“Say My Name, Say My Name”: Why Learning Names Improves Student Success – Faculty Focus

“Yes, Iris,” my Chicana/o Studies Professor spouted as he acknowledged my raised hand for a comment about the reading. “He knows my name?” I thought distractedly as I tried to refocus on the thought I had wanted to share. Attending a university with over 20,000 students, and class sizes often ranging from 200 to 600 students, I wasn’t used to my professors knowing me by name. I wasn’t used to my professor even knowing I existed aside from a percentage in a gradebook. I sat up a little taller in class, became more attentive, and sought to improve my writing skills over the quarter. Could the simple act of an educator knowing their student’s name change the trajectory of the student’s learning and perhaps their overall perception of the course? Research suggests yes.  

In a study conducted by Cooper et al. (2017), 85.4% of the students surveyed stated that it was important for their instructors to know their names. When asked why this was important, the most common replies centered on feeling valued. The results also indicated that students whose names were known were more likely to seek help from the instructor and that they felt more invested in the course. What this tells us is that by using a student’s name, we are validating their existence and contribution to the class, and in turn, they feel more invested and motivated to do well or to seek help.  

Now that we know learning students’ names is a simple yet powerful tool for building rapport and improving learning outcomes, how exactly do we remember all their names?  

1. Name Tents

Yes, those little folded pieces of cardstock with a person’s name written on them. These can be your golden ticket to calling a student by name and, hopefully, in the process, eventually committing it to memory. Interestingly enough, some research suggests that a percentage of students with name tents perceive that their name is known by the teacher when in fact, it is not. Ergo, simply calling on a student by name using their name tent as an aid can improve the student’s perception of how much a teacher cares (Cooper et al., 2017). So, ask your students to bust out those markers and glitter and get creative. 

2. Self-Quizzing

When we discuss evidence-based practices that enhance the learning and retention of materials taught, we inevitably emphasize the importance of self-quizzing. Well, now is your time to put all that teaching into practice. Most schools will have a student photo associated with the student on their learning platform. Use this as a tool to quiz yourself by covering up the student’s name when looking at their photo and trying to guess their name. Practice, practice, practice.  

3. Chunking

If your students sit in rows, use the time before class or during breaks to go through one row of students’ names. Do this each class time. Breaking up the number of names you need to commit to memory into chunks of 7-9 students increases your likelihood of storing that information as short-term memory with the hopes that it transfers to long-term memory (“How Memory Works,” n.d.). 

4. Get Creative

Create an assignment at the beginning of the course where students upload creative content about their name to their learning platform. This can take the form of visual art, video, audio, or writing, allowing them to express their name and, if they choose, share its meaning or a personal story related to it. Make this content available to their fellow students as well by posting it to a forum or discussion board, as this can be a helpful tool for students to learn their classmates’ names.  

Conclusion

While there are many methods for improving student engagement and building rapport, learning students’ names is a great way to start. Some practical tools for learning names can simplify this process and reduce the cognitive load on faculty. The results are typically mutually beneficial, with students feeling appreciated and thereby contributing more, and faculty gaining insight into students’ perspectives and having “buy-in” of course content and assignments.   

Iris Villanueva, DMSc, PA-C, is a Professor for the Physician Assistant (PA) Program at the University of the Pacific and a practicing PA. She is passionate about providing holistic and compassionate patient care while also equipping the next generation of PAs with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive. Her current research focuses on understanding how physician assistant students perceive burnout and on developing strategies that promote student wellness. 

Dr. Julia VanderMolen is a Professor for the Public Health program at Grand Valley State University and a Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor with the University of the Pacific, School of Health Sciences. Her research examines the benefits of assistive technology for individuals with disabilities in public health. She serves as a board member of the Disability Advocates of Kent County and is an active member of the Disability Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA). Her current research focuses on exploring the health and medical services available to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

References

Cooper, K., Haney, B., Krieg, A., & Brownell, S.E. (2017). What’s in a name? The importance of students perceiving that an instructor knows their names in a high-enrollment biology classroom. CBE life sciences education, 16(1), ar8. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.16-08-0265

Derek Bok Center, Harvard University (n.d.). How Memory Works. https://bokcenter.harvard.edu/how-memory-works (Access the article here: https://www.scribd.com/document/700827279/how-memory-works)