Creating Rapport in Online Classes Through a Pedagogy of Care and Authenticity

Abstract Online classes are plagued by the digital disconnect, making students dissatisfied with their learning experience due to the feeling of isolation from the class and the instructor. Previous scholars have suggested ways in which this transactional distance can be bridged, specifically through strategies the professor can implement in order to make connections and build rapport. However, the difficulty of online delivery was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, where both professors and students were faced with emergent issues and continuing trauma fatigue. In this paper, I explain the approach of care and authenticity I used in my online classroom during the Spring 2021 semester to connect with students and to show that I cared about their well-being. Students appreciated these small, low-cost strategies as we passed the one-year anniversary of our collective move to online learning.