The College Classroom Fa15 Meeting 9: The First Day of Class

The College Classroom

Meeting 9: First Day of Class

December 1 and 3, 2015

Peter Newbury

Center for Engaged Teaching

UC San Diego

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu commons.ucsd.edu

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By the end of the first class, you want

students to have a good sense of

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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.”

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 8

First Day of Class

collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu 9

If you don’t have time to do

everything, perhaps start with the

items in the middle that support all

three components.

Tuesday AM meeting


Tuesday PM meeting


Thursday meeting


When you're the instructor, what do

you want your students to call you?


Don’t want “Professor”, “Dr”,

“Instructor” without a name

friend students?

class twitter acct

professional /personal acct

follow students?

class pinterest

class flickr acct

link to students?

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

Think-Pair-Share


What’s the difference between academic misconduct

and academic integrity?

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/fa15-microteaching-experience/


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.

20


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.

21

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

22

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

23

Do Don’t


Involve students during

class

Talk the entire class time

24

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

25

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)

26

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.

27

Do Don’t


Reinforce all of these

messages (motivation,

personalized learning,

expectations,…)

periodically throughout the

course, at the appropriate

times.

28

Do Don’t


Have a growth mindset:

You must believe all of

your students are 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

29

Thank-you…


for your enthusiasm for teaching and learning

for your commitment to this class

for generously sharing your expertise

I have a better understanding of teaching and learning and

I’m a better instructor because of what I learned with and

from you…

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