Building Rapport With Students in Short-Term, Solution-Focused Settings

Student Needs And Outcomes

First and foremost, in order to engage in deep learning, students must feel safe in their classrooms (Delgado et al., 2020). This safety allows students to engage in meaningful reflection with their peers, teachers, and the coursework. Feelings of safety are present when students perceive that instructors care about them, with definitions of “caring” ranging from being accessible, approachable, and flexible to demonstrating personal interest in students (Delgado et al., 2020). A strong sense of belonging and self-efficacy can increase engagement in the classroom, increase academic achievement, and contribute to a successful life in college (Ahn & Davis, 2020; Kahu et al., 2020). Both academic and social engagement influence students’ sense of belonging in higher education, with social engagement being especially salient (Ahn & Davis, 2020). In higher education, it is important to validate students’ feelings and ensure that they not only feel welcome in their new environment, but also that they matter to the group. Instructors can build a sense of community in their classrooms to promote these feelings among students. It is also important to remember that individual students’ characteristics and backgrounds may cause them to enter higher education with more or less feelings of marginality than others. For example, minority students may feel they do not fit in as well as white peers in a predominantly white institution, causing them to feel marginalized before they even make it to the classroom (Moore, 1990).