Create an Emotional Bond

Given the discussion in the Theory section, we need to consider the five aspects of student-teacher bonds, those being:

1. Trust in benevolence
2. Trust in honesty
3. Affective commitment
4. Affective conflict 
5. Satisfaction

Out applications to build an emotional bond should then target these five aspects. The application techniques will first be explained in detail so that you can use them directly, and then, at the end, there will be a more theoretical explanation.

Answer emails fast and honestly

Set a goal for yourself not to take more than 24 hours to respond to emails, ideally, no more than 8 hours. If a student sends an email, respond as fast as you can. Understandably, many professors have many emails in their inboxes and will often need time to answer certain questions, so this tip might seem counterintuitive. However, a professor does not need to respond wholly to answer fast.

When receiving an email that you know requires time (either due to finding the answer or being bogged down by other work), you should still respond quickly to the student and inform them that you are working on an answer but will need more time. This way, the student gets an affirmation that you are working on it, and you get the time to find the answer, removing the uncertainty from the student and helping you solidify it in your work plan. Provide an answer immediately; otherwise, let them know that it might take a while but that you are working on it. Do not let your inbox become a void that swallows student emails.

When you do respond, remember that it is important to acknowledge the question and show understanding of their curiosity and feelings. Try to include at least a sentence acknowledging the question itself or the feelings behind it.

Why this application?

By answering emails fast, students will perceive you as a professor who cares about getting them answers and increasing trust in benevolence. By being honest about your heavy workload and that you need time and showing transparency in your process and thinking, the student will perceive you as an honest professor, increasing trust in honesty. Acknowledging questions and the feelings behind them provides students with a feeling that the professor cares and, vitally, understands them. Therefore, being a communicative professor makes students more likely to experience high satisfaction and affective commitment when you show dedication to them.

Keep open and flexible office hours

Keep an open-door policy for your office hours. Allow any student to come in with the possibility of asking questions, getting your perspective, and even talking about anything. During office hours, it is important to maintain an air of welcome; you are there to answer study-related questions and be there for the student. Start by asking them questions about their day, and naturally move into the purpose of their visit. Do not start the visit by directly jumping to business.

While one should keep as long office hours as possible, if the schedule does not allow for set times, then at least give students flexible office hours. Explain to them that you are always able to set up a meeting with them if they need to talk, and encourage them to take the opportunity to contact you. Set office hours are preferred but sometimes impossible to enact, so flexible office hours should be an option. It is important to underscore that students can set up a meeting for any question or need. Usually, reaching out for a meeting feels more formal than simply showing up at an already set time, so to remove the formal and stern setting, you have to explain that you will meet even for non-study-related questions.

Why this application?

Similar to the email application, by showing interest in students’ questions and giving them a way of communicating them to you, you increase their trust in your benevolence and honesty. Furthermore, it gives students more opportunities to talk to you, likely increasing their affective commitment and satisfaction.

Take away a couple of minutes from class

At the start of class, begin with a personal moment. Do not jump in immediately;,; instead, give your class a few minutes to listen to you talk or talk themselves. There are two good ways of doing this:

1. Share a story of your own 
2. Ask them to share

The first means that at the start of class if you have anything personal you would like to share, something funny to you, or anything interesting, do not be afraid to share it. Alternatively, you could ask the students something, such as a question about their weekend, what they are looking forward to, fundamentally any icebreaker. Including a few minutes of personal sharing will not be a detriment to your class material; you will still have time if you plan. There is no fundamental guide for what should be said, as long as it provides a glimpse into you as a person or allows students to share their person.

Why this application?

By sharing your story, you increase your honesty and give students something to latch on to regarding their affection toward you. Their trust in your honesty will increase, and the affective commitment can increase. By giving the students to share something they would like to say, you increase their trust in their wellbeing, that you genuinely are interested in and care for them, and give other students the ability to connect.

Allow anonymous student feedback on your progress

Throughout the semester, allow students to answer some questions regarding how they feel about you and the class. Often, this is relegated to the end of the semester, but this provides you with no ability to improve, pivot, or change. Instead, provide anonymous feedback forms that the student can fill out; these should include questions about what they wish you would improve upon, the success of the class structure, if they feel that you are interested and invested in their wellbeing, if they think you are honest, their satisfaction, etc. The questions posed should reflect the five traits of student-teacher bonds, as well as any other questions you want to have answered.

These need to be anonymous to increase student honesty and completion rate, and if you can give them an incentive to finish the form, that could be used. It is tempting to use feedback from previous semesters to influence and impact your current teaching. However, each class comprises different people, selected based on different criteria; it does not make sense to approach each class as one homogenous group. Instead, it is more fruitful to get the opinions from each class and then use them to influence your approach.

Why this application?

The importance of this application lies in finding out where you might be lacking in creating your bonds. Since every student has different needs, it would be ideal to get an individual detailing their feelings. However, that is unrealistic, given that students cannot answer fully and honestly about a professor’s deficits without anonymity. Therefore, by using individual forms, you can still get insight into what the students would like you to do, but you will not be given insight into the individual students. Still, this allows you to build off of your deficits and shows students that you care about how they perceive you and how they feel, increasing their trust in your benevolence.