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Enhancing Relationships Among Educators and Learners

No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.

—James Comer, 1995

Culturally competent relationships make the difference (Trottier, 2016). More specifically, humanizing relationships enhance many aspects of life, including formal and informal teaching-learning situations. Learning experiences in the health professions generally involve interacting with others. The interactions can occur in face-to-face as well as online settings. Relationships can take place formally in programs offered by university and technical institutions or in orientation and staff development programs offered by clinical agencies. Or interpersonal relationships can develop informally when people need to know more about a concept and do so by exchanging information with peers and informed others.

Whether learners are novice pre-service students in higher education or expert in-service clinicians extending their expertise through further education, in most instances they will be required to communicate with others. Similarly, whether learners are engaged in formal programs of study or working independently to achieve and update competencies, there will be times when they interact with others. All too often these interactions do not develop into humanizing relationships. Rather, they remain task-oriented interactions geared to simply delivering and receiving information.

In our view, superficial interactions among people can develop into genuine relationships only when human connections are made. In other words, relationships deepen and become reciprocal when they are humanized. It is a challenge to define precisely and clearly what is meant by the term “humanizing” (when it is applied to relationships among learners, educators, and fellow learners) even though it is used freely in the educational literature. Humanism is considered everything from a philosophy or an attitude to a political stance or an intellectual position (Létourneau, Cara, & Goudreau, 2017). Edwards, McArthur, and Russell-Owens (2016) edge toward a definition of humanization in learning experiences by describing such environments as judgment-free zones in which learners are encouraged to freely share, reflect, and question.

Theories such as the I-Thou Relationship (Buber), Person-Centred Approach (Rogers), and Ingredients of Caring (Mayeroff) are founded on humanism. Themes such as mutual growth in relationships because of reciprocity, caring behaviour, and attitudes that influence this mutual growth, the existence of growth potential in all individuals, and journeying together through learning (growth) experiences are common to all of these theories (Létourneau et al., 2017). Values such as respect, dignity, compassion, and honesty seem to be foundational to humanism-based theories and the formation and maintenance of humanizing relationships.

Such relationships in the variety of learning experiences that health professionals participate in are grounded in these themes and values. Furthermore, relationships that can be considered humanizing establish beneficial exchanges among educators and learners. They require authenticity of intentionality and commitment among educators to do what they can to create affirming environments in which learners’ voices are encouraged and acknowledged. As Bartolomé (1994, p. 173) explained, humanization in education is an approach that “values the students’ background knowledge, culture, and life experiences, and creates learning contexts where power is shared by students and teachers.”

Educators who nurture humanizing relationships between themselves and their students actively pursue a path toward “mutual humanization” (Freire, 1970). A mutual and humanizing relationship welcomes shared ownership among educators and students and views learners as co-investigators instead of receivers of information (Yosso, 2005). Humanizing educators encourage engaging in emotional dialogue, sharing (even clashing) of views, and storytelling (Reyes, 2016). Educators demonstrate humanizing relationships when they view learners as co-creators of knowledge instead of empty vessels that need to be filled.

In this chapter, we focus on humanizing approaches that can help educators to create and enhance these kinds of humanizing relationships. We begin by introducing the community of inquiry (CoI) model (see Figure 3.1), elements of which illustrate a useful frame of reference that educators can use to cultivate connections with students and among participants in learning groups. We then integrate this model into a discussion of three significant relationships in learning environments: those between educators and learners, those between learners and learners, and those that learners cultivate outside the classroom. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of innovative approaches that can help educators to foster these relationships and make them matter.

The CoI model provides a simple and concise visualization of three key elements present in most educational experiences. These experiences usually include facilitators or teachers who provide guidance, other learners who provide a sense of community, and opportunities for learners to reflect on and make sense of information. The CoI model named these three elements teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000; Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, n.d.).

Although the model was initially designed as a tool for computer-mediated communication in online learning environments in higher-education settings, educators in other practice areas can also apply the elements to their teaching. Creating a community of inquiry by addressing teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence and by considering how they overlap are hallmarks of education in all learning environments (Garrison et al., n.d.). When educators establish a robust community of inquiry, they can create, nurture, and maintain relationships with and among learners.

TEACHING PRESENCE

The first element of the CoI model is teaching presence, defined as “the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 1). Inherently, when students experience the presence of the teacher who provides the structure of cognitive direction and the process of human interaction, a climate of openness and a sense of community in the class are facilitated. Educators demonstrate teaching presence by providing guidance, building understanding, and motivating learners (Anderson et at., 2001). Teaching presence is viewed by students as foundational to helpful student-teacher relationships.

At the curricular level, teaching presence is reflected in the way that a course or workshop is designed or organized and begins even before educators meet learners. Learners can feel well supported when they see clear links among course goals, curricular materials, expected outcomes, learning activities, and assessment measures (Anderson et al., 2001). Although many educators in the health professions are not directly involved in designing the courses and workshops that they facilitate, they can and should pay special attention to ensuring that learners understand what they are expected to achieve. Educators who convey teaching presence help participants to navigate learning experiences and make sense of course or workshop content.

At the instructional level, educators can establish teaching presence effectively when they facilitate “collaborative dialogues with other participants (peers and teachers) through discussions that personalize, challenge, and expand on the topics covered in class” (Pearson Higher Education Services, n.d., p. 3). Educators can stimulate this critically important dialogue by posing questions, focusing discussions, moderating learner participation, and finding areas of consensus (Pearson Higher Education Services, n.d.).

Teaching presence is also demonstrated when educators provide specific direction. Learners sense that educators are genuinely present when they share their own ideas, suggest resources, make abstract concepts more concrete, connect concepts, provide frequent feedback, and correct learners’ misconceptions (Pearson Higher Education Services, n.d.).

Educators can communicate that they are present and involved by sharing content in a conversational rather than an academic style (Pearson Higher Education Services, n.d.). The words that educators use can communicate a willingness to share ownership of the learning process with learners. Humanistic relationships rich in shared ownership and emotional dialogue are grounded in mutual understanding.

In some instances, educators and learners might not fully understand one another. This might be partly the result of different uses of language and colloquial expressions. When educators use only academic terms or their own ways of speaking to share knowledge, they can inadvertently exclude contributions from learners. In their exploration of humanizing relationships between educators and learners, Edwards et al. (2016) revealed that, when educators included words and colloquialisms that learners were familiar with and used themselves, they created important bonds that helped to establish mutual understanding and trust.

The following strategy suggests an approach that educators can use to gain a deeper understanding of the unique word choices important to learners. When educators use vocabulary that learners can understand easily, they are better equipped to provide the structured directions and to facilitate the processes needed to demonstrate teaching presence.

COGNITIVE PRESENCE

The second element in the CoI model is cognitive presence, “the extent to which the participants in any particular configuration of a community of inquiry are able to construct meaning through sustained communication” (Anderson et al., 2001, p. 1). There is overlap among the three elements. For example, cognitive presence (i.e., critical, practical inquiry) can be formed by effective teaching presence and social presence (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2001).

Cognitive presence is grounded in the ever-evolving relationship between personal meaning and shared dialogue. When people feel curious or puzzled and have questions, they often begin to find answers through personal inquiry, reflection, and integration of resources available to them. This practical process of inquiry can lead to thinking more critically when people include collaboration with others. When they explore issues and exchange ideas together, they can integrate information differently, find alternative ways to construct meaning, and then apply their new knowledge (Garrison et al., 2001). Cognitive presence is associated with higher-order knowledge acquisition and application: “Cognitive presence is a process of inquiry that includes thinking, listening and expressing thoughts in the process of critical discourse. It is a collaborative process of thinking and learning in deep and meaningful ways” (Garrison, 2017, p. 3).

The cognitive presence of the teacher is a core concept in creating a community of inquiry (Garrison et al., 2001). It is through their cognitive presence that educators select content to be emphasized and how they support the kind of discourse that can bring that content to life. Educators who have effective relationships with learners can challenge them to think critically, provide additional examples from practice, and improve the quality of their assignments. Communication, a mainstay of cognitive presence, both cultivates educator-learner relationships and helps them to mature in a way that enhances learning. The following activity illustrates how educators and learners can share the responsibility of maintaining a strong cognitive presence in their learning experiences.

SOCIAL PRESENCE

The third element in the CoI model is social presence, “the ability of learners to project their personal characteristics into the community of inquiry, thereby presenting themselves as ‘real people’” (Rourke, Anderson, Garrison, & Archer, 2001, p. 51). When members of learning groups risk sharing their views and who they are as people, the dynamics of the group can develop and progress.

Categories of social presence include emotional expression, open communication, and group cohesion (Garrison et al., 2000). The category of emotional expression has been explored further, and an addition to the CoI model could be emotional presence, defined as “the outward expression of emotion, affect, and feeling by individuals and among individuals in a community of inquiry, as they relate to and interact with the learning technology, course content, students, and the instructor” (Cleveland-Innes & Campbell, 2012, p. 283). Emotions influence learning, and educators should recognize, examine, and seek ways of understanding the critical role that emotions play in learning (Cleveland-Innes & Campbell, 2012).

When learning experiences are rich in all of the categories of social presence, participants define discussion topics, encourage collaboration, and initiate discussions (Garrison et al., 2000). Educators can facilitate social presence by setting climate and supporting discourse (Rourke et al., 2001).

In the fast-paced world of health-care delivery and education, questions can be raised about the importance of cultivating social presence in learning environments. Pre-service and in-service learners can view the idea of getting to know others in their learning group and collaborating with them on projects as less important than achieving the competencies required by their discipline. With this view in mind, we highlight that the CoI model emphasizes that

the primary importance of [social presence] is as a support for cognitive presence, indirectly facilitating the process of critical thinking carried on by the community of learners. . . . [When] learners find interaction in the group enjoyable and personally fulfilling . . . they remain . . . in the program, [which] directly contributes to the success of the educational experience. (Garrison et al., 2000, p. 89)

From a social constructivist point of view, learning is shaped by context, and people learn from each other (Vygotsky, 1962). Learners are more likely to engage with their education (Kuh, 2009) and persist with their studies when they feel connected to, and involved with, other members of the learning community (Tinto, 1993). Interacting, collaborating, and communicating with peers can help individuals in a learning group to make sense of information presented and to find alternative ways of constructing personal meaning. Research has consistently demonstrated that, when learners experienced high perceptions of social presence in their learning environments (particularly in online settings), they felt more satisfied with their learning experiences (Alsadoon, 2018; Cobb, 2011; Horzum, 2015; Gunawardena & Zittle, 1997); they also felt more satisfied with their teachers (Richardson & Swan, 2003). Therefore, social presence is important in learner engagement, persistence, satisfaction, and meaning creation.

Social presence is likely the most fundamental element of the creation of learners’ relationships with other learners and with educators. Models of teaching and learning that feature interaction and engagement with others help to create social presence. It can be experienced when learners and educators project themselves socially and affectively into the learning milieu. Any activities that help learners and educators to get to know each other, to sense a connection to the group, and to feel that they are not alone can contribute to social presence (Plante & Asselin, 2014). When educators create opportunities for participants in learning experiences to share in-depth self-introductions, to offer meaningful support to peers’ goals, and to collaborate on projects, they foster social presence. The strategy below can be used to help identify values that members of a group have in common.

RELATIONSHIPS IN LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

The CoI model described in the previous section can be helpful as a theoretical foundation to guide the development of humanistic relationships in learning environments. Teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence can all enhance connections among educators and learners, and we ground the discussion that follows on these presences. Although there are many different associations that can emerge when people participate in learning experiences, we focus on the kinds of meaningful relationships that learners can establish with educators (educator-learner), with fellow learners (learner-learner), and with knowledge that they glean independently from a variety of sources (relationships outside the classroom). Some also consider student–course content a relationship dyad, whereas others consider student-self a relationship. However, since the focus of this book is on the essential human connections that make such a critical difference in the education of health professionals, we discuss the first three pairs.

Educator-Learner

Educator-learner relationships are vital to successful teaching and learning (Hershkovzt & Forkosh-Baruch, 2017). Success in teaching and learning includes both achievement of learning outcomes and development of less tangible and less measurable emotional, social, and psychological outcomes. Research on student achievement (learning outcomes) by Hattie (2012, p. 5) concluded that “what teachers do matters,” and for some students relationships with teachers can “tip the scale away from academic failure and move students toward scholastic success.” In Hanson’s (2018) study, the influence of the student-teacher relationship emerged as the catalyst for fostering student resilience and academic achievement. As Trottier (2016) concludes, when teachers connect with their students, it helps them to build social, emotional, and academic skills.

In some circumstances, a relationship in which the educator acts as a mentor or role model leads to a positive future for a learner both personally and professionally (Theron & Engelbrecht, 2012). As Hansen (2018, p. 30) writes, “many students, despite abysmal circumstances, thrive emotionally and socially due to the resilience-building power of teachers.”

What can educators do to cultivate resilience in learners? It begins with creating connections with learners (most possible in a humanizing learning environment). Once connections are established, educators are more able to cultivate internal factors such as humour, optimism, and flexibility in learners. These traits make learners less vulnerable to frustration, hopelessness, and feelings of defeat that can undermine their scholastic achievement and professional success.

Collaborations. In many ways, humanizing educator-learner relationships are collaborations, which call for equal contributions from all parties in a relationship. To contribute requires participation, and participatory learning is aligned with humanizing pedagogy (Gleason, 2017). Successful collaborations between educators and learners were found to lead to open dialogue, positive relationships, and the establishment of a learning community; moreover, such successful collaborations can be catalysts for change in learners, educators, and even the institutions in which they learn and work (Wang & Kao, 2013).

Beaton (2017) described how an educator-learner collaboration model resulted in educators coming to better understand individual learner’s interests, creative abilities, and varied learning needs. Beaton emphasized the need for active participation by both parties for a successful collaboration to emerge and be sustained. The optimal outcome for such a collaboration is a community of shared learning. Beaton concluded that, just as learners thrive in a safe, engaging, and collaborative learning environment, so too do educators.

Collaborations, within a humanizing milieu, can fuel the development, achievement, and energy of educators and learners alike. Strategies that value learners’ background knowledge, culture, life experiences, and approaches that create learning contexts in which power is shared equally are important in developing effective educator-learner relationships. Collaborative learning environments depend on the authenticity of intentionality and commitment by the educator. The strategy below suggests a way in which educators can promote collaboration in learning groups by inviting participants to share what they are interested in and feel passionately about.

Learner-Learner

Relationships among learners are also important for positive academic or professional development experiences. Constructive relationships among classroom or workshop colleagues are the foundation for the establishment of a sense of community in the group. When learners feel a sense of community, they believe that they belong, and the belief that every member of the classroom is valued is shared by all participants (Lloyd, Kolodziej, & Brashears, 2016). Haney, Thomas, and Vaughn (2011, p. 56–57) also discovered that building a classroom community “fosters belonging rather than isolation” among students. When learners interact in respectful ways, meaning that their interactions are guided by empathy, fairness, self-control, and tolerance, it is possible to build a healthy learning milieu in which all participants feel safe to engage in active learning.

Where the elements of teaching, cognitive, and social presences in the CoI model intersect is the educational experience of the learner. When the experience includes this sense of community, the learner-to-learner relationships are both facilitated and enhanced. Educators can use purposeful strategies to foster a sense of belonging in learners even if they are learning in seeming isolation, such as working through an independent online module. The first step might be to focus on creating social presence or the sense that individuals are “real” (Garrison et al., 2001).

Creating a sense of community requires a foundation of trust and respect among participants, and it takes time to develop. Educators who value forging strong learner-learner relationships devote time and effort to helping class members know that they are learning in a safe space and that there are others in the class who respect and value their contributions. All learners need to be recognized and valued for their unique abilities, interests, and skills. Some factors that can inhibit learners from creating helpful relationships with their peers include insecurity about their value and abilities. When people feel insecure, experience failure, or have low self-esteem, they can resist trying new things, taking risks, or participating in activities fully. To create a healthy learning community in which valuable relationships are nurtured, full participation by all is fundamental. The next strategy can help to strengthen learner-learner relationships by fostering a sense of belonging among learners.

Outside the Classroom

As the world becomes the classroom for learners, people have opportunities to interact with teachers other than those leading/guiding the formal classes, workshops, or orientation programs in which they are registered. These informal educators can range from mentors who work with learners in professional settings to experts with whom learners interact virtually through an online community of practice. Although these informal teachers have no jurisdiction over formative or summative feedback or specified learning outcomes and activities, they are becoming increasingly important elements in learning relationships and collaborations.

These “connectivity opportunities,” which exist in part because learners have access to teachers/mentors anywhere in the world through digital means, can aid learners in the development of critical thinking and inquiry. As Garrison (2016, p. 1) writes, we need to “rethink conventional education in light of technological developments,” and the unprecedented access that learners now have to multiple “teachers” can lead to even deeper and more meaningful learning. Ubiquitous communication technology allows learners and educators (both formal and informal) to connect and develop relationships that support dialogue and reflection that are foundational to learning. The strategy that follows illustrates how relationships in learning environments can occur outside the classroom.

Mentor-mentee relationships. One type of educator-learner relationship that can occur outside a formal learning situation is mentoring. It is defined as the process of helping and advising a younger, less experienced person (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d). Humanizing mentor-mentee relationships can change the professional and personal well-being of both participants. The mentoring relationship takes on the quality of a shared learning journey in which both people can benefit. Mentees can benefit as mentors help them to recognize and believe in their abilities, hone their skills, help them to network and connect with others who can benefit their careers, and act as a confidant and an anchor during difficult times.

Reverse mentoring is somewhat different from traditional mentoring. According to Murphy (2012), reverse mentoring involves a younger and junior person who shares expertise with an older and senior person. As Murphy notes, reverse mentoring was first introduced in 1999 when senior managers at General Electric were paired with younger employees instructed to teach them about the internet. Since then, organizations have implemented reverse mentoring as a way of tapping into the technical knowledge of younger workers, fostering cross-generational learning, and developing leaders among the younger “anchor” generation.

In both traditional and reverse mentoring relationships, mentors often gain knowledge and skills from their interactions with mentees. Aspects of mentoring relationships can lead mentees to reflect on taken-for-granted practices, collect feedback on their teaching approaches, be inspired, and remain relevant in their professions.

There are several types of mentors according to Fawal (2018). One is a “master of the craft,” a person who has accumulated wisdom over years of experience and is positioned to guide a more inexperienced person. Another type of mentor is considered a “champion” of the mentee. That type of mentor advocates for a more junior person and aids his or her career by making introductions to others who might help to move his or her learning and work forward. A third type of mentor, the “co-pilot,” takes on a collaborator role with the mentee in which both parties support one another and hold each other accountable. The anchor type often does not have specific disciplinary knowledge but acts as a confidant and helps to lift in spirits in challenging times. In the following strategy, we suggest how educators can use Twitter as a mentoring tool.

MAKING RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

Effective relationships of all types (educator-learner, learner-learner, or with “teachers” outside the classroom) are deepened by actions and strategies that emphasize the human connection in the dyad. Simply put, by humanizing relationships, we make them matter (or at least make them matter more). Educators and learners who seek to develop and sustain relationships that advance their learning, and provide satisfying interactions, can take deliberate steps to find success in this pursuit. Furthermore, humanizing pedagogy supports the idea that creating opportunities for educators and learners to engage in meaningful dialogue and work collaboratively and share reciprocity within an environment of caring behaviours and attitudes, can enhance learning for all parties.

The following section outlines a series of approaches that educators can implement to make the relationships in their learning environments matter. These approaches can be implemented in a variety of educational settings (online, academic classrooms, clinical practice areas) and are relevant to both pre-service and in-service learners. Some of these approaches have been created for and tested by practising educators in the health professions, others are from the literature, and still others are founded on learning theory but have yet to be tested in the real world. The common denominator of these approaches is that they help to create in participants (educators and learners of all types) an increased awareness of mutual connection and interdependence. In one way or another, all of these approaches are focused on humanizing relationships among educators and learners. We encourage educators to regard being and voice, to challenge and disrupt curricula, to make theory real, to share a little bit of you, to reach out with gratitude, to think and communicate in a humanizing way, to demonstrate care and empathy, and most of all to remain fully present with learners.

Regard Being and Voice

To create and sustain humanizing relationships, there must be an unquestioned regard for the being and voice of each participant. Educators must shed (or at least become aware of and set aside) any preconceived views and biases of gender, race, age, background, and other cultural influences. Doing so sets the stage for teachers to engage in relationships with learners that focus on achievement rather than on any preconceived inadequacies or stereotypes (Edwards et al., 2016). In other words, respect for each learner, fuelled by an underlying belief in, and appreciation for, the present contribution and future potential of that person is the foundation for a humanizing relationship. Encouraging each learner to find and use her or his voice, and then truly listening to each person (listening not just with the ears but also with the heart), comprises the basis of positive humanizing teaching-learning relationships.

Storytelling—more precisely, sharing stories one to one or in a learning group—can help people to find their voices and share their truths and realities. As San Pedro, Carlos, and Mburu conclude, we “co-construct these realities in the space between the telling and hearing of stories,” with the outcome being “humanizing and more fertile spaces” where our commonalities help to sustain meaningful relationships (2017, p. 667). The strategy using a photostory described below is one technique that can produce poignant outcomes.

Challenge and Disrupt Curricula

In traditional teaching-learning situations, a carefully crafted curriculum—including predetermined learning resources, learning activities, and assessment approaches—can shut down authentic learning and destroy individualization. Learners might feel obligated to spout what the teacher wants to hear to achieve “success” and pass the required academic course or professional development activity. When educators provide a platform for learners to achieve individual learning outcomes important to their personal and professional lives through learning strategies that fit their learning styles, there is an openness in the learning space that encourages personalization. When this openness includes encouraging learners to display achievement of their learning outcomes in a way meaningful to them, the potential for genuine sharing and relationship building emerges.

Educators who value a humanized learning environment include teaching approaches that help them to learn about the talents, existing knowledge, and special skills of each student. There are many ways to achieve this, and it is often an ongoing effort throughout a course or workshop. For example, learning about the uniqueness of each student begins during the introduction activity in an educational experience. Skilled educators ask questions that help learners to disclose their abilities and talents without feeling as if they are boasting. Questions such as “can you tell us one surprising thing about you?” or “what was the moment in your life that you felt most proud?” often provide opportunities for learners to comfortably share one of their talents with the group. Once this information is disclosed, a skilled educator shows respect for the information and finds ways to value it during the course. It can be as simple as remembering that a specific learner had a talent in art and inviting that person to capture a complex course or workshop concept in a drawing for the class. This approach enhances individual self-confidence, shows respect for the learner, and fuels openness to doing things differently within the course and curriculum.

Respecting the individual is the first step in developing humanizing relationships, and educational design and content that can be moulded to fit the individual (in terms of both process and product) are essential for demonstrating respect. The more educators and course designers can match the curriculum, course, instructional and assessment strategies, and feedback to the individual learner, the greater the potential for all involved to have humanized learning encounters. In the strategy below, we discuss how contracted learning can begin to challenge and disrupt curriculum.

Make Theory Real

Educators in professional fields want to ensure that learners not only understand theory and the frameworks that guide practice but also become skilled at applying them in their own disciplines and work lives. Moving from theory and the abstract to human and the real in heath care is essential. As Wrenn and Wrenn wrote, “there is nothing more practical than a good theory” (2009, p. 258). Professional programs for health professionals must prepare participants to function as practitioners in their specializations. This process usually involves both class and field or placement experiences.

To make theory to practice educational experiences effective, learners need to be active. Active learning means that participants do more than simply listen to an educator; they also undertake activities that focus on skill development and achievement of higher-order cognitive learning domain outcomes such as evaluation, critique, and analysis.

Educators need to create and use strategies that help learners to become active and create connections between theory and practical learning experiences. Of course, these learning experiences (to show respect for learners) need to be of interest and importance to them. Inviting learners to move outside the class or workshop to learn in their own daily environments is one approach. In this way, learners construct meaning through their own experiences and discoveries and are challenged to look for ways to apply theory that they mighty have studied in class to their real worlds.

The world outside the classroom is immense. It can include the workplace, social media, and personal and family interactions. One activity that involves the workplace application of theory is to ask learners to memo a question related to course content on their phones and then to ask their colleagues the question during a coffee break at work. In a course on leadership in the health professions, learners were asked to memo the question “can you describe examples of transformational leadership that we experience daily on our clinical unit?” When learners ask this question of their colleagues over coffee, they must be able to explain transformational leadership theory to them. That way their colleagues can answer the question. But they must also evaluate the answers of others. To provide this explanation of the theory and to adequately assess the answers provided aid learning and help to make theory real for learners.

With ready access to social media, the world becomes a potential classroom. One specific activity used in a health policy course involves inviting learners to find and follow (on social media) someone from a national organization who has responsibility for developing or enacting health policy. Learners follow this person over a period of time and then analyze the themes and findings related to policy theory demonstrated by this individual. Again, theory becomes real. As outlined in the strategy that follows, another strategy is to invite a guest speaker to help make theory real for learners.

Share a Little Bit of You

Appropriate self-disclosure can help learners and educators to identify commonalities that foster the formation of bonds and relationships. Self-disclosure is rooted in humanist psychology and is defined as “the act of making yourself manifest, showing yourself so that others can perceive you” (Jourard, 2017, p. 17). More specifically, educators’ self-disclosure includes “statements in the classroom about the self that may or may not be related to the subject content but reveal information about the teacher that students are unlikely to learn from other sources” (Sorensen, 1989, p. 259).

When learners enter classrooms or workshops, they know very little about their educators or others in their learning groups. Setting up opportunities for learners (and educators) to be open about personal topics such as hobbies, personal flaws, or past failures or successes can help relationships to emerge. It takes someone in a relationship to go first, for self-disclosure usually takes place within the context of previous self-disclosure. As Henry and Thorsen (2018) note, in “established relationships, inferences made following another person’s self-disclosure are interpreted within the relationship’s history.” An educator who shares stories and experiences demonstrates to learners that it is acceptable to disclose such information. This is one way to create honest sharing as a norm in a learning experience.

In mentoring relationships, this can be an especially effective strategy for teaching by personal example while also forging bonds. When an educator shares a story about a weakness or personal failure, it can open the door for the learner to feel comfortable sharing a similar personal experience. This sharing can evolve into a sense that we are all human and have all had similar experiences. This helps to create a truly collaborative space where participants can reflect, share, and question openly. Henry and Thorsen (2018), in a study focusing on the “relationality” of educator-learner relationships and the role that educator identity disclosure has in enhancing relational practice, found that self-disclosure increased learners’ motivation and helped to shape relationships in positive ways. The next strategy notes how effective self-disclosure can be a valuable way of sharing a little bit of you.

Reach Out with Gratitude

Letters of gratitude comprise one strategy that could actively cultivate a mentoring relationship. This approach was used successfully in an online course in which learners were to create a relationship with a mentor to help them continue to develop personally and professionally. The learners were encouraged to write letters of gratitude to people in their lives (present or past) who had helped to shape their attitudes, values, and beliefs in positive ways. In their letters, they shared details of how those people had influenced them. Once the letters were shared, earlier relationships were often rekindled, and enduring mentoring relationships resulted.

Think and Communicate in a Humanizing Way

Educators who create humanizing learning environments think and communicate in a humanizing way. All of their actions and interactions are founded on values that support, encourage, challenge, and respect the dignity and potential of every learner. Humanizing educators are not afraid to show compassion for a learner who struggles because they are committed to the success of each participant in the group (even if “success” means dropping out of the learning experience if that is the right thing for that learner). Humanizing thinking includes showing confidence in learners’ abilities (even when learners doubt themselves) and challenging learners to achieve greater learning outcomes than they initially thought possible. Such educators provide learners with opportunities to “fix” things if they are struggling with a concept or an assignment, and they find ways to help learners stay focused on achieving their individualized learning goals.

Being a humanizing educator is vital to relationships with learners. Through modelling, educators can teach important lessons related to being a humanizing professional. Health professionals care for human beings, who are not objects to be manipulated but people who need care and compassion. Humanizing educators can instill this message in part through their own actions and interactions with learners.

One specific strategy that can help learners who are struggling is finding (and teaching) ways to improve on rather than criticize deficiencies. With written assignments in settings of higher education, feedback that includes examples of the “right” way to structure a sentence rather than writing “unclear” in the margin, or providing an example of correct format for a citation rather than saying “marks off for citation errors,” enhances learning and humanizes the learning environment. Also related to feedback is the intentional use of positive language. Educators who use negative words when providing feedback or interacting with learners demotivate and dehumanize them. Conversely, educators who choose motivating words that include at least some phrases that acknowledge success and effort create a positive climate in which learners can feel successful. Positive language is an important aspect of any successful educator-learner relationship.

Demonstrate Caring and Empathy

All participants in learning situations are people. Successful people achieve all five levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (McLeod 2018), including safety and security, the need to belong, and esteem needs of achievement and accomplishment. An educator who creates a humanizing learning environment includes strategies that help learners to achieve these basic human needs. When an educator shows caring and empathy through actions and words, learners feel safe and are more open to trying learning activities even if they fear that they might fail in them. They know that the educator will acknowledge their attempts and find ways to help them improve rather than simply criticize their work.

Furthermore, humanizing educators know that learners need to feel that they belong and are contributing members of the group. In response, these educators deliberately set up activities in which learners work in teams to achieve a goal. They look for opportunities to comment on a learner’s contribution to the group, and they make that person feel that she or he is an important part of the learning community. Finally, helping learners to fulfill the need for achievement and success is a priority for caring educators. All learners face myriad challenges in their lives that can distract them from educational success. Humanizing educators take time to learn about these distractions and challenges and provide learners with support, understanding, and strategies to cope and succeed even in adverse situations.

In an extreme example, one student was facing death from a debilitating disease that rendered it impossible for her to type her final assignment in her final course in a university program of studies. The educator came to know of this reality and created an alternative assignment for the learner (an audio-recorded “paper”) that helped her to succeed and meet the course requirements. After the student died, the educator contacted the university registrar and included the student’s partner in the graduation ceremony, at which the student’s degree was presented posthumously. This is an example of a humanizing educator who demonstrated compassion and empathy. The strategy that follows highlights how educators can use videos to bring demonstrations of caring and empathy into learning experiences.

Remain Fully Present

Finally, as the above approaches grounded in the CoI model illustrated, remain fully present with learners. Guide and structure learning experiences that genuinely foster human interaction (teaching presence). Ensure that opportunities exist for individuals to create personal meaning through shared dialogue (cognitive presence). Model open communication and establish a welcoming climate in which people can risk being themselves and learn with and from one another (social presence).

When educators are fully present and establish a humanizing learning environment, learners gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that contribute to their success in many aspects of life. Educators have the power to create and sustain a humanizing learning milieu. To do so requires consistent commitment and deliberate action. Importantly, educators must find ways to communicate to learners that they are committed to them and their learning. This is often part of an initial interaction with learners as a class or workshop begins. Whether in a lecture hall, an orientation session with new employees, or an introductory video or statement in an online class, educators can communicate through sincere verbal (and non-verbal) expressions that they want to be fully present, that they are real and human, and that they care about learners. However, educators cannot simply tell learners once at the start of a course or workshop that they are committed to supporting them. Rather, they must remain fully present during interactions throughout the learning experience. We expand on this notion in Chapter 4, in which we discuss ways that educators can infuse humanity into different aspects of a curriculum.

Part of remaining fully present involves recognizing that relationships in learning environments, like all relationships, are fragile. Poorly considered or careless comments and actions conveying that educators are not present and committed to learners can have a strikingly negative effect. Effective teaching depends on an educator’s ability to achieve social and emotional connections with learners (Gkonou & Mercer, 2017). As we have emphasized throughout this book, humanizing connections lead to positive relationships that can have a significant impact on learning motivation and achievement. However, these connections can be damaged or severed by inconsiderate words and actions from an educator. Even though it might be unintended, a momentary lapse in educator engagement can irreparably damage relationships with learners.

CONCLUSION

In this chapter, we explored approaches that enhance relationships between educators and learners. The CoI model provides a theoretical foundation that educators in different settings can implement to foster relationships between educators and learners and among participants in learning groups. The CoI model consists of three elements: teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. Teaching presence requires educators to direct learners toward relevant outcomes. Cognitive presence requires educators to support learners in constructing personal meaning through individual reflection and group discourse. And social presence requires educators to ensure that all members of learning groups (educators and learners) project their personalities and who they are as people into the learning community. Together, these three types of presence can help to create and sustain the essential human connections that health professional learners value in their educational endeavours.

Relationships in learning environments include those between educators and learners, among members of learning groups, and between students and “teachers” outside the classroom. Educator-learner relationships support learners’ achievement and success, particularly when the relationships are collaborative. Learner-learner relationships (in which members of a learning group feel a sense of belonging to the community and a connection with other participants) help people to persist with and succeed in their studies. Relationships in which learners engage with informal teachers and mentors outside the classroom, and from anywhere in the world through digital means, offer unexpected and exciting new ways for people to create meaning.

Finally, we emphasized practical approaches that educators can implement in everyday practice to make relationships matter. When educators regard being and voice, challenge and disrupt curricula, make theory real, share a bit of themselves, reach out with gratitude, think and communicate in a humanizing way, demonstrate caring and humanity, and remain fully present with learners, they humanize their relationships. Enhancing relationships between educators and learners can be as simple as remaining “real” throughout learning experiences and authentically attending to teaching, cognitive, and social presence.

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