Learning%20Students

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Learning Students Names

• Some tips and tricks

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Why it matters

• Having to learn the names of new students each
  term can make instructors anxious
• Butmany believe that knowing student names
  improves the classroom climate
• Relaxes the atmosphere
• Demonstrates interest

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Why it matters

• Two things that get students most involved in
  their undergraduate education are
• Faculty-student interaction
• Student-student interaction
• Learning student names is an effective means of
  improving both of these interactions

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Why it matters

• Learning names reduces the distance between
  instructor and student.
• Engaging students, by name, in personal
  conversation helps to make the subject matter
  more accessible.
• Addressing students by name indirectly fosters
  student student interaction.

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That doesnt mean its easy

• Are you name-learning challenged?
• Trouble remembering students names outside of
  class?
• Ormore trouble remembering a name in a sea of
  faces?

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Not to worryhelp is on the way

• Techniques that may help include

• Name tags or tents
• Office visits
• Information cards
• Name games

• Subgroups
• Student interviews
• Location/seating chart
• Pre-class review

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Name Tags or Tents

• Name tags
• Name tents
• Variations
• Students or Instructor keep
• Personalized license plate
• A sentence to remember

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Office Visits

• Arrange office visits early in the term
• Keep track of who visits and why
• Connect concerns/problems with individuals

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Information Cards

• Information cards
• Photos/ID copies
• Background information
• Expectations of the class
• Information about likes and dislikes

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Student Interviews

• Pair up and interview each other
• Unique traits
• Unusual hobbies, accomplishments
• Group and ask for things in common
• Leave the room and have them self-organize

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Name Games

• Have each student introduce themselves
• Each student who follows must also give the names
  of the students who have already introduced
  themselves
• End with instructor
• Variations provide some characteristic
  information during introduction

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Seating Chart

• Have your students sit in the same spot, at least
  for a while, and make a seating chart.
• Get used to faces in the same location
• Spatially organize

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Pre- and Post-Class Review

• Study the roster prior to class.
• Learn to recognize names first
• Review the roster immediately after class
• Repeat as needed for the first few classes

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Subgroups

• Especially useful for large classes
• Students normally sit in the same locations
• Visualizeand possibly even photograph the
  groups they sit in

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A Week Long Approach

• Monday familiarize yourself with roster
• Tuesday take note of students habits
• Wednesday student introductions
• Thursday reinforce after class
• Friday seating chart review

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Miscellaneous

• Mnemonics
• Connect to someone you know
• Draw each students features
• Self-introductions with descriptions

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References

• www.cmu.edu/teaching/resources/studentnames.html
• www.indiana.edu/teaching/names.html
• www.ku.edu/cte/resources/teachingtips/learningnam
  es.html
• www.glencoe.com/ps/teachingtoday/weeklytips.phtml/
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• www.unl.edu/gradstud/GSAP/names.html
• www.smcoe.k12.ca.us/ssfusd/as/faculty/RemNames.htm
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