Building Rapport with Students 2020-21

This year the first goal I would like to work on is to build rapport with each student in 4SS virtually and hopefully on campus throughout the year. I feel that a positive teacher/student rapport is central to the success of connecting with students and supporting their growth throughout the year. This goal is connected to Standard 9: Teacher-student rapport is effective and consistent with AISC beliefs. I plan to work toward this goal by making a consistent effort to connect with students on a personal level during 1:1 meetings by inquiring into their interests, well being, personal life, hobbies, etc. I also intend to make ongoing attempts to make students laugh and feel safe and comfortable in class with their teachers and each other. I will work to build a class culture that allows for mistakes and fosters support for each other.

I will document this process using weekly meeting schedules, morning meeting and closing circle planners, and periodic reflections throughout the year related to my progress in building relationships and rapport with 4SS students.

Building Rapport Mid Year Reflection January 24

In thinking back on the first half of the school year, I feel that Ms. Uma, Ms. Sunita and I have been fairly successful in establishing positive relationships with our students. During most morning meetings, nearly all of our students attend daily. We always have the components of the morning meetings prepared in advance with a variety of interesting greetings. Some of our class favorites include greeting each other using another language, using animal noises(including interesting conversations about how animals in different countries have different noises), and our celebratory Friday greetings which include yahoos, yippees, and hoorays!! We share weekly about how we spent weekends, what we enjoy eating, places we hope to again one day visit, and goals we've set for ourselves. Our daily activities are always a fun part of the meeting and include math games, word searches, drawing tutorials, dance and movement activities, and scavenger hunts. One of my favorite strategies to liven up our morning meetings is to choose a different Snap Camera filter each day. Each morning I comb through the endless filters to find something to make the students laugh such as becoming a bag of french fries on Fryday or a camel on "hump" days. We often have high participation for our Friday Closing Circles and end the week on a high note.

We often do the sharing part of our morning meetings in smaller break-out rooms with each teacher leading a group. This allows for more students to be willing to share and having time to share and gives each teacher the opportunity to connect with students and interact with them more. 

An important time for building rapport has been our 1:1 meetings. Every time I meet with a student I begin with some personal questions regarding how they are doing, what they like to do, who they are connecting with, and if there is anything they need help with. They often share stories, toys, artwork, projects, or other things that are exciting to them. These moments have been critical in really understanding our kids. I know that Jiyun is a passionate anime artist who spends hours each day creating 43 layers of details on her art tablet. Yujin is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about various forms of transportation--planes, trains, and especially tanks. Taeyeon loves crafting miniatures and Amelia has a great time throwing her dog Spice into her pool. Ahana loves reading the Amulet series and often visits her grandmother's beach house. Eris's dad often sleeps during the day and her brother often bothers her. These little details help to define who our kids are and what makes them tick. These are the types of moments and critical information we would be gathering each day at school during all-day interactions with our students. Although the rate of "data" gathering is slower online, I believe so far this year, I have still been successful in getting to know the students and helping them to feel happy and cared for. This will continue to be an extremely important objective for me throughout the year.

Below is a link to the folder with our weekly morning meeting/closing circle slide decks:

4SS Morning Meetings

End of the Year Reflection April 13

Looking back on the year, I feel that I have been successful in building a comfortable positive rapport with nearly all of the students in 4SS. I begin each 1:1 meeting with an informal chat with students about their weekends, dogs, vacations, playdates, hobbies, favorite games, and friends they are spending time with. I think most kids have been maintaining and building relationships with kids outside of school. They are visiting each other, having playdates, sleepovers, and birthday parties. One of my biggest concerns about my students this year has been that they would be missing the time they would be spending together at school. I've grown to know the students well, and I believe they've gotten to know me as well. I share tidbits about my weekends, my hobbies, and my family. 

I have really tried to be consistent all year in bringing positive energy to each morning meeting, 1:1, small group, and closing circle. I try to greet every student by name and with a smile. I want them to know that I'm happy to see them each day. I want them to understand I care and want them to enjoy our time on the screen together. I try to make jokes and laugh with them even on days when I'm feeling tired or discouraged. All year I've hoped that if I try my best to enjoy our meetings, then the students will enjoy them and have fun along with me. I hope and think that my strategy has mostly worked. 

There is one student who I was REALLY hoping to reach who I feel I have not been able to reach. Jiyun was a student who never spoke in class at school last year in third grade and she hasn't spoken once this year online either. I had high hopes that I could get through to her by being kind, warm, gentle, and encouraging. Unfortunately, I've been unable to get her to open up despite my best efforts. She has shared some of her incredible artwork with me during some 1:1 meetings. She occasionally responds to messages and she did allow her mom to share a photo of her face to be used in a fun, holiday Jibjab video that I made. That was a small success.

Overall, despite the challenge of each of us being a two-dimensional square on the screen this year, I do feel that I've connected with the three-dimensional students on the other side of the screen. I've gotten to know them, supported them, made them laugh, and hopefully feel like important members of our class. I just hope there is a day even if it's next year when I can see the kids in person and finally connect with each child at school. 

Student Feedback Reflection

Although only nine of my fifteen students completed the teacher feedback survey, I reviewed the data carefully and reflected on the survey. Overall, the feedback was positive, but there were a few areas of concern and opportunities for growth. Only six students said I made learning interesting while two chose sometimes and one said no. I try my best to bring enthusiasm and positive energy to small groups, and my reading video lessons, but I recognize that virtual learning isn't the most engaging format for all kids, and I also that I could also strive to decrease the amount of teacher talk to streamline my video lessons and offer more space for kids to discuss with each other during groups. Another indicator with a similarly low rating was that I encourage students to work in different ways(independently, in small groups, with partners, etc.). I would like to make more use of breakout rooms to increase engagement and discussion between students. I do regularly use breakout rooms and sometimes experience frustrating glitches such as some students being unwilling to engage with partners, kids being kicked out of the meeting, and/or students keeping their cameras off. Regardless, I hope to continue and increase the use of breakout rooms along with striving to decrease teacher talk.