Establishing Rapport with Students Through Memoir Writing

by Jessica Allee

Memoir Writing

Purpose: Initiate discussions about diverse topics and promote empathy and rapport between instructors and students.

Writing Activity: After teaching students the elements of memoirs, I asked them to briefly tell me of an experience from their lives they would write about if they were required to write a memoir. Then, I gave them the option, but did not require them to write about their experiences.

Results: To my surprise, most of my students chose to write a one-to-two-page memoir about an experience from their life that represented a singular moment in time, and included a challenge to overcome, a resolution, and a lesson learned-all elements of memoirs as a genre. Some of these students’ experiences were very personal. I discovered things about them that allowed me to tailor other assignments to help them grow emotionally and academically and feel a part of the class. Furthermore, I made comments on each students’ memoirs that were positive and relatable which helped me establish rapport with me students by demonstrating empathy.