I. Introduction

A. The Faculty College has 4 parts.

B. Discussion is encouraged.

C. A word of advice. Use what fits your needs, not everything!

II. Purposes of the First Class Meeting

A. Communicates the nature and content of your course to students.

B. Introduces you to students.

C. Explains why students should take your course and how they profit from successfully completing it.

D. Sets a tone (for example, many teachers believe you should meet the entire first class period).

E. Emphasizes anything else you believe is important (e.g., students getting to know each other, discussing cheating).

F. Differs depending on your goals, level and size of class, etc.

• Students have differing needs. First year students may need more detail and support than upper level students.

G. Keep in mind that students will not retain all of the details presented during the first class meeting. Decide what is crucial and repeat it during the second week of classes.

III. How to Improve Your First Day of Class

A. Attend workshops such as this one.

B. Talk with colleagues.

C. Read on the topic.

D. Anticipate what students want to know and typical general questions.

E. Ask students what would have improved the first day.

IV. First Day Content, Choices and Issues

A. Set The Stage - Before You Meet

1. Always visit a classroom if you have not taught in it before to learn how to use the lights, sound system, computer equipment, etc. do you need chalk, or a marker for a whiteboard?

2. Seating, lighting, music or silence, whether you talk with students. Before you begin; all set the stage for the course and the semester.

3. Think carefully about what you will wear. Many sources recommend dressing professionally, you can always dress down at a later date.

4. Think carefully about your goals for the first day of class.

• Do you see it as mostly housekeeping, drawing students into the intellectual realm of the course, beginning your coverage of course material, or all three?

B. Set The Stage - Beginning

1. Arrive early to class.

2. Check to make sure students belong in the course.

3. As a courtesy, always ask if there are students present who want to add the class, and either sign them in, start a waiting list, or tell them you cannot consider them, before doing anything else.

4. Start slowly. Students often have several classes in one day. Help them settle down and focus on your course. Or

5. Do something dramatic to help them focus on your course.

6. Always bring copies of required texts/materials to the first day.

C. Basic Identifying Information (may be included in syllabus, if so review it)

1. Course title and section, number of credits

2. Room and time(s) where class meets

3. Room and times for examinations

4. Prerequisites

• Courses or class standing

5. Include important drop dates

6. Introduce or provide information on TAs, if using them.

D. Instructors' Personal Information

1. Instructor name and title

2. Instructor office hours, e-mail address, phone, and web page address (if applicable)

3. Office location (and directions if difficult to locate)

4. Policy on home phone calls and home phone number and times to call (if you wish)

5. How you would like students to address you (e.g., Dr. Smith, Professor Smith, Ms. Smith, the Grand Guru Smith)

6. Something about your educational background and professional Experience and interests

7. Personal information about yourself you want students to know

E. Texts and Other Materials

1. Text title, edition, author, date (?)

• You may want to tell students why you chose this text (e.g., author's credentials, readability)

2. Clearly state which are texts are required or recommended and why.

3. Tell students to buy the book.

4. Ask if available in bookstore?

5. Location(s) for obtaining other assigned materials (e.g., reserved reading desk at library)

6. Conditions for obtaining them (purchase, two-day reserve at library, etc.)

7. If on reserve, number of copies

8. If using electronic materials (e.g., WEB sites), how and when you will assist students in accessing if they never have before

9. Talk about other required materials (e.g., purchase of calculator).

F. Course Description

1. Basic information regarding what the course is about (do not assume Students with text have opened it, most have not)

2. Briefly review course objectives (important because of emphasis on assessment)

• Cognitive (student understands "X" material)
• Affective (student appreciates "X")
• Behavior (student can do "X")

3. Include any out-of-class opportunities (e. g., field trips), whether required, and cost

4. Extra costs (e.g., laboratory fees)

5. Distribute and review your syllabus

• Always have more than enough copies

F. Course Requirements (you need not cover the entire syllabus verbally, but Consider emphasizing the following)

1. Explain exactly what a student is expected to do

• Make clear if there will be required reading not lectured on.

2. Reading assignments

3. Is attendance required?

4. Number and type of tests or laboratory exercises

5. If films and videos are used, are students tested on their content?

6. Number and type of papers, expected content? Hand out a model paper.

7. Class participation (e.g., in-class, e-mail bulletin board setup for course)

8. Oral presentations

9. Group work

10. Estimate the student work load (how much time and preparation the course will require)

11. Important dates you want students to highlight in syllabus (e.g., assignments, reviews for exams, tests, guest speakers)

H. Grading Procedures and Scales - Course Policies (you need not cover all of these but decide which you want to emphasize)

1. What grades will be used, list them (e.g., A/B, B/C, C/D may be used)?

2. % each exam counts toward final grade

3. % each paper and other projects count toward final grade

• What contributes to a paper's grade (e.g., intellectual level, quality of writing, level of referenced material read
• If you use a scoring grid for papers, distribute it to students

4. Use of letter grade for each exam or total points

5. Types of exam

• Multiple choice, short answer, matching, essay
• Can students drop an item?
• Can students contest items? if so, distribute the contest an item form

6. If there will be reviews prior to exams, discuss.

7. Rules for exams

• No radios, tape players or headsets. Hats worn backward only(?)
• In pit classes, a picture ID?
• Other rules as applicable

8. Use of quizzes, surprise or scheduled (can they be made up?)

9. How group work is graded

10. If attendance is required, % of final grade

11. How you handle students missing class/exams because of academics, athletics, ill children, terrible driving conditions, etc.?

12. Use of absolute grading standards, curves, etc.

13. Explicit and detailed penalties for late work (e.g., "All assignments are due at the beginning of the class on the listed date and the grade will be lowered one letter grade for each day the assignment is late").

14. Extra credit policy (if any is allowed)

15. Policy on incomplete grades (e.g., "no incomplete grades will be given except due to extreme circumstances")

16. Policy on exams or assignments missed and not made up (e.g., fail the course, pass the course but receive an F on that assignment)

17. Policy on makeup exams (e.g., "no makeup exams will be given unless the student has talked with the instructor. It is the student's responsibility to initiate this meeting". See syllabus for a statement such as "All makeup exams are given in room ____, on Tuesday, May ____ from 3:00 - 5:00 PM).

18. Policy on grades on makeup exams (e.g., the instructor reserves the right to deduct up to 10 points from a makeup exam depending on reason it was missed).

I. Academic Honesty Policy and Cheating

1. Draw Students' attention to the academic policy statement in your syllabus.

2. Talk with students about your efforts to minimize cheating (A course culture with work/productivity leading to grades).

3. Discuss why you want to minimize cheating (e.g., responsibility to general society to emphasize moral behavior).

4. Define how cheating is defined in the course (e.g., crib notes, plagiarism on papers, turning in someone else's work as own, purchasing term paper).

5. Tell students you reserve the right to meet with students about their assignments/exams and behavior (And will do so in private).

J. Tips For How Students Can Do Well

1. Most learning takes place out of class

2. How many times students should read each chapter

3. How to prepare for each class meeting

4. Come to class, good lecture notes taken

5. Ask questions, discussion encouraged (if it is)

6. Review your lecture notes for content and organization within a day of taking them

7. Obtain a tutor (does your honor society or club have a list?)

8. Study with peers

9. Expected time devoted to class (rule of thumb is 2 or 3 hours out of class for each class hour)

10. Copy overhead material (or don't copy [covers big picture already in text, or copy to be given to student])

11. Invite students with special needs (Project Success, older student returning to school, foreign student) to meet with you early in the semester

12. Address of text Web page

13. List of important and relevant campus resources (e.g., counseling center [test anxiety]), reading study center, writing center)

14. Ask students to obtain names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of 2 or 3 classmates. To be used for lecture notes, or anything missed when absent.

K. Course Rules

1. May students audio record lectures?

2. Food in class

3. Class decorum

4. Class attendance policies

5. Assigned seating?

6. If in a laboratory, music, or art studio review, safety rules (for students and instruments' protection).

7. If teaching in a laboratory or studio, give a tour if necessary, explaining use of equipment and rules as needed.

L. Be Prepared to Answer Student Questions (Many times students are reluctant to ask questions. Even if not asked consider the following):

1. Content (what is the subject matter/content of this course?)

2. Difficulty (can I do the work?)

3. Teaching style, types of instruction, and evaluation (what kind of course is it, e.g., lecture and exam?)

4. Requirements (how much work is there?)

5. Prerequisites (what preparation do I need?)

6. Place in curriculum [why should I take this course (general education, major requirement?)]

7. Study aids (will practice exam questions, outlines, etc. be provided?)

8. How will any changes will be communicated (.e.g., date of an exam)

9. Is the course fair?

10. Will you help students?

M. Setting the Tone

1. Concern for content. Begin lecturing.

2. Want students on task. Make an assignment for the next class period (Always relevant and important, never Mickey Mouse).

3. Concern for teaching quality. Do pet peeves exercise.

4. Relevancy exercise (e.g., something which shows relevancy of course for students

5. Want to learn students' names, call each student by name from a class list.

6. Getting to know students. Ask who is a major, a minor, etc.

7. Pre-test of some kind.

8. Dispelling myths about the course.

9. Easing student anxiety (structure and clarity are most important)

• Use of humor (e.g., no student can eat chocolate without offering instructor 10%) or (I received my Ph.D. from Michigan State university, bonus points given for wearing MSU apparel).

10. Emphasize student participation - have a discussion

• Ask students what they have heard about the class.

11. Emphasize writing - have students write something

12. Easing student Concerns - an Icebreaker

• People getting to know each other--have students introduce selves, year in school, major, hometown, hobbies, etc.
• Ask students what their first day rituals are.
• Ask students to write down and then volunteer to share what they are feeling the first day of class, and then share what you are feeling).
• Ask students something they want to learn about in the course.

13. Ask questions that students can/will answer, to get them used to getting and answering questions.

N. Other

1. If Department has work study moneys, ask who is eligible and tell students who to contact.

2. If concerned about advising, ask who is an undeclared major and offer to help them with advising

3. Find out who transfer students, older students, new students are and see if they are having any difficulties

4. Announcements on honors society/club/important bulletin boards with information.

5. If student opinion/evaluation data will be gathered at a later date, mention this.

The Ten Commandments For The First Day of Class

1. Identify your goals: How and why you want to use the time.

2. Be organized and well prepared.

3. Arrive at your first class period early.

4. Give students structure, describe the course clearly.

5. Avoid the implicit. If something is important, overtly cover the details.

6. Be patient. Beginning of semesters can be difficult for students.

7. Be calm. Despite any and all student behavior avoid sarcasm and aggressive verbal behavior

8. Be respectful of your students!

9. Set the tone for the class, both by arranging the setting and by personal example

10. Be prepared to stay after class to meet with students and answer even more questions.

Recommended Readings

Davis, B. G. (1993). Tools For Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Diamond, R. M. (1998). Developing a learning-centered syllabus. In R. M. Diamond. Designing and Assessing Courses and Curricula: A Practical Guide (pp. 191-202). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Johnson, G. R. (1995). First Steps to Excellence in College Teaching (3rd ed.). Madison, WI: Magna Publications.

McKeachie, W. J. (1994). Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and theory for College and University Teachers. (9th ed.). Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath.

Nilson, L. B. (1998). Teaching At Its Best: A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. Bolton, MA: Anker.

Pica, T., Barnes, G. A., & Finger, A. G. (1990). Teaching Matters: Skills and Strategies for International Teaching Assistants. New York: Newbury House Publications.

Wolcowitz, J. (1984). The First Day of Class. In M. M. Gullette (Ed.). The Art and Craft of Teaching (pp. 10-24). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.