First Day of Class

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What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

That Huge Lecture Theatre by teddy-rised on flickr CC

2 Amphitheater in El Djem, Tunisia. Built by the Romans in 3rd Century AD – “The amphitheater was used for filming some of the scenes

from the 1979 Monty Python film Life of Brian and was also used for filming some of the scenes from the Academy Award (Oscar)

winning film Gladiator.” (Wikipedia entry for “El Djem”)

(Image: Tunisia 3277 by archer10 on flickr CC)

First Day of Class

CTD WEEKLY WORKSHOPS:

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Peter Newbury

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca

ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd

resources at ctd.ucsd.edu/programs/weekly-workshops-winter-2014/

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

12:00 – 12:50 pm Center Hall, Rm 316

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

your respect for them

your desire for all of them to succeed

(CWSEI, [1])

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

your respect for them

your desire for all of them to succeed

(CWSEI, [1])

Is that all?

C’mon, you’ve got

50 minutes!

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. Don’t go over the details

Wait, when do you welcome them?

When do you tell them your name?

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Clicker question

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How do your want your students to address you?

A) Dr. Smith

B) Mr. / Ms. /Mrs. Smith

C) Professor Smith

D) Michael / Elizabeth (first name)

E) Mike / Beth (familiar, nickname)

friend students

class twitter acct

professional acct

professional/personal

follow students

will you initialize

google hangouts?

participate in them?

class pinterest

class flickr acct

Social Media

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How many of these social

media channels do you think

you’ll use to connect with

your students?

other?

LinkedIn

Think-Pair-Share

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What’s the difference between academic misconduct

and academic integrity?

Course details: don’t

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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.

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(Image: Peter Newbury CC-BY-NC)

Why is this necessary?

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You want every student to leave the first class thinking,

“This will be a good course, I’m ok being here.”

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 class do’s and don'ts

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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.

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

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.

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First Day of Class

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

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

Try to 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 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

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

Involve students during

class

Talk the entire class time

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First Day of Class

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

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

End class on time with a

slide containing pertinent

info:

your name

office hours

contact info

course website

homework

important thing

End class early

(establish expectations)

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

Repeat vital info at the

beginning of the 2nd class,

too

your name

contact info

course website

Assume everyone was

there in the 1st class.

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

Reinforce all of these

messages (motivation,

personalized learning,

expectations,…)

periodically throughout

the course, at the

appropriate times.

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First Day of Class

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

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First Day of Class

Do Don’t

CTD WEEKLY WORKSHOPS:

THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS

Peter Newbury

Center for Teaching Development,

University of California, San Diego

pnewbury@ucsd.edu @polarisdotca

ctd.ucsd.edu #ctducsd

resources at ctd.ucsd.edu/programs/weekly-workshops-winter-2014/

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

12:00 – 12:50 pm Center Hall, Rm 316

References

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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). Movitating

Learning. Available under Instructor Guidance Resources at

cwsei.ubc.ca