Duration: 4:54
University of Virginia, Teaching Resource Center
(August Teaching Workshop)
About this course: I led a 90-minute session entitled “Teaching the First Days of Class,” in the University’s August Teaching Workshop. This workshop is designed for new faculty and graduate teaching assistants, and was attended by 300 people. (This small group session was capped at 30 attendees).
About this document: One of my aims in this session was to reassure new teachers; however, I also wanted to shift their focus away from their own nervousness, toward the great opportunities they faced. Prior to this clip, they discussed in pairs the greatest teachers they remembered. Here, I encourage them to think about their larger goals for their own classes, and to envision the first class as setting the stage for the semester. Since this is a question of personal motivation, I ask participants to write individually for a few minutes (rather than lecturing). They are then comfortable enough to have a good discussion about their plans. Following this activity, we were ready to address syllabi (having a proper goal framework in which to discuss details).
See also the student evaluations from this session.
