Get to Know Your Students

Get to know your students by chatting with them in class, showing interest in their well-being, and initiating classroom discussions. Use "get to know you" questionnaires at the beginning of the school year to learn about them, or assign projects that will reveal things about them. Track student progress, interact with them outside of the classroom, and make yourself available to them for office hours or via email.

Steps

Initiating Dialogue

1. Designate five minutes a day for chatting with students. To get to know your students, designate five minutes at the start of every class to engage in casual conversation with them. Ask about their extracurricular activities, favorite movies and music, or other topics that do not involve schoolwork. Getting to know your students’ interests will give you insight into their personalities and provide the opportunity for future conversations.
   • For instance, once you know a student’s favorite sports teams, you can easily engage them in conversations about games, trades, and other sports news.
2. Express interest in their well-being. Forge a connection with your students by regularly asking them how they are doing and showing an interest in their well-being. If one of your students is upset, speak to them one-on-one and ask questions to figure out what is going on. Regardless of how the students answer, continue asking them about their lives to demonstrate that you care.
   • For instance, if a normally outgoing student is quiet and withdrawn, ask something like, “How are you doing today? I noticed that you didn’t say anything during our class discussion. Is anything bothering you?”
3. Have classroom discussions. Discussion and debate are excellent teaching tools, and good ways to get to know your students. Start a class discussion on a key topic being covered in your course (e.g. global warming) by posing specific questions asking for your students’ opinions.
   • For example, start a conversation by proposing questions like, “How do you feel about the issue of global warming? Are we doing enough to address it?”
   • Fuel ongoing discussions by posing follow up questions or by acknowledging the opposition of different opinions within the classroom (e.g. “Many of you seem to agree that global warming is an imminent threat to our planet, but some of you are shaking your heads as if you disagree. Do you mind sharing your opinion on the issue with the class?”)

Using Classwork to Get to Know Students

1. Pass around a “getting to know you” questionnaire at the beginning of the year. To get an initial sense of each student’s background and interests, pass around a questionnaire for them to fill out at the start of the year. At the top of the form, have students write their full name and classroom number. Include questions that require more detail than a simple yes or no, such as:
   • ”What is your favorite subject at school?”
   • ”What is your favorite hobby?”
   • ”How many siblings do you have?”
   • ”Who do you most admire?”
   • ”What career do you hope to have?”
2. Assign unique projects. Use course work to get to know students better by assigning projects that reveal more about each student’s unique persona. If you are teaching an English class, for example, assign a project where students write about their favorite book of all time, and what it means to them. Having students present these projects to the class is also a way to help students get to know one another beyond their basic interactions.
3. Keep track of student progress. Keep detailed accounts of students’ progress to get a better sense of what they are like individually. Note the students who are falling behind (e.g. not turning in assignments or participating in classroom activities) and approach them about their work habits to find out if any particular obstacles are standing in their way. Take note of students who may be struggling with course material, as well as those who are excelling and may need extra challenges.

Interacting with Students Outside of the Classroom

1. Attend extra-curricular activities. If your students participate in extra-curricular activities within the school, make a point of attending games or events from time to time. Making the effort to show support on your own time will show students that you care, and let you observe them in an environment outside of the classroom. It may also provide the opportunity to interact with your students’ families in a casual, friendly atmosphere and learn more about them.
   • To really get to know your students, consider signing up to coach a sports team or organize an after-school activity at school (e.g. the debate club).
2. Hold office hours. Give students the opportunity to reach out to you outside of the classroom by holding office hours during the week. Tell students that they are free to drop by during this time to discuss classwork or personal issues they might wish to talk about. Write your office hours somewhere for reference (e.g. on the chalk board of your classroom).
   • Provide a way for your more introverted students to reach you by giving students your email address.
3. Set up an online component to your courses. To keep communication open with your students outside of class time, set up a website or other online component for your students. For example, set up a free wikispace classroom where you can add lesson plans, track student progress, have students write collaboratively, or engage in online discussions. This kind of web presence is a good way to monitor student activity and to get to know their work habits.

Building Relationships While Maintaining Authority

1. Hand out a syllabus or course outline. While being friendly with students is beneficial in getting to know them, maintaining authority in your class is important. Hand out a syllabus or course outline at the beginning of the school year that details the rules and expectations for the year, as well as the consequences students will face if they do not meet the requirements. Having these details in writing will allow you to enforce rules in your classroom without seeming reactionary or unfair.
2. Use your students' names in the classroom. Using your students' names in class is a good way to remain authoritative while maintaining a positive association with them. Calling on students often will show that you are paying attention to them, but it will also to hold them accountable for their participation and behavior. To help learn the names of new students quickly:
   • Have each student introduce themselves to the class on the first day.
   • Annotate your class roster.
   • Use a seating chart for the first week of class.
3. Dress professionally. Distinguish yourself from your students by dressing professionally for work. Opt for dress pants and a dress shirt or blouse instead of jeans and a t-shirt, which is close to student attire. Maintain this level of attire from the first day, as first impressions are important in establishing a dynamic with your students.

Sources and Citations

See also

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• Teach Criminal Justice
• Improve Your Facilitation Skills
• Be a Teacher
• Be a Professional Teacher
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