Assessing first night class members
As the previous session noted, this writer tends to take the opportunity to gauge the varying levels of student skills, ages, time out of school, courses taken to date... such that all information is available to instructor to provide the best possible learning experience. This also allows the opportunity for others to get together as they may feel "they can relate to one another". It's a great start. I am sure to mention how important a support system is throughout our course.
Louis,
This is a good way to get a "read" on the class because their answers will help you with your instructional selection and delivery. In addition, I think it is good for the students to verbalize why they are in the course and what their goals are.
Gary
Gary Meers, Ed.D.
I have found that when I ask the students what their expectations,goals and previous experience or lack of it are at the beginning of the class, I can use this knowledge as I am teaching, to refer to specific subjects or experiences that students are familiar with or have the desire to learn more about.
Hi Meredith,
You ask a very good question concerning asking specific questions of specific students. As there are many variables involved in giving a specific answer to the question I would suggest you do it on an experimental basis. Ask questions of the specific students and see what kind of responses you get. You will get a idea of whether this method is working very quickly. If it does go for it. If it doesn't you can try another approach.
Gary
I would agree with the postings so far, which support the material we have just reviewed: getting to know the students improves retention, builds relationships, and can increase the student involvement in the course.
In our learning, I really enjoyed the short video of the professor who talked about the student info cards that he studied so that he would know who to call on to contribute to a specific case.
I would like to apply this technique when teaching online. I do ask students for some background info and goals, which they post in a discussion forum in the first week. This is optional, as I cannot offer points for this discussion post. Most students do participate; some do not.
In the unit discussions, I am very interactive in responding to the students' posts. However, I have never utilized their introductory info to ask a certain student a certain question regarding the material. Do you think this would be effective in the online environment, or would the student perceive it more as me 'singling them out,' which could create a poor impression or an impression of inequality since I am not asking the same thing of every student?
Good Point! There is nothing more frustrating to me than to think my professor or my instructor does not care who I am only that I am in class. I believe that it is very critical that the students get a since of being valued even before they start class. I have an opportunity to meet and greet new students at orientation. I will use the suggested information in this module to ease the apprehensive students fears.
I really enjoy the first day of classes. It is a great way to meet all of the students and have them learn more about each other. It can be really fun for all involved, and at the same time can provide valuable information that I can use as the instructor.
Hi Angie,
I know you are going to be please with the feedback you get as a result of using this approach. This is going to get your students focused on the course content while also getting them to work in diverse group settings. This is preparation for the work world as we all know we have to do this in order to be successful.
Gary
I am actually thinking of adding some of these specific "getting to know you" questions to my first-day icebreaker. They are great for getting to know where your students are coming from and how they may be expecting to learn in the course. I also felt it was a good idea to assign groups (when needed) according to student age, including a variety of ages in each group. That is something that I'll be using in the future as well.
Hi Andrew,
This is a great strategy for reading your students. This way you can do just what you commented about--adjust to meet their needs based upon the information you have about them. This is customized education for all those involved.
Gary
"Getting to know" my students on the first night is invaluable to me. I find that by having the students talk about themselves, goals for the class and overall enrollment I gain valuable insight as to how their experiences will help them learn. I make note of some of the information so that during the class I can answer questions or explain concepts by using the students specific situation and applying the concept or idea to it. The students will usually have an "ah ha!" moment when I do that.
