Preparing for your first class

It is important for you to begin the semester on a positive note. How are you going to get students interacting with one another?  For this, you may need some strategies for:

• ‘ice-breaking’ - these activities help to make a cold/hard/unfriendly environment to become warmer, softer or friendlier);
• giving a clear direction for the rest of the class and for the remaining sessions in the semester – this clarifies the goals and also contributes to a positive atmosphere;
• planning the details of class session (and subsequent ones as well of course) - this increases your ability to communicate and your confidence.

Having a well-organised program shows that you have thought about what you will do and how you will do it. This structure will help your students in adjusting to university life. Impromptu (unplanned) teaching is, generally, not a good idea – many things can go wrong and the class can become frustrating for your and your students.

Here are some suggestions to get you started: these will all help you to develop the skills and knowledge needed for an effective learning relationship.

Icebreaking (useful for all year levels, but very important for first-year units)
a) Get to know a little about your students. Ask them to brainstorm some basic questions they could ask one another and then ask them to interview their neighbour. They then introduce their neighbour to the class.. If students are not forthcoming with ideas you could give them some questions like these as starters.

• What courses or units are you taking?
• What are your goals in this subject?
• What helps you learn best?
• What are your interests? What do you like to do in your free time?
• Do you have a part time job?

b) Don’t forget to tell students a little about yourself: for example, your research interests, countries you’ve visited or worked in, sports played.

c) Another good activity is an autograph/signature hunt. Students have to collect the names of people in the class who fit the category. [Caveat:  You need to consider the content of the statements you include in your hunt. Having students ask one another about things such as age, marital status, and religion is not appropriate.]

Establishing Ground Rules
In the first session ask the class to help you set the ground rules for the conduct of tutorials (What is appropriate and not appropriate in the classroom?). The rules may cover such issues as punctuality, use of language and participating in discussions. In some settings (e.g. laboratories) there are strict rules for behaviour to maintain safety, and these cannot be negotiated.

Setting Goals and planning for the class activities
You might like to answer the following questions before class and tell your student what you have decided:

• What are your expectations for the tutorials?
• What do want the students to achieve in this class?
• What tasks/problems do you want to work on?
• How will you plan to show/ discuss ….?

…and don’t forget to encourage your students to ask questions as well.

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