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4 Connections: Interact with Students by Name

Overview

Names Matter

“Knowing the names of others acknowledges their humanity and their right to exist. Students’ names are indicative of the richness they bring with them to class, representing their diversity, cultural heritage, family hopes, and dreams. This ‘mark of identity is a powerful symbol, and using students’ names recognizes their individual worth. Not doing so sends an implicit message to students that their humanity is not relevant to or important [in their studies]. By knowing each other’s names, we become human to each other.”

           from O'Brien, Leiman, & Duffy (2014), “The Power Of Naming: The Multifaceted Value Of Learning Students’ Names”

What’s in a Name?

In the 2017 study “What’s In A Name? The Importance Of Students Perceiving That An Instructor Knows Their Names In A High-enrollment Biology Classroom,” researchers were able to categorize three overarching reasons why students believed that having their names known by their instructors is important to them. Whether an instructor demonstrates a knowledge of the student’s name affects:

  • The student’s attitudes about the course
  • The student's self-reported behavior; and
  • How the student perceives the course or the instructor

Here are some findings from this study:

  • Students who perceive that they are known by their instructors feel more valued and feel more invested in the course.
  • These students feel more comfortable getting help, more comfortable talking to the instructor and have more confidence in the material.
  • These students believe that demonstrating name-knowledge shows that their instructor cares, that it builds student-instructor relationships and classroom community; and that instructors are more likely to provide them with mentoring or a letter of recommendation

How Instructors Learn Names

Instructors in this study spent time at the beginning of the semester explaining the purpose of the name tents and explained the benefits. While students may not have attributed increased success in the class to the name tents and their instructor’s use of their names, the study indicated that the increased comfort and feeling of belonging associated with this practice encourages behavior (such as seeking help) that leads to overall course performance.

Ultimately, the study concludes that using student names is a low-effort, high-impact practice.

Strategies

Whether you are teaching face-to-face, VCM, or online (asynchronous), there are strategies that you can use to learn and use your students' names while building both instructor-to-student and student-to-student rapport.

Blackboard Profiles: Encourage students to add a photo and a short personal description to their Blackboard profile - and be sure to do the same if you have not already! While uploading a picture of themselves is ideal, allow students who may not feel comfortable or safe doing so to use an avatar (such as Bitmoji), photo of a pet, or other image that is meaningful for them.

Provide prompts to help guide students in writing about themselves. Examples:

  1. What are your educational goals (e.g., earn a degree or certificate, transfer, study a particular major/program, etc.)?
  2. What are your career goals?
  3. What are your favorite activities outside of class?
  4. What are your strengths as a student and/or employee and/or parent, etc.?

Introductions: Whether in an online forum, a virtual class meeting, or in person, have students introduce themselves with their preferred names and something simple (not too vulnerable) about themselves. Alternatively, use an icebreaker activity like “course trepidations” or “best & worst classes” from OSU’s Teaching and Learning Resource Center.

For face-to-face classes, consider using Name Tents. On the first day, ask each student to write their preferred name on both sides of the name tent (file folders work well if you don’t have card stock). Collect all the name tents at the end of class and check your memory skills by passing them out to students when you see them next. Repeat until everyone knows everyone’s name. Some instructors have adapted this high school teaching strategy that combines name tents with feedback, encouraging students to make comments or ask questions inside the tent. Instructors are able to share their responses with students when they hand the tents out again in the next class meeting.

3 Things

READ

"Getting Students' Names Right: It's Personal" by Nicole Igwe, Faculty Focus, October 17, 2016 (9 min) 

Mishandling names can lead to awkward moments. For many students, name problems come on the first day of class. Here’s a tweet with the hashtag #GrowingUpWithMyName. “Knowing the pause on roll call in school was my name. I would just start saying ‘Here’ before they even tried.” Everyone knows what it is like to have their name mispronounced sometimes. But imagine what it is like to have it happen almost every time—and with an audience of new peers.

LISTEN

"Pronouncing Names Correctly Is More Than Common Courtesy" by Noor Wazwaz, LifeKit - NPR, April 8, 2021 (16 min)

Pronouncing names correctly is "one of those ways that you can really practice anti-racism and practice allyship in the moment," says Tulshyan, the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy firm. It's "one of those very subtle but extremely important ways to get engaged and really stand up ... for communities that are nonwhite and largely have faced marginalization."

DO

Name Story - In this icebreaker activity, students will have the option to share their first name, middle name, last name, nickname or any name that has a history or story such as the name of a pet or nickname given to a friend or family member. Students might consider the significance of the name, where the name comes from, or what particular meaning the name has for them.

DEEP DIVE

A Teacher's Guide to Learning Student Names: Why You Should, Why It's Hard, How You Can - by Michelle D. Miller

If teachers want an inclusive, engaging classroom, they must learn their students'names. Sound advice, certainly, but rarely does it come with practical guidance—which is precisely what this book offers. Eschewing the random tips and mnemonic tricks that invariably fall short, Michelle D. Miller offers teachers a clear explanation of what is really going on when we learn a name, and a science-based approach for using this knowledge to pedagogical advantage. Drawing on a deep background in the psychology of language and memory, Miller gives a lively overview of the surprising science of learning proper names, along with an account of why the practice is at once so difficult and yet so critical to effective teaching. She then sets out practical techniques for learning names, with examples of activities and practices tailored to a variety of different teaching styles and classroom configurations. In her discussion of certain factors that can make learning names especially challenging, Miller pays particular attention to neurodivergence and the effects of aging on this special form of memory. A Teacher's Guide to Learning Student Names lays out strategies for putting these techniques into practice, suggests technological aids and other useful resources, and explains how to make name learning a core aspect of one's teaching practice. With its research-based strategies and concrete advice, this concise and highly readable guide provides teachers of all disciplines and levels an invaluable tool for creating a welcoming and productive learning environment.

Resources

Belonging

Names and Naming

References

  • URL: https://library.cod.edu/4connections
  • Last Updated: May 8, 2025 12:28 PM
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