What Do Your Students Know About You?

Socrates, Plato, Descartes, Kierkegaard, Mead, Piaget, Cooley or Erikson. Have you ever wondered as you were studying throughout your education what certain theorists looked like? How is it that we are able to consider the words of great instructors of the past with importance while they remain faceless entities tied to great instructional ideals? For those of us who have seen the rendered faces of many great theorists, did we feel a deeper connection to their knowledge?

Some people are private unwilling to share anything about who they are, while others do not mind shedding some light on the person behind the acronyms. Online learning is much different that face to face, an impersonal forum that can strip meaning from the learning process. There are so many students who do not like the online environment because of the depersonalization that can overshadow the many positives online learning presents. First impressions can make a huge difference in whether a student stays with the class or drops. Sharing a bit about yourself as an instructor can very well be the hook that creates a connection with the student.

Students appreciate learning about their instructors academic success, as well as what led them into the profession they work in outside of the teaching realm. The instructor that can share a bit about their degrees is an instructor that can underscore the importance of academic success and goal achievement through example. Students often ask questions about the process of higher education and how graduate degrees help to obtain specific occupations. Interactive communication is the foundation to building a stable student teacher relationship.

Humans are very social creatures. We are conditioned from youth to incorporate specific elements of communicative dyad's or tryad's into the translation of conversation. Eye contact is a huge part of human conversation, as is looking at faces. Posting a photograph and an instructor biography is an essential investment that helps bridge the gap between impersonalized contact and humanizing the online learning experience. When the student knows what their instructor looks like instruction then seems less robotic and disconnected, and more personalized. Removing the facelessness of online learning helps the learner connect to the classroom and to become more trusting of the professional wisdom of the instructor...