Building Instructor-Student Relationships

Owned by Sharon Kearney
Last updated: Nov 02, 2022 by Sadaf Rathod

Building Instructor-Student Relationships

LEARN: What and Why

Student-Instructor connection is one of the most important aspect of engagement and student retention in both face-to-face and online teaching (Joyner et al., 2014). Students need to feel connected with their instructor; in online teaching, this is also the concept of building teaching and social presence—key pillars of the Community of Inquiry theoretical framework (Garrison et al., 2000). 

There are multiple ways to build instructor-student relationships, many of which are also simply aspects of best practices of online teaching. For example, providing frequent assessment and feedback opportunities helps students improve their performance in the course and meet learning objectives, but it also helps them feel engaged in the course and build connections with the instructor and their peers (Fiock & Garcia, 2019). 

 Provided here is a brief overview of 4 ways to build relationships with students, along with links to additional UMass resources that elaborate on these best practices.  


ENGAGE: How to do it



Be Communicative

Open and regular communication lets students know that their instructor is a ‘real person’ who is there to help them learn.                                         

  • Complete a communication plan for how you will interact with students
  • Clearly indicate at the start of the course how and when you are reachable
  • Respond to students’ queries timely fashion
  • Send a message (video would be great) at the start of each unit/week describing what’s ahead 
  • Visit the Communication Pages to learn more

Provide Personalized, Timely Feedback

Providing students with feedback—written, verbal, video, etc. comments and guidance about their work and progress in the course—is a critical aspect of the learning process (Nicol et al., 2014). The course should provide multiple formative assessment, as well as summative assessment, opportunities. 

  • Be specific in the guidance and personalize it to the students (Fiock & Garcia, 2019)
  • Enable students to do something (discuss, respond, revise) with the feedback (Nicol et al., 2014).
  • Visit the Providing Feedback page to learn moreRespond to students’ work within a few days where possible

Use current, accessible Resources/Learning Materials

Creating interesting, up-to-date course resources and materials helps engage students not only because the materials are more exciting to read/view/listen to, but also because it indicates to students that the instructor cares because they took the time to select the best resources and represent the content in multiple ways and for multiple types of learners. 

  • Make your own short videos of you lecturing/explaining course concepts (this helps personalize it and make your students feel more connected to you) 
  • UMass Library webpage on Course Reserves
  • Use Open Educational Resources (e.g. OER Commons)
  • Ensure all materials are accessible
  • Visit the Instructional Materials page to learn more

Participate in the Learning Activities

Developing learning activities that allow for students to interact meaningfully with the course content and fellow learners is an important aspect of engagement (Garrison et al., 2000). It is also an opportunity for the instructor to build relationships with students by also participating in the learning activities. For example, an instructor can:

  • Respond to comments and offer new opinions within a discussion forum/Voicethread
  • Reply to learners’ journal or blog entries
  • Periodically check in on group activities/projects and offer guidance


Visit the Engaging Learning Activities page to learn more.

APPLY to your course

Review your Course

  • In what ways do I/am I planning to communicate with students? 
  • Do I have a clearly articulated guidelines for how to reach me and when to expect a response? 
  • What is my plan for providing guidance and feedback on students’ work (what formative assessments, graded or nongraded do I have in place)? 
  • Are my instructional materials as engaging and updated as possible?
  • What learning activities do I have planned? How can I get involved?

Review resources in each area and revise accordingly:

  • Communication 
  • Providing Feedback
  • Instructional Materials
  • Learning activities

References & Resources

Dixson, M. D. (2010). Creating effective student engagement in online courses: What do students find engaging? Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 1-13.

Fiock, H. & Garcia, H. (2019, November 11). How to Give Your Students Better Feedback with Technology. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T, & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2, 87–105. 

Nicol, D., Thomson, A., & Breslin, C. (2014). Rethinking feedback practices in higher education: a peer review perspective. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 39(1), 102-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2013.795518

Joyner, S. A., Fuller, M. B., Holzweiss, P. C., Henderson, S., & Young, R. (2014). The importance of student-instructor connections in graduate level online courses. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 10 (3), 436-445.