Issue link: http://ncumarketing.uberflip.com/i/1305547
5 Amanda Veldorale-Griffin, PhD, LMFT Full-Time Faculty, Department of Marriage and Family Sciences Engaging Proactively Good teaching, much like good therapy, is built on the foundation of a strong relationship. When I first began teaching, I was focused on making sure that my feedback on assignments was helpful and informative. I also made sure that I had plenty of availability for students to meet with me synchronously to talk about things. What I have learned, however, is that the students who need it the most may also be those least likely to reach out. Often, I have found, they don't know where to begin. Everything feels overwhelming, other life priorities are more pressing than school, and they feel like they have failed. This understanding helped to change both my perspective and my approach. Outlined below are a few ways I have found to more proactively engage students, build relationships, and support students who may be struggling. 1. Include an engaging welcome video. Sharing a few details about yourself and your life with your students is humanizing and can help them to connect to you even before the first meeting. 2. Reach out to students in the first week who have not participated in a week-one call. Sending a warm email that invites students to engage and (especially for foundations courses) lets them know the resources and supports available to them can be beneficial in engaging a student early on who might otherwise remain disconnected. 3. Encourage students to reach out to me during the week- one call. I have found it very helpful to normalize the feeling of wanting to figure it out on their own and to let them know that interacting with my students is a part of my job I really enjoy. I also make sure they know the different ways they can reach out to me (e.g., scheduling during office hours, phone call, and email). 4. Leave audio/video feedback. I have had many students who have expressed how much they appreciate that type of feedback. It also can be really helpful for softening feedback that might otherwise seem harsh and allowing that feedback to strengthen the student-teacher relationship. Teaching TIPS