The first day of class
As college students everywhere are heading back into the classroom after winter break, I thought it would be useful to explore one of my favorite topics, the first day of class. I love leading workshops about the first day of class, especially for new teachers. No matter how long you have been teaching, it is important to respect the power and potential of that first day. The first day of class is like the foundation of a house, or the introduction of the paper: it all builds from there. Students are nervous and unsure of what to expect, they may even have new sneakers and notebooks, all to get ready for your class. There is a real power in the anticipation that comes with a new beginning. How do you want to start their journey with you?
My favorite resource on this is from James Lang, How to Teach a Good First Day of Class. He outlines four principles to guide your thinking on how to plan: curiosity, community, learning, and expectations. On that first day you have the exciting project of getting students curious about your subject, starting to build the community of the classroom, learning some course material, and setting expectations to guide the way forward. Building on Lang’s advice, today I am sharing how I plan my first day to help you think about yours.
As a graduate-level communication instructor, I start my seminar-style classes by introducing myself, my background, and why I am enthusiastic about teaching the class. Then I ask students to interview each other in pairs. I ask them to find out each other’s names and what they want to be called, department/ field, something about their work, and their goals for the class. Students share this information with each other, and then introduce their partner to the group. As they are doing their introductions, I take notes of things to remember about each student, as well as specific goals they mention. After each introduction I ask the person being introduced if their partner missed anything. At certain points in the break between people, I ask students if they can name everyone the class has met so far. After the activity, I ask the students why we started the class that way. A few points that always come up:
This is a speaking class and now we’ve already had to speak in front of the whole group.
I had to listen and pay close attention to what my partner was saying, and I had the chance to listen to everyone in the room.
Introducing someone else is easier than introducing myself, because then I don’t feel self-conscious talking about myself.
We have common goals.
I write the goals students shared on the board, and after we debrief the activity, I go over the syllabus and talk about each component of the class and their key assignments. I also ask students what they think they need to work on after the first activity. This does the job of connecting the warm-up with the business of the class, and shows the students how the class is designed to help them reach their goals. I also walk students through the Canvas site for the course, so that they can see the resources they will be using and how to use them. I close the class by going over the homework and plans for the next class, and then I have them do a minute paper. I pass out index cards and ask them to take a minute before leaving to write down, anonymously:
One thing they learned
One thing they are confused about
One thing they want to know more about
Let’s unpack my plans as we think about best practices for the first day.
Instructor enthusiasm and credibility. Think about what you want students to know about you and your take on the course material. Students especially need to know why you are excited about teaching the class, and what you have to offer, so that they can be excited about it too. There are many ways an instructor can do this, depending on their personality and their relationship to the subject.
Use of class time and interactive activities. It is important to have students do things on the first day that are representative of how they will spend their time in class going forward. If you want your class to be interactive, plan interactive activities they can do to get used to working together. Discuss participation norms and expectations as students get to know each other. I like talking through the syllabus after students have already met and shared their goals, so they can see more directly how the class is tailored to their needs, and they meet each other and feel comfortable in the room before they listen to me. What will work for your class? You can decide if it makes more sense to do an activity that hooks students into the material before or after you take them through the intellectual project of the course through the syllabus. Creativity and fun tied to your subject matter can help break the ice and get them interested. My 14-year-old still talks about the first day of his 8th grade English class, where the teacher had them all reading a poem together. It really made an impression, and he even said, “mom, in most classes we just got to know each other on the first day, but my English teacher really got us thinking!”
Housekeeping and expectations. Don’t skip the policies and procedures thinking students will read them later. If you want students to understand and use the course website, you need to go over it with them. Taking time to show things in class signals their importance to students.
Feedback. Ending with a minute paper sets you up to do one at the end of each session, to keep the lines of communication open between instructor and students. Minute papers and other low-stakes assessments are easy and powerful interventions instructors can make to improve student learning and their own experience of teaching. Students get in the habit of it, which helps them learn, and also helps you keep a pulse on how everyone is doing and what is coming up as you plan for upcoming sessions. You should start the next class by sharing key ideas that came up in the minute papers and addressing any issues that are relevant for the whole group, so that students know you pay attention to them. If personal things come up, you can remind students of your office hours and encourage them to talk to you directly.
What are your favorite things to do on the first day of class? Want some ideas or a thought partner as you plan for this semester of teaching? Check out this Getting Started as a Teacher Guide to learn more or reach out to me!
