We do have rapport with one another. I'm sorry, but we don't. At least not in the context of this blog. By definition, rapport is a mutual relationship between two or more participants. Blogs tend to be a much more one-way form of dissemination. As the author of this blog, I make an effort to communicate to you, the reader. You, on the other hand, take in my writing without providing feedback (with a few exceptions). It is one-sided, but this is not your fault, its mine. I do not use my blog as a forum for eliciting responses and discussion. But maybe I should. I should work harder to engage my readers and provide them with opportunities to contribute/participate. It would strengthen my reflections, and probably provide all of us with a better experience with The Young Scientists.
I have spent some time thinking about the rapport I build with my students. The rapport is never exactly the same from year to year, from class to class, or even from student to student. So many variables come into play here. For one thing, I evolve a little as a teacher (and as a human) each year. One of the reason I like to keep this reflective blog is so that I will one day be able to trace my personal changes over time. Also, each year brings with it new students and new personalities. Rapport permeates the classroom in all directions. It is not just between teacher and class, but also between teacher and student, and between student and student. Some students (or groups of students) pose more challenges for establishing rapport than others. But that is the nature of the job. For me, this ever-changing dynamic is part of what makes science education such a compelling career.
Building relationships and rapport among students in a distance learning setting will pose its own unique set of challenges. For example, in the physical classroom I periodically adjust seating charts throughout the year to ensure "educational harmony" for my students. How will I know that the student groups in each of the five high schools have established a good rapport with one another? I will need to constantly collect feedback (i.e. in the form of student surveys) to identify areas where rapport needs to be strengthened.
Humor is essential for teacher/student rapport. Learning needs to be fun at least some of the time. However, I think that it can sometimes be difficult to be funny or "fun" in text. And some of the funnier things that a teacher might say may not be appropriate for typing (i.e. if its not documents we can always deny that we ever said it). There is also the risk that a humorous tone could be misinterpreted in text (in the absence of body language and vocal intonations). I think that web 2.0 tools can be very useful for injecting fun/humor into the virtual classroom.
Finally, as mentioned at the beginning of this post, rapport must be mutual. I think that distance learning really lends itself to students getting to know each other. All students (even the traditionally shy ones) can read about one and other and share about themselves. However, any group of students will include some individuals less apt to participate than others. Its easy to recognize and try to include these students in the physical classroom. But how do you coax these students to participate in the virtual classroom? For this reason, I think that it will be especially important to establish an open and supportive tone at the beginning of the year while making expectations clear for everyone.
I have had better rapport with some groups of students than others, but I have never failed to establish rapport altogether. And I don't plan to start failing at it now that I will be teaching in an on-line classroom.
