色中色

The first day of class is your opportunity to present your vision of the class to your students. It is helpful if you can introduce yourself as an educator and provide insight into how you will teach the class and what you will expect them to contribute to the learning process.

Consider that our students have adult lives and will be thinking about your class in lots of ways: Maybe they are here because this is the only time they have for a class, they are looking for something taught in a way that works best for them (preferring an active classroom or something that combines face-to-face and online components, for example) or are looking for a course with a workload to balance the demands of their other courses and extra-curricular responsibilities. Thus, students will appreciate a clear roadmap of what you will require of them over the course of the semester. You may also want to model, as specifically as possible, the classroom environment you intend to foster during the class. For example, if they will spend a good deal of time doing group work over the course of the semester, you may want to break them into groups the first day.

In the guide below, you鈥檒l find information about the following things to think about for that first day:

• Introduce yourself
• Allow the students to introduce themselves
• Engage in an interactive activity
• Share things you think students should know:
  • Course overview
  • Departmental requirements/expectations
  • Presentation of material
  • Expectations for class time
  • Expectations outside of class
  • Instructor responsibilities
  • Student responsibilities
  • Assessment
  • Cooperation/communication/resources

Additional SCC Resources

• New faculty resources at the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence website
• Faculty resources for curriculum, course design, using technology for teaching, and more can be found in the SCC
• Accessing D2L Brightspace as a faculty member:

Welcoming: How to Create an Inviting Classroom

鈥淧rofessors who established a special trust with their students often displayed the kind of openness in which they might, from time to time, talk about their intellectual journey, its ambitions, triumphs, frustrations, and failures, and encourage students to be similarly reflective and candid.鈥�

From the chapter 鈥淗ow Do They Treat Their Students鈥� in Ken Bain鈥檚 What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard Press, 2004).

Introduce Yourself

The point of an introduction is to establish yourself as a unique individual sharing the classroom with other unique individuals. In making your decision about what information to share, consider how much you want them to know and how much you want to reveal about yourself. Other than providing your name and the name of the course you鈥檙e teaching, here is some information you may consider sharing:

• Personal biography: your place of birth, family history, educational history, hobbies, sport and recreational interests, how long you have been at the college, and what your plans are for the future.

• Educational biography: how you came to specialize in your chosen field, a description of your specific area of expertise or experience practicing your trade in industry, your current projects, and your future plans.

• Teaching biography: how long you have taught, how many subjects/classes you have taught, what you enjoy about being in the classroom, what you learn from your students, and what you expect to teach in the future.

Allow the Students to Introduce Themselves

This is your opportunity to focus on students as unique and diverse individuals. Consider how introductions can lead into a productive and welcoming classroom environment. Instead of just asking general questions concerning their name, major, and years at 色中色, ask them questions that are pertinent to the subject and the atmosphere you want to build through the semester.  Here are some examples:

• In a geography or history class, you may want to ask students to introduce themselves and explain where they are from. You could mark these places on a map of the world as they talk.

• In a math class, you may want to ask the students to introduce themselves and state one way mathematics enriches their lives every day.

• In a graphic design class, you can ask students to introduce themselves and share a product design that they love and why they love it.

• You may also want to have the students break into pairs, exchange information, and introduce one another to the class.

Engage in an Interactive Activity

Get students engaged right away to capture their interest in the content and your class.  This can be done with some of the student introduction ideas above, or with simple ice-breakers, such as having students share their personal Brush with Fame: telling a story about their closest encounter with someone famous. For more ideas, check out this list of from Iowa State University. 

Another idea is to use this time to give your students an exercise so you can assess the state of their previous or current learning. Called Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs), these are typically simple, non-graded, anonymous, in-class activities that give you and your students useful feedback on the teaching-learning process as it is happening.  One example for the first day is the Background Knowledge Probe: a short, simple questionnaire given to students at the start of a course (or before the introduction of a new unit or topic during the course) designed to uncover students鈥� pre-conceptions about the topic and help you get a sense of what they already do/do not know or want to learn.  This and other are available from the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching.

Truth in Advertising: Course Expectations and Requirements

鈥淲hat happens between you and your students in your classroom or lecture hall depends largely on what you want to happen. How you treat each other and how you and your students feel about being in that place with each other is modeled and influenced by you.鈥�

From the chapter 鈥淐lassroom Contracts鈥揜oles, Rules, and Expectations鈥� in David W. Champagne鈥檚 The Intelligent Professor鈥檚 Guide to Teaching (Roc Edtech, 1995).

Every course should have a well-written syllabus so students understand what is expected during the course, but outlining course expectations and requirements that first day can be done in many different ways.  You can spend a few minutes reviewing your syllabus with students, or it might be best for you to do less talking: One idea is to point out the top 3 things you want students to know on the syllabus, then ask them to work with a partner to review everything else. Together, partners must generate at least one question about something they aren鈥檛 sure about.

Listed below are a number of things you may want to share with students on that first day:

• Course overview: Provide an overview of the course topics, and what you expect them to understand at the end of the semester.

• Departmental Requirements/Expectations: If your department sets standards and requirements, or your program uses guidelines and expectations set by outside accreditors, you may want to establish that you are required to work within those parameters.

• Presentation of material: Tell your students how you will provide them with the materials they need to be successful in class. Do they need to purchase materials and where will they find these? Do you post materials on ? Will your students have to think about lab schedules that are different from classroom or lecture times? Will they be working on projects together?

• Expectations for class time: How will you structure the class for students to be successful? Is the class discussion-based? Do you follow your syllabus or do you improvise? Do they need to bring their materials every day? Tell them what they can expect and how they can thrive in your classroom.

• Expectations outside of class: Provide them with an idea of what they will need to prepare for the course outside of class. Is their preparation primarily reading and writing, and will they be working individually or in groups? Will they have access to labs and equipment outside of class time to work on assignments? Will they need to turn in assignments electronically outside of class hours? Give them enough information so they will be able to plan their schedules accordingly.

• Instructor responsibilities:
  • Let students know what you will provide for your students to be successful in your class. This may include in-class material, study guides, meaningful and prompt feedback on assignments, facilitation of discussion, attention to students with special needs, and a positive and welcoming classroom environment.
  • Assert your boundaries: Let your students know how to contact you and when. For example, communicate or provide your office hours, office phone number, availability for instant messaging, email, and when you do not respond (evenings, weekends, and traveling for example). If you are traveling during the semester, you may want to explain the dates that you will not be available.
  • You may also want to alert your students to the events, habits, or situations that detract from your ability to fulfill your responsibility. For example, if late assignments, lack of participation, or use of phones or other devices during class distracts you from effective teaching, explain why and how you handle these things when they occur.

• Student responsibilities: If attendance is required, participation is mandatory, or you want them to read the assignment before class, explain to your students that this is expected of them throughout the semester. Explain policies on absences, make-ups, emergencies, and accommodating special needs. You may also remind them that they are responsible for their success and communicating with you when they have need assistance or have other concerns.

• Assessment: How will you assign the course grade at the end of the semester? How many assignments will be graded? Do you have grading policies and/or rubrics or criteria for grading?

• Cooperation/communication/resources: Finally, you may want to spend a few minutes discussing college, department, library, or other resources for students to use through the course of the semester.

鈥淏y giving students an interesting and inviting introduction, I was able to reduce anxiety about the course and help students view the class as a collaborative learning process. Every field has its own exciting research or striking examples, and it is a good idea to present a few of these up front. The teaching challenge is to find special ideas within your own field. Your class will thank you.鈥�

From 鈥淗ow to Start Teaching a Tough Course: Dry Organization Versus Excitement on the First Day of Class鈥� by Kevin L. Bennett, in College Teaching, 52(3), 2004

References

• Angelo, T. A., and Cross, K. P. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. (2nd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.
• Erickson, B. L., and Strommer, D. W. Teaching College Freshmen. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
• 鈥淭he First Day of Class: Advice and Ideas.鈥� Teaching Professor, 1989, 3(7), 1-2.
• Johnson, G. R. Taking Teaching Seriously. College Station: Center for Teaching Excellence, Texas A & M University, 1988.
• McKeachie, W. J. Teaching Tips. (8th ed.) Lexington, Mass.: Heath, 1986.
• Scholl-Buckwald, S. 鈥淭he First Meeting of Class.鈥� In J. Katz (ed.), Teaching as Though Students Mattered. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 21. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1985.
• Serey, T. 鈥淢eet Your Professor.鈥� Teaching Professor, 1989, 3(l), 2.
• Weisz, E. 鈥淓nergizing the Classroom.鈥� College Teaching, 1990, 38(2), 74-76.
• Wolcowitz, J. 鈥淭he First Day of Class.鈥� In M. M. Gullette (ed.), The Art and Craft of Teaching. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984.

Modified and adapted from an from the Vanderbilt Center for Teaching under a .