i try to establish a connection,talkin about my teachers in the past when i was a student,talk about my professionel life and let them talk about why they are here and what are their goals after finishing culinary school
My class is generally the last class of a full year a given cohort has been together. Introductions and initial informal discussions help me get a feel for the different roles the group members play, and to break the ice in the hopes to communicate that I am easily approachable.
Introductions of yourself and the students will help create connectivity between the two. It will help set the students at eaase by knowing who they will be learning from and by knowing who is a part of their class.
I am getting to know who my students are; their goals, education so far, what they hope to get out of this course. By knowing what department they belong to, I can make the coursework more applicable to their professional field and to their cultural backgrounds. In my introduction to them, I hope to establish myself as the expert in the field by giving them information relating to my professional background. I also hope to begin connecting with them as a person and modelthe level of participation expected as I myself am not excempt from sharing information about myself. I have noticed that sharing information relating to my Puerto Rican background sets foreign students at ease and adds to a deeper level of inclusivity for them.
I agree that introductions can help to determine the students current learning levels. If I have a class of returning adult learners with work experience I adjust accordingly. Knowing their backgrounds & goals can help you become more focused on your delivery style thus keeping their attention.
I am getting a general sense of where the class is as far as thier current level of learning, how i can perhaps change or add or delete items and lessions within the cirriculum to adjust to not loose the students that are lacking and not bore the students that have paid attention in previous classes. I get to know thier backrounds and learn how we are all comming from simular situations and this helps the class come toghter as one unit to accomplish what the lessions of the day are.
