Meeting the class for the first time
I agree that meeting the class the first day is sometimes a scarry thought, after about 15 minutes I start to get comfortable and things start to flow. A course syllabus works very well also, no suprises.
Hi Mark,
Great job of being a cheerleader for the course. You are right you do set the tone for the coming weeks. Your excitement will catch on with students. Keep up the good work.
Gary
The first day will make or break the class for the entire course. I've found that if I'm excited about the course (No matter how many times I've taught it) the students will become excited. I believe that this starts molding us into a team that wants to share in an exchange of knowledge.
Hi Bernie,
Way to go in setting the stage for what the course is going to be about, expectations from students and then learning about the knowledge and experience of the students in the class. A very nice blend that lets them see the expectations and resources that will be available to them during the coming course.
Gary
This is the most important class of the year. I take this classtime and create an atmosphere that will set the tone for a successful semester. I usually start with giving the class to talk to me about my experience's and education. This usually allows the students to get to build trust in me. I then try to get to know what each student's experience is and the basic knowledge they have in the subject matter. We then get into the syllabus. I do take time to explain it completely, trying to leave nothing unexplained. In my opinipon once I set the tone with the syllabus everybody now is on the same page and we continue into the class outline and we preview the text.
