How Can Instructors Establish Rapport Online

Developing rapport with students is one of the most important jobs of a teacher, in both online and face-to-face classrooms. Even though teachers might be well-versed in particular content areas, learning may not be supported if they do not have good rapport with their students. Adult educators need to establish adult-to-adult rapport with their students in order to create a positive learning environment. But, how can instructors establish rapport in an online course with students they never physically see? Can reading, writing, and responding take the place of rapport-building with informal conversations and quips? Because our students reported a high degree of satisfaction with the interaction and rapport we provided in our classes, we decided to offer some suggestions to others who may be about to embark on a similar journey.

We realized quickly that instructors need to provide "multiple means of communication to support the need to engage in work and social interaction, both publicly and privately".

Rapport in an online course may be supported by personal e-mails between students or students and instructors. According to the Distance Education Instruction by Postsecondary Faculty and Staff: Fall 1998 (U.S. Department of Education, 1998), faculty members who taught in distance education courses appeared to interact with students more than their counterparts who taught in regular classes. This interaction came in the form of office hours and e-mails. Those professors who taught in distance education courses had office hours totaling 7.5 hours, compared to professors who taught in regular classes who spent on average 6.4 hours a week in office hours. Also faculty members who taught online spent on average 4 hours a week communicating to students by e-mail, compared to 2.6 hours a week for faculty members who did not teach online courses.

However, e-mail is not the only strategy that will encourage online interaction and rapport. Here are 10 strategies we have found to help in improving our online interaction and rapport:

1. Start each course with a "getting to know you" activity, requiring students to become acquainted.

2. Measure the technological savvy of participants before expecting them to perform. Stretch their awareness and skill, but not to the breaking point.

3. Hold regular office hours, both face-to-face and online. Consider setting up online hours in the evening, to meet the needs of your students' schedules.

4. Contact each student, each week, at least one time (e.g., e-mail, discussion board reply, and assignment response).

5. Consider using "track changes" or "add comment" feature of Microsoft Word documents to respond to assignments thoughtfully and meaningfully.

6. Respond to e-mails within 24 hours and assignments within five working days, if possible.

7. Build group assignments into the online course. Add rubrics that gauge participation levels and hold students accountable for writing to peers.

8. About halfway through the course, ask students to evaluate their satisfaction with their own interaction in the course.

9. Require students to contact each other at various times throughout the semester.

10. Use weekly rubrics to provide feedback to students that include things like depth of discussion board entries, responses to other students, contribution to the class discussions, course content, and so on.

Another technique we have found that increases rapport and interest is the format of course assignments. Adding in side comments and changing the type and color of font used can cause students to laugh or smile. Graphics also can enhance understanding and add interest and humor.