September 2006 - Starting a New School Year

The following issue looks at how to create a positive learning environment right on the first of class. We have included a podcast as well as linked resources for you to review at the beginning of the academic year.

Podcast - Starting the School Year on a Positive Note
Featuring: Dr. Maureen Connolly, Director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies, Brock University

Interviewers: Bill Muirhead, Associate Provost Teaching and Learning
Maureen Wideman, Sr. Instructional Designer

Play it / hear it - MP3 file - 1.7MB

The First Day of Class
University of California, Berkeley

The following suggestions are intended to help you get your class off to a positive beginning. The article addresses the three important tasks for the first day: handling administrative matters, creating an open friendly classroom environment, and setting course expectations and standards.

http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/firstday.html

The Most Important Day: Starting Well
By Delivee L. Wright

The first day of class is an opportunity for faculty to establish a positive tone for what will follow through the remainder of the term. It is suggested that faculty reflect on setting a constructive climate and how they create first impressions between learners and themselves. This article offers some ideas about that all important day.

http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/dayone.htm

Active Learning Beginning with the First Day of Class
By William Smith, School of Education, Saint Xavier College and
by Steve Adams, University of Minnesota, Duluth

Two short essays from the National Teaching and Learning Forum discuss how to involve students in active learning from the first day of class and throughout the semester.

http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/faq/ac-byu.htm

Learning Students Names
Do you consider yourself "name-learning challenged?" Do you find it difficult to think of a student's name when the two of you meet? When it comes to new students, there are numerous tools you can use to "jog your memory." Some methods work better for smaller groups, while others may be used with large classes.

http://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/gsapd/instructional/names.shtml

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Contact is produced by the Office of the Associate Provost, Teaching and Learning, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.