By: Joyce Povlacs Lunde

Beginnings are important. Whether it is a large introductory course for freshmen or an advanced course in the major field, it makes good sense to start the semester off well. Students will decide very early--some say the first day of class--whether they will like the course, its contents, the teacher, and their fellow students.

The following list is offered in the spirit of starting off right. It is a catalog of suggestions for college teachers who are looking for fresh ways of creating the best possible environment for learning. Not just the first day, but the first three weeks of a course are especially important, studies say, in retaining capable students.

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By: Kevin Gannon

"Are you keeping us for the whole time today? Because I need to leave in 20 minutes," asked a student with a baffled expression on his face. As I looked at him, I wanted so badly to explain: Of all the ways you could have chosen to introduce yourself on the first day of class, that was not the optimal one.

At my university - as was the case at other institutions where I've taught - students call the first day of class "Syllabus Day." Their expectation is that they'll show up, the professor will hand out the syllabus, go through maybe 10 minutes' worth of housekeeping stuff, and then turn them loose until the course really starts later in the week.

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By: Michael J. LaGier Ph.D.

As many educators are, I am interested in exploring methods that provide real-time, formative assessment in the classroom. Being a teacher of such courses as microbiology, microbial genomics, and immunology, which are dense in jargon and abstract concepts, I need to be able to quickly get a snapshot of how well my students are grasping important ideas or concepts. My students also need this information in order to assess their own learning. To this end, I started exploring the use of personal response systems, or "clickers," as a method for rapid classroom assessment.

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