FIRST DAY OF CLASS

1
FIRST DAY OF CLASS

• DEVELOPED
• March, 2006

2
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES

• Instructor will learn how to plan an effective
  lesson for first day of class
• Instructor will be able to create a learning
  environment that incorporates the needs adult
  learners
• Instructor will learn methodologies to use in
  classroom that integrate active learning
  techniques

3

• The FIRST DAY OF CLASS is the first and most
  important way to establish good classroom
  management

4
YOUR FIRST DAY!

• Your first day is often the
• make or break session.

5
FIRST DAY OF CLASS

• Kindsvatter et. al (1996) refers to the first
  day as the most important day of class in terms
  of its potential impact. Students acquire their
  first impressions at this meeting, the tenor of
  the class is established and momentum is
  initiated so an instructor does not want to
  underestimate the importance of this particular
  session in his/her planning.
• REF Kindsvatter, R. Wilen, W. Dynamics of
  Effective Teaching. Longman Publishers

6
FIRST DAYCourse Syllabus

• Make sure that you have copies of the course
  syllabus. Your syllabus should include the
  following information
• Course objectives and specific information and
  skills students should attain to pass the course
• Dates for events (tests, reports, assignments)
• Specific guidelines for major assignment, ( i.e.
  research papers)
• Contact information for you, as the instructor

7
FIRST DAY Course Syllabus

• Information on the class conduct and appropriate
  classroom behavior (cell phones exiting early
  and arriving late)
• Specific College rules that will be followed in
  class
• Grading scales and guidelines for how class work,
  assignments, projects, tests will be graded
• Information on how to challenge a grade

8
FIRST DAY Get to Know Students

• Get to know the studentslearn their names and
  their goals and what they expect to gain out of
  your class
• By the end of the class on the first day, be
  sure to have received from students information
  about themselves on a 3x5 index card.
• their name
• address
• contact information
• telephone number
• email address
• program
• their specific goals
• any additional information that they may wish
  to give.

9
FIRST DAYLesson Content

• Relate the lesson content to the experiences that
  some of them may have had
• Relate the lesson content to their program and
  program objectives and be sure that they
  understand the application of the content
  presented to their future career

10
FIRST DAY Establish Daily Classroom Routines

• Students like to have a sense of stability in
  their classroom. The instructor should set
  routines and procedures that are efficient and
  benefit the students as well as the
  instructor

11
FIRST DAY Establish Daily Classroom Routines

• Each day the teacher should write the following
  information on the WHITEBOARD
• Teachers name
• Class name and section
• Date
• Class objective for the day
• Activities with time limits
• Any school announcements or information
  students need to know

12
FIRST DAY Establish Daily Classroom Routines

• Set Routines for the following activities
• Homeworkwhen collected, turning in late
  homework, how homework will be graded
• Start of class activities
• Keyboarding classes warm-up drills are done
• Question of the day activity
• Related current event topic to be written about
• Topic/Vocabulary the day

13
MORE CLASSROOMROUTINES

• LABS and lab procedures
• Who takes out equipment
• How distributed
• How collected at the end of the class
• Routines help to organize the classroom and to
  save valuable classroom time.

14
FIRST DAY Classroom Routines

• H. K. Wong, in his book, The First Days of
  School, says that the most common classroom
  management routine is to have students begin work
  as soon as they walk into the classroom.
  Teachers should establish class routines and
  procedures that ensure students know what is
  expected of them.

15
ESTABLISHING CLASS ROUTINES

• Enlist the aid of the students to determine the
  classroom rules that work for everyone
• Gather class together and brainstorm on class
  ideas for specific rules and regulations
• List all suggestions on the board
• Choose the ones that receive general consent, add
  the ones that you believe specifically apply to
  your classroom

16
FIRST DAY Use Methods that Actively Engage
Students in Lesson

• Plan a lesson that incorporates a variety of
  active learning activities so that students will
  expect this to become a daily routine in the
  class. Use some of these suggested active
  learning activities
• Demonstrations/and hands-on experiments
• Classroom Simulations
• Case studies
• Field work and/or internships

17
FIRST DAY Use Methods that Actively Engage
Students in Lesson

• Worksheets in the classroom
• Student led presentations
• Oral and written assignments
• Internet activities
• Use of media and technology
• Jigsaw classroom

18
FIRST DAY Use Methods that Actively Engage
Students in Lesson

• Be sure to call on or make sure that every
  student participates in the class. Students
  should always feel that they will be a
  contributor to the class.

19
FIRST DAY -- Getting Student Feedback

• Very important that, in addition to getting all
  students to participate, feedback should be
  obtained periodically throughout the lesson from
  students. Use some of the methods presented to
  obtain this very important feedback.

20
FIRST DAY Getting Student Feedback

• THE MINUTE PAPER- at the end of class (or prior
  to break) students answer two questionswhat was
  the most important thing you learned in class
  what questions remain unanswered?
• MUDDIEST POINT students answer, What was the
  muddiest pointthey did not understandin the
  classroom today?
• ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY students provide a
  one-sentence summary of the lesson or topic
  presentedanswering the who, what, when, where,
  how, and why. This can be used at any point in
  the lesson.

21
FIRST DAY Getting Student Feedback

• BRAINSTORMING by all students to answer a
  question in class
• NOTE PARTNER pair students, have them review
  and compare notes
• FEEDBACK from class on completion of Worksheets
  distributed that students filled in from lecture
  points.
• THINK- PAIR SHARE activity to allow a student to
  process information with a partner

22
FIRST DAY Getting Student Feedback

• WORD JOURNAL students choose a word from the
  lesson and write a brief summary of its
  significance.
• APPLICATION CARDS students write on a card
  their view of how the information covered can
  apply to their career.
• DIRECT PARAPHRASING students write a summary of
  the topic presented to present to a different
  person in a related field.
• INTEREST SURVEY instructor provides a survey to
  students to determine their interest and career
  goals.

23
Activity I

• Review Chapters 1-3 in McKeachie, Teaching Tips,
  Houghton Mifflin and the text, 500 Tips for
  Teachers by Brown, Earlam Race (copies in your
  campus library). Compare your lesson plan for
  your next class with the ideas presented above
  and in the chapters in the reference texts. What
  changes and additions can you make to your
  lessons to assure success during your first
  class. Email this information to
  jcopeland_at_ecpi.edu

24
Activity II

• Read the interview with Harry Wong, author of
  The First Days of School How to be an Effective
  Teacher. Review his ideas and write a brief
  summary of the suggestions he proposes in
  classroom management (www.EducationWorld.com
  website use search engine to locate the article)

25
Challenge

• ECPI will challenge you to develop a lesson for
  the First Day of Class that will have all
  students rushing to your class the next class
  session. Challenge yourself to take the time and
  use your skills and knowledge to achieve this
  goal.