Hi Penny,
What a great way to make small talk as well. You have a great point about learning additional things about students.
Patricia
It is extremely important for an instructor to learn all of their students' names. But, an instructor should not stop there...s/he should also learn a few "fun facts" about each student such as which side of town they live on, how many siblings they have, where they are employed, where are they from originally, how many pets they have, etc. These are the conversations that make a student feel at ease in the classroom.
Hi Laura,
I teach 4-5 classes a term, and I have roughly 15-20 students in each class. A terms lasts five weeks. I am extremely good at memorizing names. You may want to try the name tents for a week or so to help out. You do have a lot of names to memorize on a very frequent basis.
Patricia
This part is extremely difficult for me. I teach 5-6 classes a term, and I have 25 students in each class. How do you go about remembering 125-150 new names every 3 months?
Hi Harold,
Absolutely! I like to have my students fully involved, and I do a lot of calling on students during class. Whenever I call on students, I like to utilize their name. It does make taking roll a lot faster whenver you know your students. Any way you look at it, it is so beneficial/helpful to learn student names.
Patricia
By learning the names quickly you also have the opportunity to call upon the student for answers to questions to see how well they are listening or following the course material. It also helps with taking the roll.
Hi Alan,
Most students are normally understanding if their name is mistaken. Students are even more understanding whenever the instructor is apologetic, such as yourself.
Patricia
I try to get to know students names as soon as possible. It's important to set up a rapport early on. It helps that they normally sit in the same spot each class. However, it can still take a few weeks. Especially if you have a number of classes. If I make a mistake or call them by another name, I will apoligize and say I'm sorry. I will add that I have another 40 or 50 students names to remember so please be patient.
Hello Melanie,
There are many different ways to help remember student names. I too use the association activity. I do not try to learn where students sit, it generally happens naturally, and I use this method to help memorize student names
I also learn where students tend to sit and learn their names that way. I also learn one thing about them that is unique, that they play guitar or like to ski. That helps me associate the name with an activity.
Hi Marina,
What a challenge in itself with the names being foreign. Continue to utilize your seating chart. I have found that name tents work nicely as well.
Patricia
I am horrible at learning names and most of my student have foreign names that are hard to pronounce, let alone learn. I have found that if I use a seating chart it helps me associate the face to the name in my roster. I also make sure to find out if there is a particular way that tey would lije to be adresses. The students do feel that I care and respect them when I can pronounce their names correctly within the first day or two of meeting them.
Hi Andrew,
Name tents are awesome! I have an instructor who lives by them because she is not great at memorizing names. Within the first week, she has all names memorized.
Patricia
I'm quite good with names and always get to know a little about the student which helps me remember their names and relate to them early. One instructor had difficulties and I suggested name tents and it worked quite well. I've seen them used in very esteemed programs at very esteemed universities.
Patricia, no offense intended, but this is college, not elementary school. I'm certainly open to other suggestions, but I don't find that one to inspire professionalism in my classroom.
No, students have never given suggestions for learning their names faster.
Hi Myra,
I am sure you have found that students also try to give you pointers to help memorize names. You may want to try desk paper name plates for a week in order to try to learn names quicker.
Patricia
I do tell my students that I'm bad with names, so please don't take it personally. But I promise to learn their names by the end of the first month. During that first month, I'll say, "Yes!" if I get a name right, and something like, "Dang it!" if I get it wrong. I may take longer than recommended, but the students see me working on it each class meeting. It almost become a game with them.
Hi John,
You are exaclty right. I make it a point to learn the name of my students on the very first class meeting. This is a good start to establish rapport.
Patricia
