I have always been a little superstitious about the first day of class. I believe it sets the tone for the rest of the semester. Controlling what you CAN control will help prepare you for whatever challenges the semester brings and also prepares students by communicating what is expected of them before, after and during class time.
First Day of Class Jitters
Even seasoned faculty experience first-day jitters. Expect it to be a little chaotic.
Many students, especially freshmen, can be very anxious about the transition to college.
Community Building Activity
Help your students by giving them a few minutes to meet you in person. In large lecture classes, a line of students may form as they jostle for you to sign override forms and ask other questions. Set aside a few minutes during the first day for students to approach and ask questions and get to know you.Consider recording a short introduction video of yourself and your research interests or hobbies.
Room Technology
Most faculty report the majority of stressful interactions with students revolve around complex technology failures that result in embarrassing delays during class. Nobody wants to be embarrassed in front of their students!
Although some technology glitches can be unavoidable, a level of confidence can be established by a little preparation.
If your class meets in person, it is essential that you orient yourself to the classroom before the semester starts. Even if you have taught in a space before, sign up for a refresher room orientation session with the technicians in LSA-TS.
Technology is changing constantly; so that sound, lighting, ventilation, projector and other equipment you have felt familiar with in the classroom may have been upgraded over the semester break.
When you attend the classroom orientation, walk around the room and become aware of how students view and hear the content in your classroom. Some spaces have technology for students to share out their visual or audio content and you may be asked to help them make their presentations.
Learning Goals
Students prefer a learning-focused syllabus that clearly states the learning goals, as opposed to the more traditional content-focused syllabus. Clearly describe the learning goals for the course on the first page of the syllabus. Be sure to include the rationale for the lessons as well.
Syllabus
Some faculty members have returned to the practice of providing a paper syllabus. Students report they appreciate a paper version to refer to, and it can be helpful for students who are not yet officially registered for the class and cannot see the electronic version. Your syllabus should also be posted electronically in Canvas. Provide a downloadable version of the syllabus in either MSWord or GDoc format.
Course Content
Many faculty tend to be overly focused on the content of the course. You do not have to have all of the content prepared for the entire semester on the first day of class. For example: you can hide the content of week 10 from your students by unpublishing that Module in Canvas until you are ready to reveal that reading assignment after the semester has started.
Communication Channels in the Syllabus
Tell your students on the first day how they are to communicate with you if they need help or clarification. What form(s) of communication will you respond to? Be specific if you want them to use text, email, Canvas or phone communications. Share with them what times you will be available and make sure they are aware of response times to messages. Some students will become anxious if you do not respond instantly to communications.
Exams/Projects
It is essential that students have exact dates for exams and projects due. All students plan their semester around travel, athletic event schedules, religious holidays and work hours. Clearly stated dates and times help reduce student stress. If you use the Assignments, Discussion and Quizzes tools in Canvas, the due dates you apply will automatically appear at the end of the Syllabus listing in the Course Summary.
Provide Students with University Resources
You do not have to include all of the University resources for students in your syllabus, simply link to the Resource Guide in Canvas.
References:
- Students’ Perceptions of Course Syllabi: The Role of Syllabi in Motivating Students Lindsay B. Wheeler, Michael Palmer, and Itiya Aneece,2019 chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1235872.pdf
- https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BcehEDde3bCx73LCSOL-xhgRAzdS7rPlT70C3BDR60M/edit
