Please complete the following as you come in:

pick up handouts, folder, card, and marker from the entrance table

make a name card that will stand in front of you on your table

learn the names of those around you

Your First Day of Class: Construct a

Community of Learning

Steve Klien, Director, Center for Faculty Enrichment

Today we will… do what’s on the screen introduce ourselves go over the handout packet complete an interest inventory make folders lesson: “The First Day of Class” wrap up and look ahead

Who am I?

Steve KlienDirector, Center for Faculty Enrichment; Professor, Department of Communication Studies

Who am I?

Steve KlienDirector, Center for Faculty Enrichment; Professor, Department of Communication Studies

Who am I?

Steve KlienDirector, Center for Faculty Enrichment; Professor, Department of Communication Studies

So… who are you???(in no more than 10 seconds!)

• name• department you’ll teach in• hometown• degree institution• …and one thing you can’t resist!

Your handout packet• interest inventory• outline: “The First Day of Class,” Clement• handouts: Clement and Fink on the First

Day of Class; Desrochers, First Day Goals• handout: icebreaker suggestions

Interest inventory

Please take no more than five (5) minutes to complete this short form.

Leave the last section blank… that’s for later!

Course foldersPlease help me out: • use the label to put your name on the

folder• put your completed inventory in the

folder to turn in at session’s end

(First day) classroom strategies: a rationale

Key goals for the first day: (“Make the Most”, n.d.)

1. positive first impressions2. introduce yourself

effectively3. clarify learning

objectives, expectations4. help students learn

about each other

5. set tone for the course6. collect baseline data on

students7. whet appetites for

course8. inform students of

logistics

(First day) classroom strategies: a rationale

“Community of Inquiry” framework: (Garrison, Anderson, and Archer, 2000)

(First day) classroom strategies: an outline (Clement, in Garrett, 2011)

1. prepare!2. entrance table3. the focus activity4. daily list5. introductions,

icebreaker

6. go over the syllabus

7. interest inventory8. mini-lesson9. review and look

forward

First day strategy: Prepare!

• roster from Class List, with pictures!• know where the classroom is, and be sure you

have access• count the chairs, cross-check with roster• be sure you have all supplies• get to the room early!

(First day) strategy: Entrance table

…why?– instructor presence: establishes an entry

point for the learning experience– cognitive presence: students engage course

stuff immediately; on-time attendance reinforced!

– efficiency: saves you time distributing

(First day) strategy: Focus activity…what?

– something students can do ask they gather / first 2-3 minutes of class

…why?– cognitive presence: students engage course

stuff immediately; on-time attendance reinforced!

First day strategy: Intro icebreaker…why?

– instructor presence: students get to know you, as (a) warm and welcoming, and (b) professional, serious

– social presence: students start getting to know each other, and develop a sense that you are interested in them

– [cognitive presence – connect to course?]

(First day) strategy: Daily list…what?

– class day outline, always visible

…why?– cognitive presence: students reassured by

structured routine, during and across classes– efficiency: helps keep you on track over the

course of the class period

First day strategy: Interest inventory…why?

– instructor presence: provides you with helpful info to get to know your students

– instructor presence: provides cues re: focusing the class

– cognitive presence: engages your students directly, immediately on connecting themselves to the course

(First day) strategy: Course folders…why?

– efficiency: attendance procedure– efficiency: process for distributing

handouts, collecting student work– instructor/cognitive presence: establishes a

clear routine for students that requires accountable action

First day strategy: Mini-lesson…what?

– provide a lesson on course content on the very first day

…why?– efficiency: don’t waste a day!– instructor presence: establishes a serious,

substantive tone for learning environment– cognitive presence: students engage, Day 1

First day strategy: Mini-lesson…possible options?

– mini-lecture + activity: introduce core concepts – give a pre-test, and provide the answers– artifact and discussion: video clip, photo,

quotation, brief reading– demonstration: experiment, performance– problem-solving: model how, then have

student pairs solve problems

(First day) strategy: Lesson planFour steps: (Clement)

1. focus students2. present new material 3. apply new material (student learner-

centered activity)4. review, conclude, assess

– the “ticket out the door”

Application exercise!

1. by yourself, 5 minutes:– identify a core concept or initial example

that can provide a hook to connect students to the course

– sketch out a 4-step mini-lesson for it

2. share your lesson plan with your table-mates– feedback, suggestions?

Questions? Discussion?

Your “ticket out the door”• In the space provided on your interest

inventory, provide:1. one helpful idea you learned over the

course of the day, and/or2. one unanswered question you have that

we can address tomorrow • Place your inventory in your folder, and return

it to the entrance table on the way out!

Works Cited

Garrett, Jennifer, Ed. (2011). Ten ways to engage your students on the first day of class. Magna Publications White Paper. Madison, WI: Magna Publications.

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text- based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87–105

Make the most of the first day of class (n.d.). Eberly Center: Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation. Retrieved August 3, 2014 from http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/firstday.html