An Outline for a Typical First Class Session

Use the first day to act as the host for the course and to set the tone. Introduce yourself and your background; then get acquainted with the class. When you introduce yourself, be sure to provide the essential statistics-your phone number, office location, office hours, and mailbox. It is often useful to write this introductory information in the upper left-hand corner of the blackboard. Some of your students will probably be late to the first day of class, and some may have stumbled into your class by mistake, so a written announcement will prevent a certain amount of embarrassment for both groups. You would be surprised at how many students do not know their professor's name, even by mid-quarter, simply because it isn't on the syllabus and they missed, or came late to, the first day of class!

If the class is fairly small, it may also be a good idea to introduce the class to each other. One way to do this is to call roll and ask each student to provide some kind of background information. Alternatively, especially in large classes, this same information can be obtained by having students take a few minutes to fill out three-by-five cards with their names and whatever background information you think will be helpful. When you collect this information, you send a message to your students that who they are is important, a message that can go a long way toward creating a healthy classroom atmosphere.

Once these introductions are completed, you should plan to give your students at least a brief overview of the course and let them know the kind of work that will be involved and your general expectations. Many faculty find that it is most convenient to convey this information when they hand out the course syllabus. Talk about what you hope will be accomplished in each set of readings or assignments. Prepare a brief demonstration of the kinds of problems they will encounter during the course. In short, you will generally find it helpful to think about the first day as a demonstration of what the course will be about rather than trying to convey substantive course material. Finally, take a few minutes to hear from the students. You might ask them, for example, why they are taking the course, what they expect from it, what parts of its content are familiar to them, or any other question that seems appropriate. A productive first day of class sets the tone for the remainder of the quarter.