Inundating the students from the get-go?
I teach a six-to-eight week technical certification course. During the first class, in addition to many of the items on the To Do list, I often lecture on the first chapter in our text. This is not a necessity, as there is plenty of time to get through the material - I do it to give the students a feel for the "theoretical" portion of the course.
Do you think this is too much for the first class?
Hi Scott,
Sounds like you have a real good way of starting new courses off. Engaging the students is the key and it sounds like you are doing a good job of such.
Keep up the good work.
Gary
I too have an outline and teach a course that is completed in 3 weeks. I do not have a full day to let the class settle in. However my course structure is flexible enough to allow me to have an activity driven 1st day. This allows me to have time for course introduction, instructor introductions, as well as student introductions. The activities are fun, fast paced and are directly related to the 1st chapter. There has been some prep time in creating and administering the activities. The students love it and they are learning while they are having fun.
I cannot agree with you more about the nature of the course and the feeling of being "rushed". It is particularly difficult if it is a science course and you have to complete 9 chapters in 10 class days which also includes giving them quizzes, tests and a final exam. It can be overwhelming both for the instructor as well as the student.
I think it depends on the course itself, the length of time and the material that has to be covered. One of the courses I teach is Computerized Billing, and because there is so much material to be covered, I usually lecture the first class. There are 15 chapters that have to be covered in a five weeks period. There is no time to waste. Each class session usually last for two or four hours, depending on if it's a day, night or weekend class, so there is usually enough time to do everything and lecture in the first class.
Hi Mark,
You are in a tough situation. The old rock and hard place problem. When I start a course I not only do the introductions, but I use some "ice breakers" that are directly tied to the content. So I am making content progress but allowing the students to get settled and comfortable with me, their classmates and the course. I base the ice breakers on immediate use of newly acquired knowledge. Something fun and has application.
Gary
I would love to hold back until the second day to get into the meat of the course, but my course outline dictates to me what material must be covered and when-part of the school's requirements. This makes it difficult for me to drop behind. Plus it takes quite a great deal of effort on my part to catch up if I do drop behind. Plus, this makes the students feel rushed, so it's something I like to avoid whenever possible. So like always, I'm stuck in the middle.
Hi Martin,
This is a hard question to answer because much depends upon student response. Are the students mentally focused enough to benefit from the lecture during the first class? Do they need some more time to get settled and become comfortable with you and their fellow students?
I have found success with having a series of "ice breaker" activities directly tied into the course that I use the first class meeting. This way the students get to experiment with the new information and have some fun in applying it. They leave have some general knowledge, some application and importantly some success with the career area. The next class is when I bare down on the content at the regular pace that will dictate the operation of the class.
Gary
