By Alice Cassidy, Ph.D.
IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING
You only get one chance to make a first impression, and that’s particularly important in the college classroom.
Find out how to use your first class with college students to set the stage for a semester of dynamic, engaged learning.
You’ll think, write, and reflect in How Can I Capture Students’ Interest in the First 5 Minutes? and come away with numerous ideas to help you intrigue, inspire, and motivate students from the get-go.
LEARNING GOALS
In less time than it might take to review your course syllabus, the presenter shows you how to make the most of that first meeting with students.
After participating in How Can I Capture Students’ Interest in the First 5 Minutes?, you will be able to:
Draft your own “enthusiasm statement” to use in your own courses
Use your first class to build student interest, rather than cover routine housekeeping issues
Further enrich your teaching by following up on sources presented in this 20 Minute Mentor
The presenter shares techniques you can use immediately. You’ll see how learning about students’ goals, exploring “mystery items,” and structured discussion groups can help you make your first class a gateway to inspired teaching and learning.
TOPICS COVERED
Teaching and learning depend on building and sustaining student interest and strong course openings get it all started. The key is making sure the first thing you say in class is exciting. Cassidy calls this an “enthusiasm statement,” and she shows you how to generate your own by:
Describing how you first got drawn into the course’s subject matter
Introducing students to the hottest controversies in your field
Helping students explore cutting edge ideas of leading scholars
Telling students about the most important things they will learn in your class
