{"id":2132,"date":"2018-08-10T06:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?p=2132"},"modified":"2018-08-10T10:07:49","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T14:07:49","slug":"engaging-students-the-first-day-of-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/2018\/08\/10\/engaging-students-the-first-day-of-class\/","title":{"rendered":"Engaging Students on the First Day of Class"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When I was an undergraduate, the first day of class was frequently predictable: syllabus, expectations, teacher\u2019s introduction, a brief lesson, and early release. I tended to be more focused on who else was in the class (Do I know and like someone with whom to sit? If I don\u2019t know anyone else, who do I want to befriend?) than on the information being imparted.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2137\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2018\/08\/first-day-lecture.jpg\" alt=\"Students in a lecture hall at UVM\" width=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2018\/08\/first-day-lecture.jpg 400w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2018\/08\/first-day-lecture-300x213.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now, when I teach, I try to remember my own experiences and create a more engaging first class. I have students complete a syllabus scavenger hunt for homework (to free up in-person time). We play a 20-minute name game where every person\u2019s name gets repeated dozens of times. Students complete a gallery walk where they share their\u00a0beginner perspective on concepts we\u2019ll delve into further in the semester.<\/p>\n<p>By asking students to engage on the first day, I recognize that I am asking them to take risks and trust strangers. I\u2019m conscious that students may be thinking, \u201cWhy isn\u2019t this professor just handing out the syllabus and telling me about this course? Do I have to interact with these classmates and professor I don\u2019t know? What if I mess up or look stupid?\u201d I work to defuse anxiety by acknowledging the discomfort, being vulnerable with them (I participate in the name game and stumble my way through, too), and inviting them to be equal participants in their learning.<\/p>\n<p>I have found value from three articles that illustrate interesting approaches to the first day of class:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nea.org\/assets\/docs\/HE\/Fink1.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Provocation in the Halls of Academe: Bringing Piaget and Vygotsky into the University Classroom<\/a>\u00a0[pdf]<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.1002\/ntlf.10101\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First-Day Questions for the Learner-Centered Classroom<\/a>\u00a0[pdf]<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facultyfocus.com\/articles\/effective-teaching-strategies\/first-impressions-activities-for-the-first-day-of-class\/?st=FFdaily;s=FF180802;utm_term=FF180802&amp;utm_source=ActiveCampaign&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Activities+for+the+First+Day+of+Class&amp;utm_campaign=FF180802\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">First Impressions: Activities for the First Day of Class<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And, I\u2019m sure that many of you have effective and clever ways to share your enthusiasm, introduce students to new topics, and begin to build community. <em>Please comment on this post with anecdotes of what has worked well for you! If you\u2019re considering trying something new, what shift might you make to your first class session for greater student engagement?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">References<\/p>\n<p>Buirs, B. A. (2018, August 2). First impressions: Activities for the first day of class [Blog Post]. Retrieved from\u00a0https:\/\/www.facultyfocus.com\/articles\/effective-teaching-strategies\/first-impressions-activities-for-the-first-day-of-class\/?st=FFdaily;s=FF180802;utm_term=FF180802&amp;utm_source=ActiveCampaign&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Activities+for+the+First+Day+of+Class&amp;utm_campaign=FF180802<\/p>\n<p>Fink, D. B. (2014, Fall). Provocation in the halls of academe: Bringing Piaget and Vygotsky into the university classroom. <em>Thought &amp; Action<\/em>, 63-74. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.nea.org\/assets\/docs\/HE\/Fink1.pdf<\/p>\n<p>Smith. G. A. (2008, September). First-day questions for the learner-center classroom. <em>The National Teaching &amp; Learning Forum<\/em>, 17(5), 1-4. Retrieved from https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/epdf\/10.1002\/ntlf.10101<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I was an undergraduate, the first day of class was frequently predictable: syllabus, expectations, teacher\u2019s introduction, a brief lesson, and early release. I tended to be more focused on who else was in the class (Do I know and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/2018\/08\/10\/engaging-students-the-first-day-of-class\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5082,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6875],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-2132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-promote-to-ctl-home-page","tag-teaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5082"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2132"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2199,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2132\/revisions\/2199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}