Students are less likely to cheat when they feel connected to their instructor. In asynchronous online courses, where physical presence is absent, building that connection happens in lots of little ways.
Strategies That Work
1. Show Your Face (Literally)
Record short videos for your course. Let students see you as a real person, not just a name on a syllabus. Even 2-3 minute videos introducing modules or explaining assignments help students remember there’s a human on the other side of the screen.
2. Normalize Communication
Make reaching out to you feel normal, not scary:
- Require low-stakes emails early in the semester. Have students email you with questions about the syllabus or introduce themselves. Reply warmly to every single one.
- Build communication into assignments. In discussion forums, require students to ask you a question, then reply to your answer. This creates a habit of dialogue.
- Make yourself approachable. End every piece of feedback with: “Please reach out to me if you have any questions.”
3. Lead with Kindness
Every interaction—every announcement, every feedback comment, every discussion reply—should begin and end with kindness.
Start positive: “I can see you’re working hard on this.”
Give critical feedback in the middle: “Let’s tighten up the thesis so your argument is clearer.”
End supportive: “You’re making progress. Reach out if you need help.”
Students who feel criticized or dismissed shut down. Students who feel supported lean in.
4. Respect Is Everything
Whether online or face-to-face, treat students with respect. It’s shockingly easy to turn students off with a dismissive tone, sarcasm, or impatience. When students feel disrespected, they disengage—and disengaged students are more likely to take shortcuts.
In face-to-face classes, this means patience, active listening, and genuine interest in their ideas. In online classes, it means tone matters even more because students can’t see your facial expressions or hear your voice unless you intentionally provide them.