As teaching professors, we know first-hand how complex an endeavor teaching is. The sheer number of instructional interactions, decisions, and processes can be overwhelming to enact, much less to master. To streamline such complexity, I have adopted what I consider a beneficial perspective. In its essence, teaching consists primarily of making three types of connections—instructor-to-student (or “Me” connections), student-to-student (or “Thee” connections), and student-to-course content (or “CC” connections). Keeping in mind these three connections has aided my instructional decision making and teaching efficacy. Believing along with Parker Palmer (1998, p. 11) that “good teachers possess a capacity for connectedness,” let’s look at a few ways to expand our capacity for making connections in teaching.
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These are great suggestions which embody what the research indicates about the importance of relational connections in our classrooms. See these two articles:
Cavanagh et al. 2018. Trust, growth mindset, and student commitment. CBE-LSE, 17(1) ar10 DOI 10.1187/cbe.17-06-0107
McCollum et al. 2017. Relationships in the flipped classroom. CJSoTL, 8(3) DOI 10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2017.3.8