Back in School

•  Hit the ground running on the first day of class with substantial content.
•  Take attendance: role call, sign in, seating chart.
•  Introduce teaching assistants by a short presentation or self-introduction.
•  Hand out syllabus - informative and user-friendly.
•  Give an assignment on the first day to be collected at the next class.
• Start experiments in the first lab.
•  Identify good lab practice: procedures, equipment, clean up, maintenance, safety, etc.
•  Give a learning style inventory to help students find out about themselves.
•  Direct students to the appropriate services if they need help on basic skills.
• Have a student who has taken the course explain how to succeed in the course
• Tell students how much time they will need to study for this course.
•  Hand out supplemental study aids: library use, study tips, readings, or exercises.
•  Explain how to study for the kind of tests you give.

• Hand out your ground rules regarding absence, late work, testing procedures, grading, and general decorum, and maintain these.
•  Announce office hours (in person and electronic) frequently and hold them without fail.
•  How students how to take notes and learn effectively in large classes
•  Give sample test questions and answers.
•  Explain the difference between collaboration and academic dishonesty; be clear when collaboration is wanted and when it is forbidden.
•  Seek out a different student each day and get to know something about her or him.
•  Ask students to write about what important things are currently going on in their lives.
• Find out about students' jobs; if they are working, how many hours a week, and what kind of jobs they hold.
• Greet students at the door when they enter the classroom.
•  Start the class on time.
•  Make a grand stage entrance to hush a large class and gain attention.
• Give a pre-test on the day's topic.
•  Start with a puzzle, question, paradox, picture, or cartoon to focus on the day's topic.
•  List questions students have at the beginning of the class on the board and see if they are answered by the end of class.
•  Have students list what they think the important issues or key points of the day's lecture will be.
•  Ask the person who is reading the newspaper what is in the news today.
• Have students write out their expectations and their learning goals for the course.
• Use variety in methods of presentation every class meeting.
• Stage a figurative "coffee break" about twenty minutes into the hour; tell an anecdote, invite students to put down pens and pencils, refer to a current event, shift media.
•  Incorporate community resources: plays, concerts, etc.
•  Show a film in a novel way: stop it for discussion, show a few frames only, anticipate ending, hand out a viewing or critique sheet, play and replay parts.
•  Share your philosophy of teaching with your students.
• Form a student panel to present alternative views of the same concept.
• Stage a change-your-mind debate, with students moving to different parts of the classroom to signal change in opinion during the discussion.
•  Conduct a "living" demographic survey by having students move to different parts of the classroom: size of high school, rural vs. urban, consumer preferences.
•  Tell about your current research interests and how you got there from your own beginnings in the discipline.
•  Conduct a roleplay to make a point or to lay out issues.
•  Let your students assume the role of a professional in your discipline: philosopher, literary critic, biologist, agronomist, political scientist, engineer.
•  Conduct idea-generating, brainstorming sessions to expand horizons.
• Give students two alternative views and ask them to compare and contrast.
•  Distribute a list of the unsolved problems, dilemmas, or great questions in your discipline and invite students to claim one as their own to investigate.
•  Ask students what books they read over summer.
• Ask students what current event on this subject may effect their future.
•  Let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of learning.
•  Take students with you to hear guest speakers or special programs on campus.
• Plan a "scholar-gypsy" lesson or unit which shows students the excitement of discovery in your discipline.
•  Collect students' current phone numbers because you may need to reach them.
•  Check out absentees. Call or write a personal note.
•  Diagnose pre-requisite learning using a pre-test and give them quick feedback.
•  Hand out study questions or study guides.
•  Be redundant. Students should hear, read, or see key material at least three times.
•  Allow students to demonstrate progress in learning: summary quiz over the day's work, a written reaction to the day's material.
•  Use non-graded feedback to let students know how they are doing: post answers to ungraded quizzes and problem sets, exercises in class, oral feedback.
•  Reward behavior you want: praise, stars, honor roll, personal note.
•  Use a light touch: smile, tell a good joke, break test anxiety with a sympathetic comment.
•  Organize. Give visible structure by posting the day's "menu" on chalkboard or overhead.
•  Use multiple media: multimedia, overhead, slides, film, videotape, audiotape, models, etc.
• Use multiple examples, in multiple media, to illustrate key points and important concepts.
•  Make appointments with all students (individually or in small groups).
•  Hand out wallet-sized telephone cards important telephone numbers listed: office, department, resource centers, teaching assistant, lab.
   
• Print all important course dates on a card that can be handed out and taped to a mirror.
•  Eavesdrop on students before or after class and join their conversation about course topics.
•  Maintain an open updated lab grade book so students can check their progress.
•  Tell students what they need to do to receive an "A" in your course.
•  Stop the world to find out what your students are thinking, feeling, and doing in their everyday lives.
•  Have students write something.
•  Have students write what they learned in class and turn it in.
•  Have students keep three-week three-times-a-week journals in which they comment, ask questions, and answer questions about course topics.
•  Invite students to critique each other's essays or short answers for readability or content.
•  Invite students to ask questions and wait for the response.
•  Probe students responses to questions and their comments.
• Put students into pairs or "learning cells" to quiz each other over material for the day.
•  Give students an opportunity to voice opinions about the subject matter.
•  Have students apply subject matter to solve real problems.
•  Give students red, yellow, and green cards (made of posterboard) and periodically call for a vote on an issue by asking for a simultaneous show of cards.
•  Roam the aisles of a large classroom and carry on running conversations with students as they work on course problems (a portable microphone helps).
•  Ask a question directed to one student and wait for an answer.
•  Place a suggestion box in the rear of the room and encourage students to make written comments every time the class meets.
•  Do oral, show-of-hands, multiple choice tests for summary, review, and instant feedback.
•  Use task groups to accomplish specific objectives.
• Grade quizzes and exercises in class as a learning tool.
• Give students plenty of opportunity for practice before a major test.
• Give a test early in the semester and return it graded in the next class meeting.
• Have students write questions on index cards to be collected and answered the next class.
•  Make collaborative assignments for several students to work on together.
•  Assign written paraphrases and summaries of difficult reading.
•  Give students a take-home problem relating to the day's lecture.
•  Encourage students to bring relevant news items to class and post these on a bulletin board
• Learn names.
• Set up a buddy system so students can contact each other about coursework.
•  Find out about your students via questions on an index card.
•  Take pictures of students (snapshots in small groups) and post in classroom, office or lab.
•   Arrange helping trios of students to assist each other in learning.
• Form small groups for getting acquainted; mix and form new groups several times.
•  Assign a team project early in the semester and provide time to assemble the team.
• Help students form study groups to operate outside the classroom.
• Solicit suggestions from students for outside resources and guest speakers.