First Day of Class
Why does this matter?
On the first day of class, set expectations by establishing tone, clarifying the syllabus, and measuring students’ prior knowledge. Create rapport by co-creating classroom behavioral expectations. First impressions make a big difference, and students will interpret the tone of the course from the way the first day is conducted.
What does this look like in practice?
Set high expectations while maintaining approachability
Conveying your high expectations, along with your confidence that students have the capacity to achieve those expectations, can improve students’ motivation, their perceptions of you, and their perceptions of the course itself (Cohen et al., 1999). Emphasize that you are there to support their learning. Because the learning objectives and syllabus will guide the course, it’s critical that students understand their relevance from the beginning. Encourage students to engage with the syllabus. For example, task students with finding course-related information by putting them into small groups and giving them a short time to answer five to ten questions about the syllabus. This will convey that relevant course information is in the syllabus and that students should look there before asking you.
Students’ prior knowledge (or lack thereof) can impact subsequent learning
Take time during the first day of class (or prior to the second class) to measure the extent and quality of students’ prior knowledge (Ambrose et al., 2010). Ask students to complete a diagnostic pre-assessment. For example, administer a quiz that includes concepts or calculations related to the course content or ask students to complete a concept map showing the relationship between prerequisite concepts. Grade for completion rather than correctness.
Establish classroom behavior expectations
In addition to conveying your expectations to your students regarding their success, it’s also important to establish behavioral norms and expectations for the classroom. Ask your students to generate a list of their own classroom behavioral norms and expectations and then share how they think violations to the agreed-to list should be handled. This activity can be done anonymously using polling software such as Poll Everywhere.
References
- Ambrose, S. A., Lovett, M., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching.
- Cohen, G. L., Steele, C. M., & Ross, L. D. (1999). The mentor’s dilemma: Providing critical feedback across the racial divide. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25(10), 1302- 1318. https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/les/the_mentors_dilemma.pdf
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