Building Trust: The Impact of Early-Semester Meetings on Student Perception and Performance

Introduction: Effective education requires a strong partnership between students and teachers. Central to this partnership is trust, particularly students trusting their teachers. For trust to develop, teachers must demonstrate that they are relatable and genuinely care about their students' success. One potential strategy to build trust is through short, individual meetings between students and teachers early in the semester. The purpose of this study was to determine whether an early-semester meeting impacts the level of trust students have in their teacher and improves student outcomes. It was hypothesized that such a meeting would enhance student trust in the teacher and lead to better academic performance. Methods: This study was conducted in a 200-level introductory physiology class with 424 students. Of these, 348 students participated in individual 5-minute meetings with the professor during the first three weeks of class. These meetings included students answering four "get to know you" questions. Midway through the semester, a survey was distributed to all students. The survey collected information on grade expectations at the beginning of the semester, self-reported midterm grades, and responses to open-ended questions about why they met with the instructor and how the meeting influenced their perception of the instructor. Chi-square analyses were performed on grade expectations and midterm grades, while a thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended responses. Results: There was no difference in grade expectations prior to the start of the semester between students who completed the meeting and those who did not. However, students who completed the meeting had significantly better grades than those who did not ( p = 0.018). A primary theme that emerged from the open-ended responses was that these meetings fostered a positive relationship with the instructor. Additionally, the meetings helped students better understand the instructor's role not only as a grader but also as a teacher and a source of support in the learning process. Conclusions: These data suggest early-semester individual meetings between students and instructors can significantly enhance student outcomes and foster trust by creating positive relationships. These meetings help redefine the instructor’s role as a supportive guide in the learning process, rather than solely a grader. This approach highlights the importance of establishing early, personalized connections to improve academic performance and student perceptions of their instructor. This abstract was presented at the American Physiology Summit 2025 and is only available in HTML format. There is no downloadable file or PDF version. The Physiology editorial board was not involved in the peer review process.