On Sept. 6 and 7, more than 60 faculty members in either their first or second year of teaching attended the lunch and learn "Teaching Students We Care: Creating Faculty/Student Rapport." This session shared tips for using both verbal and non-verbal behaviors in the classroom and in advising sessions to begin creating better relationships with students. Strong rapport increases student motivation and engagement, student achievement and course satisfaction. Here is a link to the presentation via Scholarworks.

The presenter for this session was Chris Estepp of the Agricultural Education, Communication and Technology Department in the Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Estepp has won multiple awards for outstanding teaching, including the following national awards: The North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture's Educator Award and the Non-land-grant Agriculture and Renewable Resources Universities' Distinguished Young Educator Award. He has published research related to student motivation.

New faculty luncheons are held during six time periods per year, usually the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month, with three in fall and three in spring. Announcements are sent via email from the Cordes Teaching and Faculty Support Center and are featured in the Arkansas News. 

Attending this session live and the September Cordes chair and writing a reflection are qualifications for a new Rapport Badge offered to new faculty. Contact shook@uark.edu for more information on the badge.