Strategies for the First Day/Week of Class

The first day of class, or the first week of online courses, sets the tone of the entire semester. First impressions matter, and the first day is a crucial opportunity to establish a supportive environment where every student feels welcome, valued, and encouraged to participate. How can we create a first day/week experience to motivate and engage our students?

Spark Curiosity

Just as the first day sets the tone, it also sets the motivation. Start learning! The days of spending the first session ‘going over the syllabus’ are long gone. Find some interesting activity that shows the benefits of learning in your field while also getting students engaged with the content right away.

Ideas include:

• Engage in a brief activity that help students see why this course matters to them. How will they use the content in their future profession? Can they rewrite the learning outcomes into their own words for their own context and interests?
• Rather than reading through a list of topics to be covered, reframe this into a list of fascinating questions that students are going to explore.
• Is there a problem or experiment that you know tends to impress students that can be shown on the first day? Or an interesting case study, scenario, or burning question in your field that always raises curiosity?
• Can you introduce a concept that they can grapple with that will be addressed later in the semester? Or an activity that shows how knowledge is formed in your field?
• Consider using anonymous polling questions to find out what the class thinks about upcoming or controversial course topics.
• Use an activity that also acts as a refresher to reactive some necessary prior knowledge or fills in needed gaps.
• If you are going to be doing a lot of writing, start writing. If students are going to be solving problems, start with problem solving. If you want the students talking, get them talking on day one. This is the time to set expectations for how the class will operate.

Build Community

MSU Denver students come to your courses with a variety of backgrounds, experiences, and needs. Some may be experiencing first-day jitters while others may grapple with anxieties about being successful or participating in class.  Creating a sense of belonging in your courses helps motivate students to engage and learn.

• Welcome students at the door or walk around and introduce yourself as students get settled in class. For asynchronous online classes, send a first day welcome email or even individual emails to each student if possible.
• Introduce yourself – share your credentials but also any personal aspects you feel comfortable sharing. Students like to know that their professors are real people, and our unique personalities can help break down barriers and open the door to a collaborative learning space. For online courses, create a welcome video or introductory post.
• Help students get to know each other from day one. Students may be tired of the basic introductions, so consider trying an icebreaker that is somehow related to the content. Or get them doing a short activity or a practice quiz that reveals anonymously the backgrounds and knowledge of the class.
• For an online course, building community is possible but may need more intentional focus. Consider crating assignments or discussions in the first weeks that help students get to know each other.
• If you will want active participation in class, start doing this on the first day/week.

Establish Course Expectations

It’s natural for students to want to know the basics of the course on the first day. Because faculty have the freedom to design and teach courses in their own unique way, students experience many different types of courses, with different norms and expectations. Although the first day should be used to spark curiosity and build community, you will also want to set expectations about the course and the norms of participation.

• If you want to review the syllabus, get the students to do the work. For example, a “syllabus reconnaissance” activity puts students into small groups to explore the syllabus and share out their questions.
• Ask the students to review the syllabus for an assignment later in the week.
• Students can share their views about the class through a discussion or reflection: What are you most excited about in class? What assignments are you worried about and why? What do you hope to gain personally from this class?
• Use Hypothes.is software to have students collaboratively annotate the syllabus with questions and comments.
• Try a syllabus quiz or create a syllabus review video. Allow students to pose questions anonymously and respond in turn to the entire class.
• Co-create class guidelines and norms with students – ask them about their past learning experiences and as a result, the necessary elements to create a positive learning environment. Creating this with students helps them buy into the rationale behind the guidelines that are developed.
• Share the basic expectations you have of them, and the expectations they can have of you (response times, types of feedback given). Let the students ask questions of you and your teaching approach.
• Include expectations for respectful behavior and inclusivity. Emphasize that diverse perspectives and contributions are valued.
• Normalize asking for help and accommodations. Provide resources and support services and how students can communicate their needs.
• Start the first day on time if that is how you plan to run the course.

Be Prepared

Being prepared for the first day not only alleviates our own first-day jitters but shows students that we care about their learning and want the best experience for them.

• Look over your course roster to have a good sense of the students in your class, so that you can plan first-day/week activities appropriately.
• Test out the “student view” in your Canvas course to make sure students see what you want them to see in Canvas.
• Check out your classroom ahead of time to get a feel for the space and what it will look like to facilitate the activities you’ve planned. Test out the space, the acoustics, and try out the technology you will use if possible. If you need to make adjustments, it’s better to know that early.
• Create an agenda for the first day, allowing time for discussion and questions.

Share Your Enthusiasm

Find ways to keep that “first day” excitement feel for yourself as well as your students! Buy some new pencils or markers for yourself. Visit your favorite coffee shop to read through introductory discussion posts during the first week. Make sure to share your enthusiasm through a video, announcement, or first day remarks. We may not get every student to feel as passionate about our subject as we do, but we can share our enthusiasm and our excitement to share this material with them.

Creating a positive first experience of your course can pay off with increased motivation and engagement. The planning time is worthwhile to build a strong sense of community and curiosity from the very beginning.

Resources

If you want even more ideas, check out these additional resources.

https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-teach-a-good-first-day-of-class/

https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/teach/firstday.html