Learning from Instructor and Student Introductions
What are you accomplishing through introductions of yourself and the students?
It a wonderful ice-breaker, by allowing the students to get to know one another and hearing the differences and simularities of their fellow classmates.
When doing introductions I have done a few different things. I have asked students to tell me what area of our field they plan on going into and why. I have also played an ice-breaker game with the students to give me a little more insight into their personalities, likes and dislikes. I like doing these games/questions because it gives me an idea of who each individual is.
You can establish a rapport with students by exchanging introductions and identifying common interests and experiences. This will not happen with all students, but perhaps with some. It may help engage a student who otherwise would not have been engaged.
When performing instructor introduction, I am establishing myself as an authority in the field. I am also giving out personal information so that the students get a feeling that I am a person also.
When performing student introductions, I am picking up small bits of information about the students. These bits of information may be glimpses into issues outside of class that could bleed over. The information that the students give out can be used to help tailor the class to specific learning styles.
Well said Sonny! I find this is a very important learning moment for student and instructor. Building this solid framework is key to our mutual success.
P.S. I have found done well, it makes the process easier and more enjoyable.
Gloria,
I love the first class meeting because of what I learn about my students. Your approach is supportive and informative which lets them see that they are in the hands of a caring and supportive learning leader. In addition they get to learn about classmates which in turn can lead to friendships and support as you mention. A wonderful first meeting for all. Thanks for sharing your strategy with us.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
On my first day of class if it is a class of new students I have them go around the class to introduce themselves and tell three things about themselves that would give us a better insight to whom each individual is. By conducting this type of introduction I have found that students feel more at ease, you will see friendships start to
form. It may be an ethic friendship or maybe they went to the same high school or they have things in common. It has made it easier to get to the items at hand that need to follow such as the syllabus, classroom expectations. Students feel more at ease with eachother. This process has worked for me in the 15 years that I have been teaching.
Jay,
Very interesting discussion and great learning experience as you say for yourself. This is one of the reasons I love teaching. We get to learn constantly from our students.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Learning about each other is a learning tool. I was teaching a class on health ethics and the topic was Is Health Care a Right or a Privilege? I had falsely assumed that the students who I believed were more economically deprived would be in favor of free health care. To my surprise, the majority of immigrants culturally favored health care as a privilege. In their eyes you had to earn everything.
I learned a lot from them that semester.
Patrick,
It is fun to start off a new class and get to know the students. Your approach enables this to happen and everyone can get settled into the course and start to become members of that learning community.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
You are beginning to build a Rapport with your students. The students get an chance to learn something about their instructor and the instructors qualifications. The instructor gets a chance to get to know a little bit about the students. I usually will ask for specific info during intros to gauge various things such as commute, expectations, goals, motivations, etc.
Introduce yourself as instructor give to the student Instructor background and education.
the same way give to the instructor the who is who and educational background,major,career goal.
Rapport and key understanding about who is in the classroom, what their background is and what they are bringing to the table. It's the key ingredient in setting the tone for cooperative learning and a learning conducive environment.
ALLAN,
This is so true and so important as you get the course under way. The more you can help them feel comfortable and get settled in the better. They need to feel support is there if needed and that their instructor cares about them and their success. This is the foundation upon which the rest of the course is going to be built.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Familiarity helps relax students and instructors. Generally, we are most comfortable working with people "we know" and introductions is the first step to getting to know someone. I also think that it helps in terms of instructor credibility on a topic: It gives the instructor a chance to "provide his / her credentials" to new students. I think students want to know whether or not they are learning from someone with experience in the field of study.
I think that is a good idea!
Stephanie,
I like to have introductions and then do an ice breaker. This helps the students to get settled into the course and I get to learn about more about them and their purpose for being in the course.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
Introductions allows the instructor to gain more insight about the students.
This is a practice that I use in my classroom.
Landis,
Respect is earned while you get students settled into the course and then rapport starts to be developed through the efforts you have shared with us. When rapport is developed teaching becomes a lot of fun because you are teaching as well as working with pre-professionals that are going to be the next generation of workers in your field.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
