<\/p>\n
Do you remember attending the first day of a college class?\u00a0 After receiving the syllabus and listening to a quick monologue from your instructor, you were probably excused for the rest of the hour? \u00a0\u00a0Although you were undoubtedly thrilled, what a waste of precious class time!<\/p>\n
Here are some ideas to help prevent wasting that time now that you’re the instructor!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Introduce Yourself<\/b><\/p>\n
Some of your students have angst about you. \u00a0If you\u2019re new to campus you are an unknown commodity. \u00a0If you\u2019ve been around a while the students might think they already know you. \u00a0Either way, it is important to be personable and authentic. \u00a0You are the professor of the course but you are also a person. \u00a0They know you\u2019re in charge. \u00a0You don\u2019t have to remind them by coming off too authoritatively. \u00a0If you want them to feel comfortable to talk in your classroom, model that behavior by being authentic with them. \u00a0They\u2019ll feel safer to be vulnerable in your classroom if they feel that you are a real person, too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Allow the Students to Introduce Themselves<\/b><\/p>\n
Before you go through and ask all the typical questions of your students, ask yourself if the questions you ask of them are really relevant or just the typical questions. \u00a0I ask my students to tell me something interesting about themselves but then I record that information and refer to it during the semester when it applies. \u00a0In addition to educating yourself about your students, you should allow them to learn about one another. \u00a0A fun (and active) way to do this is to get everyone on their feet. \u00a0Ask an either \/ or question and ask the students to pick one side of the room to designate their answer (for example: \u00a0Do you prefer rootbeer or Mountain Dew? \u00a0Rootbeers on one side of the room and Mountain Dews on the other.) \u00a0This gives the students a visual of which classmates share their opinions and will help form bonds.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Showcase the course content<\/b><\/p>\n
While you\u2019re doing all of those introductions, why not introduce the course content as well? \u00a0Getting to know one another, course policies and routines are all important but get your students familiar with the subject matter of the course right off the bat. \u00a0Help whet their appetite for what will come in the following weeks. \u00a0Perhaps there will be a way incorporate your content in an ice-breaker activity or as part of the introductions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Do an ice-breaker activity<\/b><\/p>\n
A quick internet search of ice-breakers will produce the top 40 lists of activities. \u00a0Find one that feels comfortable to you and give it a try. \u00a0My favorite is one that I borrowed from a colleague. \u00a0I bring in 10-15 random, everyday objects. \u00a0I place them on a table in the middle of the room. \u00a0Each student is asked to select an item and then explain why they chose it. \u00a0When they are done, they place the item back on the table so someone else may use it. \u00a0For example, in one of my classes I had a small green calculator. \u00a0Three students chose it for the following reasons: \u00a0\u201cI like math.\u201d; \u201cI don\u2019t like math so I need a calculator to help me.\u201d; and lastly, \u201cIt is green. \u00a0Green is my favorite color.\u201d \u00a0I especially like this exercise for Core because it models for students that we all see things from different perspectives, but none of them were \u201cwrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Discuss Logistics <\/b><\/p>\n
Last but not least, talk about the logistics of your class and your room. \u00a0Is the room setup okay for your class or will you ask students to move chairs around for discussion? \u00a0Are you in a room that is consistently warm or chilly? If so, mention it to the students so they can be prepared. \u00a0Will you allow food and drink in your class? \u00a0Does anyone have allergies to tree nuts or other common snacks? \u00a0What is your cell phone policy, attendance policy and tardy policy?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It has been said \u2018You never get a second chance to make a first impression\u2019 so put a little thought and effort into your first day and help set the tone for the semester!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
For more help with this and other instructional design issues, contact me at Jen.Gregory@valpo.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jen Gregory, Director of Instructional Design Do you remember attending the first day of a college class?\u00a0 After receiving the syllabus and listening to a quick monologue from your instructor, you were probably excused for the rest of the hour? \u00a0\u00a0Although you were undoubtedly thrilled, what a waste of precious class time! Here…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,35],"tags":[67],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-32","category-35","tag-classroom-management"],"author_meta":{"display_name":"kim.pomeroy@valpo.edu","author_link":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/author\/kim-pomeroyvalpo-edu\/"},"featured_img":null,"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"Profile":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kim.pomeroy@valpo.edu","author_link":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/author\/kim-pomeroyvalpo-edu\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":" by Jen Gregory, Director of Instructional Design Do you remember attending the first day of a college class?\u00a0 After receiving the syllabus and listening to a quick monologue from your instructor, you were probably excused for the rest of the hour? \u00a0\u00a0Although you were undoubtedly thrilled, what a waste of precious class time! Here…","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["2015<\/a>","2018<\/a>"],"unlinked":["2015<\/span>","2018<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["classroom management<\/a>"],"unlinked":["classroom management<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 11 years ago","modified":"Updated 11 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 23, 2015","modified":"Updated on August 23, 2015"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 23, 2015 8:00 am","modified":"Updated on August 23, 2015 8:00 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intra.valpo.edu\/cital\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}