Article
The First Day: Checklist for a Smooth Course Start up
By Ghazala Imran
Lecturer G.C Dept
It has been observed that beginning of the lecture can be very demanding and tough for the instructors, if not worked on it beforehand. I have found this specific area in my teaching experience as one of the most challenging component. I tried my best to get the knowledge about different strategies from various sources like workshops, seminars and articles to make my class more student teacher interactive from the very first day of my semester.
Teachers often become anxious about their first day of the semester ,so it is very important to convey clear expectations as well as basic information to the students to make sure that they understand exactly what the course will be, like in terms of prerequisite knowledge and skills, content to be learned and anticipated speed and depth of learning. They must understand your grading system and what the term projects will be, and finally how you plan to teach.
Here is a checklist that can be of great help for the faculty to review their first day of the semester: * Establish procedures – Arrive early to get the classroom set up the way you want it. Post instructions on the projector telling the students what you need them to do before class begins (e.g. pick up syllabus, introduce yourself and find a seat.) * Use an entrance table – This is where student pick up the syllabus, and anything else they need to pick up or turn in throughout the semester. * Learn students’ names – Have students introduce themselves as they walk in, and create a seating chart. * Use focus activities – On the screen or board, write what students are to do as soon as they arrive each day to class. On the first day, this could simply be to create a name card. Later on, these focus activities could be a question about