cirtl spring 2016 the college classroom meeting 10 - the first day of class

CIRTL – The College Classroom Meeting 10:

The First Day of Class

March 31, 2016

Unless otherwise noted, content is licensed under

a Creative Commons Attribution- 3.0 License.

Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching, UC San Diego

[email protected]

Tom Holme

Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University

[email protected]

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

By the end of the first class, you want

students to have a good sense of

First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 2

why the course is interesting and worthwhile

what kind of classroom environment you want

how the course will be conducted

why the particular teaching methods are being used

what the students need to do to learn the material and

succeed in the course

Also,

you respect them

your want all of them to succeed (CWSEI, [1])

By the end of the first class, you want

students to have a good sense of


why the course is interesting and worthwhile

what kind of classroom environment you want

how the course will be conducted

why the particular teaching methods are being used

what the students need to do to learn the material and

succeed in the course

Also,

you respect them

your want all of them to succeed (CWSEI, [1])

Is that all?

C’mon, you’ve got

50 minutes!

The First Day of Class[1]


1. Establish motivation

1. personal relevance and interest

2. choice and control

3. sense that one can master the material

2. Personalize the learning experience

3. Establish expectations

4. Don’t go over the details

The First Day of Class[1]


1. Establish motivation

1. personal relevance and interest

2. choice and control

3. sense that one can master the material

2. Personalize the learning experience

3. Establish expectations

4. Don’t go over the details

Wait, when do you

welcome them?

When do you tell

them your name?

Why is this necessary?


You want every student to leave the first class thinking,

“This will be a good course, I’m ok being here. I have something

to contribute.”

Why is this necessary?


You want every student to leave the first class thinking,

“This will be a good course, I’m ok being here. I have something

to contribute.”

If you don’t do it, “students who are most likely to see the

subject as worth learning are those whose backgrounds, and

corresponding attitudes, are most like that of the instructor.

Those students whose backgrounds are different, which by

definition (usually) includes most members of under-

represented groups, will be less likely to understand the

appeal of the subject and consequently more inclined to put

their efforts into pursuing some other discipline.”

(CWSEI, Motivating Learning)

First Day of Class

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 9

First Day of Class


If you don’t have time to do

everything, perhaps start with the

items in the middle that support all

three components.

First Day of Class


When you're the instructor, what do

you want your students to call you?


Don’t want “Professor”, “Dr”,

“Instructor” without a last name

friend students?

class twitter acct

professional /personal acct

follow students?

class flickr acct

link to students?

course blog (in addition to /

instead of TritonEd site)

Social Media


Which of these

social media channels

will you (do you) use

to connect with your

students?


make the icebreaker useful – introduce students to an

authentic task they’ll learn and practice during the course

use to create a learning community in LARGE classes

Course details: don’t


Don’t go into details during first class:

give links to more details on

course syllabus

detailed schedule

detailed learning outcomes

academic misconduct integrity

deadlines

rules/policies (eg, late assignments, missed exams…)

Could give an assignment involving reading these.

Microteaching Presentations

See blog for details

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu/cirtl-microteaching/


First class do’s and don'ts


Do Don’t

First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu

Check out classroom

before the first class

clicker hardware?

podium computer?

lapel mic (“lav”)? Try it.

presentation remote

works from back of

room?

assume you’ll be able to figure it out at the time.

let a technical problem ruin your only chance to make a first impression.

19


Start the class on time.

(establish expectations)

arrive late (what expectation does that establish?)

have “intimate” conversation with students in the front rows while you wait for others to wander in. This doesn’t “personalize” the class.

20

Do Don’t

Do Don’t


Tell students you think they

can all succeed if they put

in the effort.

Fine to say the course is

challenging as long as you

also express it is

interesting/worthwhile

do-able with appropriate

effort

Say threatening things like

telling them you expect

some to fail

telling them that students

don’t usually like the

course

telling tell them that

students find the course

extremely difficult

21

Do Don’t


Give them an authentic

experience of what the

class will be like.

If you’re going to use

peer instruction, do it

even if some don’t have

clickers yet.

email pre-reading

assignment 2 days before

the first class

Use teaching practices that

are inconsistent with how

you’ll teach the rest of the

time:

don’t use clickers if

you’re not (really) going

to use clickers

22

Do Don’t


Involve students during

class

Talk the entire class time

23

Do Don’t


Address academic conduct

in context throughout the

course:

talk about plagiarism

when you give out a

writing assignment, not

now

Emphasize rules and

penalties on the first day:

sends a message of

distrust

they’re not listening

anyway

24

Do Don’t


End class on time with a

slide containing info:

your name

office hours

contact info

course website

homework

important thing

End class early

(establish expectations)

25

Do Don’t


Repeat vital info at the

beginning of the 2nd class

your name

contact info

course website

Assume everyone was there

in the 1st class.

26

Do Don’t


Reinforce all of these

messages (motivation,

personalized learning,

expectations) throughout

the course, at the

appropriate times.

Give the impression that

these message only apply

on the first day (and that

you’re doing it because

you’re required to.)

27

Do Don’t


Have a growth mindset about

your students:

You must believe every one of

your students is capable of

learning your course’s content.

If you don’t, you may

inadvertently deny your

students learning opportunities.

Have a fixed mindset about

your students’ abilities,

including

your job is to find 5%

who will be like you

your job is to filter out

students from advancing

to the next course

28

Thank-you…


for your enthusiasm for teaching and learning

for your commitment to this class

for generously sharing your expertise

(Peter) I’m a better instructor because the shared

understanding of teaching and learning we’ve built

together.

(Tom) It has been great to experience your enthusiasm for

teaching and learning, your future students will notice and

appreciate that enthusiasm as well.

References


1. Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (2009). First Day of

Class – Recommendations for Instructors. Available under Instructor

Guidance Resources at cwsei.ubc.ca

2. Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (2013). Motivating

Learning. Available under Instructor Guidance Resources at

cwsei.ubc.ca