Early in my teaching career, I thought it was my students’ job to trust that I knew what I was doing. I had thoughtfully designed the course, the assignments, the writing exercises. I had been hired for this job after all—that should be enough to let them know I had their best interests at heart!
But, in fact, they had no good reason to trust me. I was still finding my place in academia, developing my confidence as an instructor, and figuring out my voice and style in the classroom. They could surely sense my occasional moments of uncertainty or doubt.
It took me a few years to solve this dilemma, but I eventually realized that students weren’t simply going to trust me because I was in a position of authority. They needed to believe that their learning, their engagement, and their well-being was at the centre of everything I was doing. And it was my job to convince them of this.
Luckily, there are a few simple strategies for creating trust with students and increasing your own confidence at the same time. These strategies easily translate between online and in-person classroom environments.
1- Explain the “why” of everything you do.
As a student, there’s nothing more frustrating than busy work. When students don’t know why they’re doing a particular assignment, activity, or exercise, it can be easy for them to feel like they’re wasting valuable time. In my classes, I try to connect every lecture, assignment, writing prompt, and discussion to our larger goals for the course. Often, I make this explicit on the assignment sheet, in the lecture, or on the syllabus. (E.g., “The goal of this exercise is to practice using different verb tenses and see how they impact the reader’s experience. You’ll have the opportunity to apply these skills when you write your first assignment.”)
Other times, I’ll ask students to make connections between the reading material or writing exercises and other things we’ve done in class. (“How does this exercise help you think about lyricism in the personal essay? How might you use this technique in your next assignment?”)
2- Show students how you’re giving feedback—and why—before you give it.
Different assignments benefit from different kinds of feedback. A simple ten-minute technique exercise doesn’t benefit much from detailed line notes. And a polished essay or short story requires more than “keep going”-style encouragement.
For each assignment, I explain why I’m giving a particular style of feedback and how I think it benefits students at this stage in the writing process. For example, I might say, “Since this is a technique exercise (and since criticism can make it harder to try new things), my feedback will focus on two things: 1-where I feel a lot of energy and momentum in your prose, and 2-some questions that might inspire you to turn this exercise into a longer piece of writing.” I like to copy/paste this language at the beginning of my feedback for each student.
If you’re not sure what style of feedback is going to be most useful for students on a given assignment, talk with the course instructor and your fellow TAs. You can even workshop your pre-feedback statement together.
3-Check in and acknowledge everyone’s feelings—including your own.
If you’re exhausted two-thirds of the way through the semester, there’s a good chance your students are too. Use your own experience as a reminder to check in with them: “How’s everyone feeling at this point in the term? I felt my energy start to wane for the first time this week.” Set aside a few minutes of class time to listen to their responses. Maybe even adjust the activities in response to their feedback.
For example, if students seem unusually quiet, it might be that they don’t fully understand an assignment or that they found the reading material particularly challenging. Check in with them: “That craft talk was pretty dense: do you all want to spend a little more time going through the big concepts?” Or “Would it be helpful if we did a Q&A on your upcoming assignment?” In person, this can be done with a show of hands. Online you can use a poll or virtual show of hands.
Remember that screen time can be a lot more draining than classroom time. Regularly checking in on students’ energy levels and engagement (and your own!) is even more necessary in online classes. Making adjustments to screen time as you go along is an easy way to respond to class energy levels.
These three strategies are fairly simple but they can have a big impact. When students understand the design of the course and the assignments, they’re more likely to invest in the work of the class. When they understand how and why you’re giving a particular style of feedback, they’re more likely to find that feedback beneficial and integrate it into their writing practice. When they sense that you’re noticing and responding to their engagement in the classroom, they feel like active participants in their own learning.
Creating transparency and trust with students helps cultivate a sense of belonging for you and for students. When I first started teaching, it helped to remind myself that everyone in the classroom has the same goal: to thrive in and out of class. When I put that assumption at the centre of everything we did, cultivating trust came a lot more naturally.