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 CommonsAttribution- 3.0 License.
Peter Newbury
Center for EngagedTeaching, UC San Diego
pnewbury@ucsd.edu
Tom Holme
Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University
taholme@iastate.edu
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.edu2
 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,
“Thiswillbeagoodcourse,I’m okbeinghere.Ihavesomething
tocontribute.”

Why is this necessary?
 You want every student to leave the first class thinking,
“Thiswillbeagoodcourse,I’m okbeinghere.Ihavesomething
tocontribute.”
 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.edu9

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. CarlWieman Science Education Initiative (2009). First Day of
Class – Recommendations for Instructors.Available under Instructor
Guidance Resources at cwsei.ubc.ca
2. CarlWieman Science Education Initiative (2013). Motivating
Learning.Available under Instructor Guidance Resources at
cwsei.ubc.ca

CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 10 - The First Day of Class

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CIRTL Spring 2016 The College Classroom Meeting 10 - The First Day of Class