First Day

1
Launching a Successful Semester

• First Day
• First Week
• Assessing Student Understanding
• Interactive Activity
• (Please note This presentation is a combination
  of information from previous New Faculty
  Orientation Launching a Successful Semester
  strategy sharing sessions and from the Tech
  Center for Teaching and Learning.)

2
First Class Meeting

• What is a typical example of a first class
  meeting?
• Essential Question to ask yourself What
  message(s) do I want to communicate to students
  on the first day(s) of class?
• Remember What if a tree falls in a forest, but
  nobody hears it. . .
• Like Dr. Watson said its actually about
• Learning we can teach brilliantly all day long,
  but if the students dont learn, nobody heard
  the tree fall.

3
First Class Meeting

• Research shows that
• Students learn more when they actively discuss
  subjects in and out of the classroom (SGA
  President)
• And work together in small groups
• And in order for classroom climate to be
  established
• One which not only allows but promotes
  participation and discussion
• Current research and practice also indicate that
  it must begin the first day of class.
• Arthur W. Chickering and Zelda F. Gamson, Seven
  Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate
  Education (The Wingspread Journal Special Insert,
  1987)

4
First Class Meeting Suggestions (Based on Dr.
Flenikens (past Director of the Tech Center for
Teaching and Learning) research past feedback
on successful strategies from new faculty
orientation)

• You may want to
• Plan for a substantive first meeting that
  addresses student needs and gives you useful
  information and insights
• Create a positive image of yourself and the
  classroom for arriving students
• Start class with an ice breaker
• Begin learning student names right away
• Take a picture of each student in class, or have
  them each email a picture to you (to help you
  learn names)
• Fill out a student information sheet
• Clarify your course objectives expectations by
  reviewing syllabus embellishing with useful
  detail
• Whet appetites for the course by sharing
  interesting and pertinent material
• Reassure students that the course is a wise
  investment of their time and resources (what Dr.
  Biller said about our incoming freshmen)
• Complete an open ended evaluation at the end of
  class (more on that in a minute)

5
For the team. . .

• Name Game know your team members names by
  next Tues.
• Take up to six MMs (not too many of the same
  color)
• For each piece of MM candy you took, you will
  say your name and answer a question, depending on
  its color.
• Red candy favorite hobbies
• Green candy favorite foods
• Yellow candy If you had to trade places with
  someone, who would it be?
• Orange candy area of emergency management that
  most interests you (tell of any emergency
  management experience you might have here)
• Brown candy most memorable or embarrassing
  moments
• Blue candy if you could have any talent what
  would it be?

6
For the team. . .

• Name Game know your team members names by
  next Tues.
• First person says his/her name
• Second person says first persons name, then says
  his/her own name. . .
• When it comes around again, first person has to
  say all the names and his/her own.
• Next
• The person who was second in the last game is now
  the first person.
• Say your name and a word that is relevant to you
  (e.g. a sport, hobby, etc.). . .

7
Investment exampleEducation value?

• What is the difference between the work life (age
  25-64) earnings of someone with a bachelors
  degree versus someone with just a high school
  diploma?
• Approximately 1,000,000.
• http//www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf

8
First Week of Class

• The beginning stage of a course includes the
  all-important first day and first week of class.
• During this formative period, it may be useful to
  view the process of building class community as
  the first topic that needs to be addressed in
  class.
• Allowing students early opportunity to interact
  with each other and with the instructor is a
  fundamental or foundational experience that
  should be covered before any other topic is
  introduced.
• Joe Cuseo, professor of psychology at Marymount
  College in Palos Verde, CA, who has contributed a
  great deal of scholarship to the field of the
  First-Year Experience. http//www.bgsu.edu/downloa
  ds/provost/file11002.pdf

9
Objectives for the First Week of Class(Lyons,
McIntosh and Kysilka)

• To orchestrate positive first impressions.
• To introduce yourself effectively.
• To clarify the learning objectives and your
  expectations.
• To help students learn about each other.
• To get to know your students.
• To whet students appetites for the course
  content.

10
Objectives for the First Week of Class

• To teach your students to do well in the course.
  (McGlynn)
• To establish expectations with regard to student
  behavior. (McGlynn)
• To develop a community of learners in the class.
  (Cuseo)
• To avoid Millennials using their remote
  controls. (P. Gray)

11
How do you determine how successful you were in
achieving your first day/week objectives?

• By Assessing Student Understanding

12
Assessing student understanding at the end of the
first day

• At the end of class have students complete a
  One-Minute Paper evaluation by completing the
  following
• I came expecting . . .
• I got. . .
• I am looking forward to. . .
• I am hoping. . .
• I could be helped by. . .
• Dr. Fleniken, past Director of the Tech Center
  for Teaching and Learning

13
Assessing student understanding at the end of the
first week

• As students conclude their first week in your
  class, it is wise to assess their perceptions in
  an anonymous, nonthreatening manner.
• Doing so helps you identify stumbling blocks
  before they can grow into large barriers later in
  the term, which lead to withdrawals, and most of
  all, reduce the success that students could
  otherwise achieve
• Invest two minutes to distribute paper or 3 x 5
  index cards on which students may reply
  anonymously to several open-ended questions, such
  as
• Who was the most interesting person you met in
  this class? Why?
• What things are you most looking forward to in
  this class?
• What concerns you about your ability to be
  successful in this class?
• What questions do you have that are not yet
  answered?
• What has surprised you the most about this class
  so far?
• http//ezinearticles.com/?Professors---Launch-Your
  -College-Course-Effectively---Closing-Out-the-Firs
  t-Class-Meetingid1709031

14
Assessing the first week overall

• Analyze the information you collect from the
  student feedback
• Note any patterns among students feedback
• Reflect on the week as a whole and self-assess
• Identify actions you want to make as a result of
  the feedback
• Construct an email to each class member (small
  class), the class as a whole, or address at the
  beginning of the next weeks class session.
• Continue to learn student names
• Create a profile of each student with information
  sheet, picture, and feedback evaluations

15
Ask yourself

• How will you maintain the momentum that you have
  generated with a successful beginning?
• Content assessment
• End of each week (or topic), on a 3x5 (or bring
  in recycled paper from your ofc.)
• What can you tell me about ________(this is
  something you want them to know you will test
  them on it)
• What is the most interesting thing you learned
  this week?
• What questions do you have?
• Groups (white board option)
• Ask a key question or two and they answer on it,
  you walk around and comment on what theyve
  written. (e.g., list three reasons the Roman
  Empire fell? Or list three reasons everyone hates
  lawyers?)
• Pair them up and ask a question that they
  discuss, then you ask for feedback from the pairs

16
Successful Strategies Activity

• Each person at the table spends time individually
  writing/considering answers to the following
  questions. (approximately 10 minutes)
• What do you do on the first day or during the
  first sessions that has/have been successful?
• What other techniques have you heard or read
  about that could be considered useful -- Is there
  anything you've always wanted to do on a first
  day but never done? What has kept you from doing
  it?
• What is your definition of a successful first
  day, week and month?
• Given your answer above, what are your goals for
  the first day, week, and month?
• What are some negative first day experiences you
  remember from when you were in college? How do
  you prevent the same experience?
• What question/questions do you have as you begin
  your teaching career at Arkansas Tech?
• Members of each team discuss their answers with
  others at their table. Have a member from each
  team capture the answers on a flip chart in
  preparation for sharing with the overall group.
  (approximately 30 minutes)
• Have a member from each team summarize their
  findings for the overall group.
• (approximately 30 minutes)
•