Jenn Jamal Eddine/Professional Development
Building Rapport in the Middle School Classroom
A self-paced course for educators who want to connect with the students who are hardest to reach.
What this course is about
Middle schoolers are not small high schoolers or big elementary kids. They are in the middle of one of the most disorienting developmental transitions of their lives, and the teachers who reach them are the ones who must understand that.
This course gives you the research, the frameworks, and the practical tools to build genuine rapport with your students. Not performance. Not tricks. Actual relationship-building, the kind that makes your classroom a place students want to be.
What you'll be able to do
Explain the developmental science behind early adolescent behavior
Identify and articulate your own authentic teacher persona
Build trust with students across a range of backgrounds and learning needs
Manage your classroom through relationship rather than rules
Repair ruptures and restore rapport after conflict
Sustain your practice without burning out
Course curriculum
5 lessons · 20 topics · quizzes + final assessment
Understanding the Middle Schooler
4 lessonsThe developmental science of early adolescence — what's actually happening in the brain, body, and social world of a 12-year-old.
Finding Your Teacher Persona
4 lessonsWhy authenticity matters more than style — and how to figure out who you actually are in the classroom.
Building Trust with Students
4 lessonsTrust is a two-way street. What it takes to earn it, how to give it, and what appropriate vulnerability actually looks like.
Classroom Management Through Rapport
4 lessonsDiscipline without rapport is tyranny. How to manage a middle school classroom through relationship rather than rules.
Pressing Refresh
4 lessonsBurnout, repair, and the long game. How to sustain your practice and keep showing up for students year after year.
What's included
20 topics
Text, slides, and audio/visual media — no video lectures required
5 lesson quizzes
Check your understanding after each lesson
Final assessment
12 scenario-based questions; 80% passing threshold
Certificate of completion
Downloadable certificate issued on passing
Signed course agenda
Instructor-signed document for CEU submission to your district
Lifetime access
Return to the material any time
Your instructor
Educator · B.A. Spanish · M.Ed. ESL
Jenn Jamal Eddine
Jenn has taught in private, public, charter, Title I, and farm settings across 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. She brings a practitioner's eye to the research — and a deep respect for the students who are hardest to reach.
View full profile