CELT Teaching Tip • August 22, 2019
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10 ideas for a great first day of class
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Every semester I get butterflies in my stomach before my first class (and I am the professor!) Students begin each semester with different motivations and expectations for their classes. Some are nervous, most are excited, and o
thers are ready to finish this class so that they can move on to whatever is next in their lives.
Here are some ideas – from classroom management to setting course expectations, to having a bit of fun, that might help alleviate some anxiety for both you and your students.
1. Visit the learning space before the first day
and try out the technology, microphone, lights, etc
. If you have questions about the learning technology please contact the IT Audiovisual Experience Team at 515-294-6894, email
avxt@iastate.edu
or visit
the
ITS Classroom Technology webpage
. As a reminder, should an unexpected classroom technology issue arise during class, contact the Solution Center at 515-294-4000 and they will quickly route issues to the Audiovisual Experience Team as needed.
2. Arrive early and greet students as they arrive
. Introduce yourself and post your name, how you would like to be addressed, course name, and the section of the class on the projector screen, so that when students walk in they know that they are in the correct place. Review
CELT's Ideas to Create a Welcoming, Engaging and Inclusive Classroom
webpage.
3.
Either at the beginning of or the end of the class
ask the students to complete an interest inventory index card
. Following the class, you can cut out the student pictures accessible in AccessPlus and tape or staple them to the cards to begin to learn the students names. Questions posed to students can include:
- Name according to the office of the registrar, with preferred alternate names or gender pronouns. You can then update your attendance and other records with these preferences.
- The reasons why they signed up for the course and what they are most looking forward to learning.
- What are their goals after graduation and how will this course help them achieve their goals?
- If applicable, the reason why they might need to arrive late or leave early to your course. This can help with seating logistics and minimize possible future disruptions.
- Fun questions help to get to know students such as: If a song played when you entered the room, what would that song be? If you won one million dollars, what would you do first?
4. Share some information that will personalize you – your teaching experience
, the reason you entered your discipline, an anecdote from your undergraduate learning days. If you have graduate teaching assistants, introduce them and let them tell something about themselves.
5. Provide a detailed syllabus
including learning outcomes, expectations, procedures, course schedule, and other information students may need. Talking at length about the syllabus sends the message that students can ask you rather than look up course information. Instead, distribute the syllabus and give students five minutes to review it. Then put them into groups and give the groups five minutes to answer 5 questions about the syllabus. The first group to answer all the questions correctly wins whatever suits your style and conveys the message that the things students need to know about this course are in the syllabus and they should look there before asking you. The goal is to help students realize they are responsible learners. Download
CELT's Learner-Centered Mindful Syllabus Checklist (PDF).
6. Engage in an interactive activity
that engages the students right away in course content. This will demonstrate the importance of students engaging in content with one another, a hallmark of successful learning experiences. Check out
CELT’s 226 Active Learning Techniques (PDF).
7. Consider adding a surprising fact or a current event that demonstrates why the content in this course matters.
Establishing relevance and promoting intrigue can help motivate student learning right from the start.
8. Set up clear communication strategies for the students.
These could include when you will have student hours (office hours), the best way to contact you, e-mail parameters, phone policies, etc.
9. Let your students see the enthusiasm you have for your subject and your love of teaching.
It’s much more effective to begin the course letting students know that this is a course you want to teach with content you love and that you are there to help them learn.
CELT is looking forward to meeting and working with you fall semester 2019!
Sara Marcketti, Director
Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
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Important: Update the Accessibility Statement in your Syllabi
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New Staff and Faculty Fellows Join CELT
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Welcome Gretchen Anderson, CELT’s newest staff member! An ISU alum, Gretchen has over ten years of experience in instructional design and web development. Within CELT, she coordinates Top Hat training, co-leads the Peer to Peer group for instructional designers across campus, and provides knowledge and insight to instructors wishing to learn more about online testing and assessment practices. Welcome Gretchen!
Dr. Clark Coffman, Associate Professor of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, will serve as Faculty Fellow for Graduate and Post-Doctoral Professional Development, providing leadership to the Preparing Future Faculty Program, the graduate student-focused CELT Teaching Symposium, and other graduate student initiatives such as CIRTL and the Graduate Student Teaching Certificate.
Mr. Rob Whitehead, Associate Professor of Architecture will serve as Faculty Fellow for High Impact Practices, providing leadership to the service-learning program and related faculty learning community, open-educational resources, and developing a problem-based learning workshop series.
Dr. Coffman and Mr. Whitehead join CELT Faculty Fellows Dr. Monica Lamm, CELT Faculty for Professional Development (Associate Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering) and Dr. Ann Gansemer-Topf, CELT Faculty Fellow for Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and Assessment and Associate Professor in the School of Education.
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CELT Faculty Spotlight: Elizabeth Stegemöller
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In this year’s teaching tips, we will be highlighting the work of successful instructors from across Iowa State University. We have asked them to share their highlights from the classroom, ideas for successful teaching and learning, and share their favorite CELT program.
Dr. Elizabeth Stegemöller, Associate Professor, in Kinesiology has spent 6 years at ISU. Her advice for someone new to teaching is:
“Be yourself. When I first started teaching, I tried to cover up insecurities, which led to a persona that was not really me. Now, if I make a mistake in class, I just apologize, correct the mistake, and move on. Sometimes we (the class and I) all laugh at the mistake. I also add my probably not so funny humor in class, and just really try to be myself. I have found the students are more comfortable with me in class, and they realize that I am a person, too, not some lofty professor they cannot talk to about class struggles.”
Dr. Stegemöller shared one of her favorite CELT experiences was the CELT Teaching Symposium designed for new to ISU faculty and graduate students. She shared, “I remember after the symposium, I totally reworked all of my syllabi, and that is when I started thinking about how to transition my Neuroscience class from lecture/discussion to activity-based, which has been a very awesome change.” This change included students drawing on the board, acting out different mechanisms, debating topics, and engaging with their peers. If you wish to refresh your knowledge, go to the
CELT Teaching Symposium Learning Modules (Public Version) Canvas Course
.
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Learning Online: Canvas and Beyond
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Use this Start of Semester Checklist for your Canvas Course
What's new with Canvas?
- Expanded Top Hat features and support
- Internet Explorer 11 no longer supported
- New version of ISU Admin Tools
- New Gradebook Features
- Arc becomes Studio
Canvas Open Labs return!
Looking for pedagogical advice or Canvas know-how? CELT staff will host Canvas Open Labs in 3019 Morrill Hall. View the days/times on
CELT's Canvas Open Labs webpage
.
No appointment required; bring your questions and your laptop.
- Aug. 20-23 (1-5 p.m.)
- Aug. 26-29 (3-5 p.m.)
Beginning on Sept. 3 we will host:
- Tuesdays (1-3 p.m.)
- Wednesdays (11 a.m.-1 p.m.)
- Thursdays (9-11 a.m.)
Don't Forget the 24/7 Canvas Support and MyCanvas Teacher at ISU
As a reminder, Canvas offers 24/7 support options. View the list in Canvas by using the
?Help icon
on the Global Navigation menu (far left of your screen):
- Canvas Support Line (Call 515-294-4000 then press 2, press 1)
- Live Chat with Canvas Support
- A web-based Report a Problem Form
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CELT's August-September Workshops
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How to Register
For in-person events, register via the
Learn@ISU
website,
or email your name, department, name of the event, date of the event to
celt@iastate.edu
. Many of our workshops are available in-person and/or online via Zoom. If it's offered online via Zoom,
registration will be a part of the ISU Event Calendar entry.
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Join a CELT Teaching and Learning Circle
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A cross-disciplinary group engaging in an active, collaborative, academic yearlong program about enhancing teaching and learning with frequent seminars and activities that provide learning, development, interdisciplinary, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and community building. The curriculum is designed to focus on a special campus teaching and learning approach/issue. If you have a question about any of our Teaching and Learning Circles email us at
celt@iastate.edu
. The following are CELT’s current Teaching and Learning Communities:
Discuss Published Education Research in Your Discipline (DBER Journal Club)
Meets on the following Mondays from 4:10-5pm in 2015 Morrill Hall:
- Sept. 9, Oct. 7, Nov. 4, and Dec. 2
How do students learn best in your discipline? Where can you publish the way you solved instructional problems? You are invited to share and discuss DBER journal articles, seek feedback as you begin designing your own educational research projects, and form collaborations with participants from other disciplines. Dr. Nancy Boury (Microbiology) and Dr. Sayali Kukday (Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology) will serve as facilitators for this journal-club-style reading-and-learning circle with the aim to build a cross-disciplinary education community
ISU Online Learning Community (ISU-OLC)
Meets on the following Fridays from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in 2030 Morrill Hall:
- Sept. 13, Oct. 11, Nov. 15, Jan. 10, Feb. 7, Mar. 13, and Apr. 10
The purpose of the ISU-OLC is to share campus best practices to improve online teaching and learning; see how others are using the University Learning Management System (LMS) to create innovative learning experiences; inform the campus about existing and new web-based instructional technologies; participate in new technology testing and evaluation; as well as, to leverage LMS expertise, experience, and training resources across campus. Audience: faculty, staff, and graduate teaching assistants. Registration is required at least one day prior to this learning community.
Service-Learning Teaching and Learning Community
Meets on the following Wednesdays from 11:30-1 p.m. in 2030 Morrill Hall
- Sept. 25, Oct. 23, Nov. 20, and Dec. 11
Are you interested in developing, or enhancing, a service-learning component within your course? You are invited to join this dynamic, interdisciplinary group as we share ideas and best practices of integrating service-learning into the curriculum. These interactive sessions will include topical discussions, readings, and sharing of best practices.
Team-Based Learning-Teaching and Learning Community
Meets on the following days in 2030 Morrill Hall:
- Aug 29 (3:10-4:30 p.m.), Sept 27 (1:10-2:30 p.m.), Oct. 31 (2:10-3:30 p.m.), Nov. 22 (1:10-2:30 p.m.), Jan. 31 (1:10-2:30 p.m.), Feb. 26 (1:10-2:30 p.m.), Mar. 27 (1:10-2:30 p.m.), & Apr. 30 (1:10-2:30 p.m.)
We work as teams to optimize application exercises, readiness assurance tests, peer evaluation, and other aspects of course design, and invite speakers to facilitate discussions of TBL theory, research and classroom application. Facilitator: Michael Dorneich, Associate Professor, Industrial & Manufacturing Systems Engineering. Registration is not required.
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