedback here to refer, quite broadly, to a number of linguistic interactions with students which might be verbal or written, delivered synchronously or asynchronously. Because, when we really consider all of our interactions with students, many of them are feedback-like without being tied to an assessment or improving their work (i.e., providing them with a way to gauge how they’re doing in this role of student which they fulfil on our campuses). For example, we may provide advice on study strategies or balancing their out-of-class obligations with their studies, or other advising conversations which could be included under the umbrella term of feedback. Similarly, faculty feedback can serve as intervention strategies to adjust student behaviors if they are struggling with their course work and/or the overall transition process.
Applications
Foster Early Communication and Connection
Starting the semester with a sense of community, building rapport between students and instructor as well as among students is important. One way to build this is to encourage students to post an introduction on the learning management system (LMS) with a photo and a “hidden fact” (e.g., they have an interesting family situation such as many siblings, an identical twin, etc., they work in a unique place, their hometown is far away, etc.). In response to these posts, I always ask a genuinely curious question (“What breed of dog is that?” or “Do you still play/have you always played that position in hockey?”). The purpose of these follow-up questions is twofold. First, genuine curiosity conveys interest and can foster open communication in building individual relationships with students. Second, that feedback on their introduction can also serve to highlight areas of the introduction where students could have been clearer and might improve future writing skills without seeming overtly critical.
Reimagine Office Hours
Another early-semester intervention relates to office hours. Attending office hours is beneficial to students and helps them connect with their professor. We can “force” students to attend (required for credit or bonus point or only strongly encouraged) by framing it as a get-to-know-you opportunity. I had a colleague who called it “Tea with Me” and, although it was not required (nor did it involve tea), students enjoyed engaging with their instructor in this informal manner (the optional nature of the activity was also intentionally not made explicit when students were sent a link to register for “tea” time during the first two weeks of the semester).
Additionally, “office hours” is not really the most inviting or descriptive label for this valuable time where faculty are available for students, so these can be re-named to be more explicit about what the purpose of office hours are or to make them more inviting to students. A quick request to your favorite generative AI tool might propose new names such as Brain Breaks & Beverages; Curiosity Café; Study & Support Session; Curiosity Hour; Prof Pop-Ins; Connect & Reflect; Recharge & Reach Out; Growth Hour, along with many clever personalized alliterations.
As a bonus tip, students don’t always know where our offices are, so offering a bonus point for taking a selfie at our office door may also encourage them to find it and possibly stop by while we’re there. Anecdotally, some first-generation students, who were unfamiliar with academic culture, mistakenly assumed “office hours” were designated times that the faculty member was not available, as these hours were set aside for specific tasks, such as research or grading. Emphasizing that these hours are “open door” policy for students may clarify the purpose of these designated times and encourage them to use these hours for their benefit.
Use Feedback to Build Rapport
When grading assignments and providing students with the traditional content-related feedback about their mastery and performance, you can also use this opportunity for feedback to build rapport with students. For example, you might include information they previously shared with you in person (about their dog, their work, their future aspirations, etc.) in your text where you can, even if it takes the form of an emoji (e.g., a dog to accompany the grading rubric or overall general comment). Using emojis in our feedback may also help make us instructors seem more relatable and approachable to students and make the positive feedback we provide seem less formal.
Maintain Regular Communication
Regular communication/touch points can play an important part in supporting students, such as personalized LMS announcements (using replace strings to personalize students’ names) or emails about class attendance or performance. As Chapman and Kennette (2021) point out, regular positive communication, for both struggling students as well as those who are successful, is important. Some of this work can be automated (e.g., using intelligent agents in the Brightspace LMS), individual (sending each student a personalized email at certain points in the semester), or semi-automated with batch emails sent to students based on some performance measure (e.g., midterm emails for low-performing, acceptable performance, and good-performing students). If using batch emails, remember to BCC students for privacy.
Conclusion
Building additional touchpoints with students can help them to succeed academically as well as support their mental health and wellness. Faculty are encouraged to consider implementing some of the examples above to build additional support for students by way of their interactions and feedback as a method of community building and supporting a culture of collaborative learning.
Lynne N. Kennette is a professor of psychology at Durham College (Oshawa, Ontario). She earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI) and has varied research interests including bilingual language representation, memory, supporting student learning, and numerous other topics related to teaching and learning (SoTL).
Phoebe S. Jen Lin obtained her PhD in social psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She has conducted research on prejudice and stereotyping, attitude-behavior consistency, and role model influence. Her current scholarly interests are in anti-racism in higher education and inclusive teaching practices. She is currently a professor at Framingham State University.
References
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