The College ClassroomMarch 6, 2013
Week 9:The First Day of Class
Pull out your copy of The First Day of Class (or pick one up) and talk about it
with a neighbor:What surprised you?
Clicker question (crowd-sourced)What recommendation in CWSEI’s First Day of Class [1] surprised you the most ?A. Don’t go into detail.B. Caution about using ice-breakers.C. We need to actually introduce TAs?!D. Avoid emphasizing rules/penalties.E. Ask students stuff (background, etc.)
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Evidence for today’s class
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The ideas, suggestions and best-practices discussed in today’s class are not the direct result of research
We won’t refer to a peer-reviewed study examining the impact discussing academic conduct in the first class.
However, the content is based on experience of
Peter Newbury, Beth Simon, Carl Wieman, Science Education Initiative at CU-Boulder & UBC,
others
which is based on peer-reviewed researchAmple research and evidence for benefits of situated learning(teaching content when it’s needed)(www.peternewbury.org/2012/06/situated-learning)
Big Picture: Set the EnvironmentThe first day of class can have a large influence on students’ perception of the entire course. By the end of the first day, 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 (generally) to
learn material and succeed in the course
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Big Picture: Set the EnvironmentAt the first class (especially 1st and 2nd year) you’ll have enthusiastic students who chose to take
the course students who must pass this required
course to get into their actual interest (e.g., bio before med school)
students who are shopping for courses students who are in the wrong room
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Regardless of their motivation for being there, you want every one of them to leave the first class thinking, “Yeah, this will be a good course, I’m okay being here.”
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How do you
do all that?
That Huge Lecture Theatre by teddy-rised on flickr CC
1. Establish Motivation
Provide an entry level preview of the course material
Explain why the course material is important & interesting
Avoid jargon as much possible Where applicable, make connections to:
Real world/everyday life What students know What students will need to be successful in
future studies or career What students are interested in, current events, …
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2. Personalize the learning experience
Welcome students to your class – make it clear that you are looking forward to working with them.
Who would like to rehearse their opening line?
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2. Personalize the learning experience
Welcome students to your class – make it clear that you are looking forward to working with them. Introduce yourself
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Clicker question
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What did you decide about how your students will address you?A) Dr. SmithB) Mr. / Ms. /Mrs. SmithC) Professor SmithD) Michael / Elizabeth (first name)E) Mike / Beth (familiar, nickname)
2. Personalize the learning experience
Welcome students to your class – make it clear that you are looking forward to working with them. Introduce yourself. Describe your background and interests in connection to the subject, e.g.:
Why you find it interesting, exciting for them to learn
How it applies to other things you do (research, …)
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Students—especially those majoring in the subject—say it is inspiring to hear about the instructor’s background (such as what kind of research they do) and how it is relevant to the course.
2. Personalize the learning experience
Introduce teaching team TA’s and anyone else involved that
students will be interacting with (could show pictures or have them come to class)
Make an effort to find out who the students are and their expectations, motivations, and interests, e.g.:
Ask them a series of questions about major, goals, background,
perhaps use clickers or a survey
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2. Personalize the learning experience
If appropriate, ask them to introduce themselves to other students they will be working with.Use with caution: some students say
it makes them uncomfortable if used as a general “icebreaker”, but it is appropriate to introduce themselves to group members with whom they will be working.
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Think-pair-share: What icebreakers have you used (as instructor? student? attendee?)
friend students
class twitter acct professional acct professional/personalfollow students
will you initialize google hangouts? participate in them?
class pinterest
class flickr acct
Clicker question
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How many of these social media channels do you think you’ll use to connect with your students?
other?
Numerical i>clicker question:Click i>clicker into numeric mode (“123”)Use up/down buttons to toggle through 0-9,–Click SEND
3. Establish expectations
Describe overarching (course-level) learning outcomes; big picture view
Emphasize that you want them to learn and your role is to support their learning
Explain how course will be conducted: what will happen in class expectations for out-of-class work (eg, number
of hrs) overview of schedule (esp exam sched, if
you’ve got it) marking scheme (% final, % midterms, %
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Better if also handed out and online, not just spoken, so you (and they) can refer to them throughout the course.
3. Establish expectations
Explain why you’re teaching the way you are teaching, how the different components support their learning (especially important if you are teaching differently than most other courses are taught); e.g.:
Teaching methods based on what is known about how people learn
Students need to construct own understanding
Especially important to get student buy-in for peer instruction with clickers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGx7EzDQ-lYSee www.peerinstruction4cs.org/general-pi-tips/
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3. Establish expectations
Describe (generally) how to succeed in your course
Learning and improvement take practice and effort, as well as timely feedback
Give general description of how assessments are used for both feedback and marks, leaving details to be read on course website
Give advice on how to study (“Review the clicker questions like you do them in class: think by yourself, pick an answer, talk to friends, vote again, check answer.”)
Express that you feel they can succeed if they put in the effort collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu #tccucsd
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4. 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 (mis)conduct deadlines rules/policies (eg, late assignments, missed
exams…)
Could give an assignment involving reading these.
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In what order?
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1. Introduce yourself2. Welcome student to your class3. 1. Establish Motivation4. 2. (rest of) Personalize the learning
experience5. 3. Establish expectations6. (4. Don’t go over details)
First class do’s and don’t’s
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Check out classroom before the first class
clicker hardware? podium computer? lapel mic? 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.
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Do Don’t
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.
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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
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Do Don’t
Try to give them an authentic experience of what the class will be like.
If you’re going to use clickers, do it in the first class (even if some don’t have clickers yet.)
email pre-reading assignment 2 days before 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
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Do Don’t
Involve students during class
Talk the entire class time
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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
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Do Don’t
End class on time with a slide containing pertinent info:
your name office hours contact info course website homework important thing
End class early(establish expectations)
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Do Don’t
Repeat vital info at the beginning of the 2nd class, too
your name contact info course website
Assume everyone was there in the 1st class.
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Do Don’t
Reinforce all of these messages (motivation, personalized learning, expectations,…) periodically throughout the course, at the appropriate times.
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Do Don’t
Have a growth mindset about your students’ abilities to learn.
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
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Do Don’t
What recommendation will you try hardest to follow the next time you teach the First Day of Class?
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The College ClassroomMarch 13, 2013
Week 10:Succeeding in an Educational Career
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References
1. Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative (2009). First Day of Class – Recommendations for Instructors. Available under Instructor Guidance Resources at cwsei.ubc.ca