The College Classroom Wi16 Meeting 10: The First Day of Class
1. The College Classroom Meeting 10:
The First Day of Class
March 8 and 10, 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
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
2. By the end of the first class, you want
students to have a good sense of
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu2
ï± why the course is interesting and worthwhile
ï± what kind of classroom environment you want
ï± how the course will be conducted
ï± why the particular teaching methods are being used
ï± what the students need to do to learn the material and
succeed in the course
Also,
ï± you respect them
ï± your want all of them to succeed (CWSEI, [1])
3. By the end of the first class, you want
students to have a good sense of
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu3
ï± why the course is interesting and worthwhile
ï± what kind of classroom environment you want
ï± how the course will be conducted
ï± why the particular teaching methods are being used
ï± what the students need to do to learn the material and
succeed in the course
Also,
ï± you respect them
ï± your want all of them to succeed (CWSEI, [1])
Is that all?
Câmon, youâve got
50 minutes!
4. The First Day of Class[1]
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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. Donât go over the details
5. The First Day of Class[1]
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu5
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. Donât go over the details
Wait, when do you
welcome them?
When do you tell
them your name?
6. Why is this necessary?
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ï± You want every student to leave the first class thinking,
âThiswillbeagoodcourse,Iâm okbeinghere.Ihavesomething
tocontribute.â
ï± If you donât do it,âstudents 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.â
(CWSEI, Motivating Learning)
9. First Day of Class
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu9
If you donât have time to do
everything, perhaps start with the
items in the middle that support all
three components.
10. When you're the instructor, what do
you want your students to call you?
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Donât want âProfessorâ,âDrâ,
âInstructorâ without a last name
11. 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
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Which of these
social media channels
will you (do you) use
to connect with your
students?
12. First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu12
ï± make the icebreaker useful â introduce students to an
authentic task theyâll learn and practice during the course
ï± use to create a learning community in LARGE classes
13. Think-Pair-Share
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Whatâs the difference between academic misconduct
and academic integrity?
14. Course details: donât
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ï± Donât go into details during first class:
give links to more details on
ï± course syllabus
ï± detailed schedule
ï± detailed learning outcomes
ï± academic misconduct integrity
ï± deadlines
ï± rules/policies (eg, late assignments, missed examsâŠ)
ï± Could give an assignment involving reading these.
15. Microteaching Presentations
See blog for details
collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu/wi16-microteaching-experience/
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16. First class doâs and don'ts
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17. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Check out classroom
before the first class
ï± clicker hardware?
ï± podium computer?
ï± lapel mic (âlavâ)?Try it.
ï± presentation remote
works from back of
room?
ï± assume youâll be able to
figure it out at the time.
ï± let a technical problem
ruin your only chance
to make a first
impression.
17
18. First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Start the class on time.
(establish expectations)
ï± arrive late (what
expectation does that
establish?)
ï± have âintimateâ
conversation with
students in the front
rows while you wait for
others to wander in.
This doesnât
âpersonalizeâ the class.
18
Do Donât
19. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
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
ï± interesting/worthwhile
ï± do-able with appropriate
effort
Say threatening things like
ï± telling them you expect
some to fail
ï± telling them that students
donât usually like the
course
ï± telling tell them that
students find the course
extremely difficult
19
20. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Give them an authentic
experience of what the
class will be like.
ï± If youâre going to use
peer instruction, do it
even if some donât have
clickers yet.
ï± email pre-reading
assignment 2 days before
the first class
Use teaching practices that
are inconsistent with how
youâll teach the rest of the
time:
ï± donât use clickers if
youâre not (really) going
to use clickers
20
21. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Involve students during
class
Talk the entire class time
21
22. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Address academic conduct
in context throughout the
course:
ï± talk about plagiarism
when you give out a
writing assignment, not
now
Emphasize rules and
penalties on the first day:
ï± sends a message of
distrust
ï± theyâre not listening
anyway
22
23. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
End class on time with a
slide containing info:
ï± your name
ï± office hours
ï± contact info
ï± course website
ï± homework
ï± important thing
End class early
(establish expectations)
23
24. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
Repeat vital info at the
beginning of the 2nd class
ï± your name
ï± contact info
ï± course website
Assume everyone was there
in the 1st class.
24
25. Do Donât
First Day of Class - collegeclassroom.ucsd.edu
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
youâre doing it because
youâre required to.)
25
26. Do Donât
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Have a growth mindset about
your students:
You must believe every one of
your students is capable of
learning your courseâs content.
If you donât, you may
inadvertently deny your
students learning opportunities.
Have a fixed mindset about
your studentsâ abilities,
including
ï± your job is to find 5%
who will be like you
ï± your job is to filter out
students from advancing
to the next course
26
27. Thank-youâŠ
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ï± for your enthusiasm for teaching and learning
ï± for your commitment to this class
ï± for generously sharing your expertise
Iâm a better instructor because the shared understanding of
teaching and learning weâve built together.
28. References
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1. CarlWieman Science Education Initiative (2009). First Day of
Class â 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