Entry the First

"Day 1: Hindsight is 20/20"

The fact that someone believes I’m qualified to teach college students still baffles me every time I step into my classroom. Seeing blank faces staring back at me still messes with my head, but after a few classes I am starting to warm up to my students and them to me and teaching is getting easier every day. However, I still haven’t found a good balance between teaching and my grad work, but I’m getting closer to a system that I think will work (at least for now).

I. I found this weeks reading interesting mostly because I had already lived much of it, but there were a few key things that grabbed my attention.

• First, the point made in First Day to Final Grade that students do most of their learning outside of the class room was a humbling section to read. It makes sense, but it still stings a bit. I find this useful because it can be used almost like a mantra on days when I feel like my students have lost interest or when I’m not confident on the quality of the day’s lesson. This is not to say that I expect my students to learn everything on their own time, but it is nice to know that they are ultimately in charge of their learning, not me. This idea of out-of-class learning also helps me to realize that giving good and applicable assignments will help the overall learning environment when we actually meet for class. It is up to me to provide quality learning exercises that are seen as useful and fun.

• Second, that issues of gender inevitably make their way into the classroom and must be dealt with accordingly. The notion that female students may be intimidated by male professors and vice versa is something that I was aware of but had never really taken the time to process or prepare for. I like to think of myself as very approachable and not at all intimidating, but I always have to remind myself that my perception is biased and that I may very well (and most likely do…because of the beard) come off as an intimidating figure. This concept got me thinking about the first impression my students had of me based solely on my gender. I want my students to feel that they are all held in the same regard and that no one is favored due to gender.

• Finally, how dressing up for the first day can set the tone for the rest of the semester. This is something that I thought I knew all about. We have been taught for years that making a good first impression is key to success, but I had never thought of it in terms of the teacher student relationship. On the first day of class I dressed in a button-down shirt, khakis, dress shoes, and a tie. I wanted my students to see that I was the professor and that I belonged at the front of the room and not in the trenches with them. I assumed that it worked, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I noticed the impact it had on my students. Yesterday was the first day that I chose not to wear a tie, and the first thing that a student said to me (in both classes) was “no tie today?” This simple question illustrated the importance of dress in the classroom and reinforced my belief that a professor should be dressed appropriately.

II. I noticed a few good tips in the reading that can be implemented into the field.

• First, the importance of learning students names. I know it sounds trivial, but it really makes a difference. I was struggling the first few days to remember who was who and I always felt bad when I would call on someone in class and have to ask them what their name was…again. What worked for me was reading over my class roster and then picturing the face of the student based on where they sit in class. I was able to learn 90% of their names this way, and when I came to class on Wednesday and started addressing them by their names I could see that they were impressed. This also helped set a more comfortable atmosphere in each of my classes and I could tell that my students were more responsive.

• Second, having students fill out vital information cards can save me a lot of effort later. I had always planned on doing this in the first day but only because I had done it in just about every undergrad course I took. I never thought about why we actually did it, and just passed it off as a formality with little application to class work. I was wrong. I had my students fill out these cards and just sort of threw them into a binder carelessly because I thought they would be of little use. I was wrong. I had a student who didn’t show up for class one day email me to explain the circumstances, but when I tried to email her back I kept getting an error message. It turns out that she was using an alternate email than the one provided by NDSU and I had to use her vital information card figure it out. I feel that every teacher should do this, because you never know what you might need to know.

• Finally, the subtle art of preparedness. The communication department has sort of spoiled us in the sense that we have everything we will need all ready to go before we start classes, but this typically won’t be the case for other teachers. The McKeachie book outlined a number of way in which one can prepare to teach a course. There are milestones that serve as a guide to when things should be done prior to actually teaching a course. I know that at some point I’ll have to design my own course and I’ll be clutching this book like grim death.

III. Here’s a quick litany of things I would like to include in my teaching in the future:

• Front-loading effort. I am terrible at planning ahead, so I feel that this might be a good way to change that bad habit. When I think about it I know that getting a weeks worth of lesson plans done at once will save me a lot of time later on in the week. I want to be better prepared for each class and I think front-loading can help me by introducing the concepts I’ll be teaching early, and then allowing time for me to change them as I think about activities and teaching methods.

• Being specific in the syllabus. I thought this would be easy, but I found myself thinking “oh crap, that should have been in the syllabus!” I think this first semester is a great way for me to learn what works and what doesn’t. Having a detailed syllabus can only help me in that it will answer students initial questions and prevent confusion later.

• Not showing up early on the first day! I showed up for my first class 10 minutes early (it was really more like twenty, but I sat in my car for a while) and the silence in the classroom as students began to arrive was intolerable. I didn’t know them, they didn’t know me, and so I just puttered around the front of the room and bobbed my head up and down with a forced smile every time a student entered.

Recommended Reading:

• This is what I used to outline my dress code for speech days. Business Casual Attire
• Teaching Tips (for teachers!)
• my other blog. The Moon Red Handed