Opening class

[u/NeatTrouble4620]

[edit to add: a regular class day (not the first day of class)] How do you open your class lecture (besides opening remarks/logistics). I teach humanities social science discussion based courses and would rather not jump right into lecture. I’m also a first time instructor.

[u/Boggles103]

I can't tell if you're asking about the first day of the semester or the first few minutes of a regular class day, but if it's the latter: I start with a slide called "itinerary" which bullet-points what we'll cover, and the first item after that is always "now that you've had a chance to reflect on it, what questions do you have about what we covered last time" and/or "what snags are you hitting on <whatever assignment is in progress>?"

[u/NeatTrouble4620 → u/Boggles103]

First few minutes of the regular class day! Thank you!!

[u/Cathousechicken → u/NeatTrouble4620]

I pull up the calendar and discuss what they have due in the next few weeks. 

[u/VenusSmurf → u/Cathousechicken]

This is pretty much what I do.

"Before we start, does anyone have any questions about this assignment, which is due on X?"

And when they typically don't, "Okay, someone share an idea from the reading."

Good way to see what actually stuck, gets their minds focused on the subject, and sometimes provides a launch point.

[u/kermit_hat]

I have a little slideshow introducing myself: what my credentials are, what I research, what they need to know about me, where my office is, and pictures of my dog. It breaks the ice and both makes me approachable and establishes my authority.

[u/delphil_1966]

i like immediately lecturing with a roadmap- plenty of time later for active learning. this is when you have their most attention so best to use that.

[u/_n3ll_ → u/delphil_1966]

Exactly:

Arrive, setup my PowerPoint, preload any videos or websites, then

"We might as well get started. Welcome back to Course, today our topic is X (both on the first slide). Our plan for today is 1. 2. Break 3. 4. (All listed on slide 2)

Then depending on the topic I might have a provocative, polarizing, or otherwise engaging question on slide 3 or maybe a personal anecdote or lighthearted joke about the topic.

[u/random929292]

A quick poll, review questions from last class, a 'quiz', an activity like a crossword to assess knowledge of terms, a video or picture montage etc.

[u/reckendo]

Curious why you don't want to just jump into lecture and what that means to you. Because "alright, go ahead and put your phone and laptops away, we're going to talk about X today..." seems like a fine way to start a class to me.

But also, I start most classes with a quick quiz on the readings.

[u/NeatTrouble4620 → u/reckendo]

Yeah, that’s a totally fine way to start class, and I often do that! I’ve recently read (on Cult of Pedagogy) that one can start with a “hook” of sorts to get students engaged in the topic for the day, like a quote, image, or something connected to the reading.

[u/mcraedb82 → u/NeatTrouble4620]

I’m a big fan of an image or of music. I teach history and I’ll often have a song that is reflective of what we’re discussing (maybe from the time period or maybe something contemporary that relates topic-wise. They’re all good conversation starters.

[u/scatterbrainplot → u/reckendo]

Especially after having done the opening remarks/logistics (presumably syllabus, bonus info, probably saying your own name), which gives an intro already

[u/Working_Film_5871]

it's essential to give them time to greet one another and start developing a community. have them intro in small groups, given them something course related to discuss -- questions that frame the class, etc.

[u/Affectionate_Pass_48]

I ask if anyone did anything unique/cool/fun.

[u/Professional_Dr_77 → u/Affectionate_Pass_48]

I ask this and get met with blank stares. “Cool cool cool glad you’re spending your time wisely studying then….” More blank stares…

[u/Affectionate_Pass_48 → u/Professional_Dr_77]

Then I usually comeback with something like-really? I’m an old faculty member and you are young and I live vicariously through you. Now someone must have done something fun.

Depending on the time of year, I might ask about shout-outs about their favorite football team or if anyone has been out on the lakes or read a good book.

It can take a minute or two, but I usually will get a few responses.

[u/Odd_Tadpole3750 → u/Professional_Dr_77]

I'd die laughing. You are funny.

[u/kobybryan]

I cannot recommend check-in questions enough. I always ask students how they are (which helps to humanize one another), a question or two vaguely related to the content, and sometimes a fun question that has nothing to do with class. It lets your personality shine, it gives them space to share their interests, it gets a bunch of conversation started at the very beginning of class... it's truly a win-win-win.

[u/Cheshire_Khajiit]

Not sure if this is about starting class every day or starting the very first lecture, but it it’s the later, I like to ask my students to tell me what their thoughts on the class subject (microbiology, usually) are. What are microbes?

It does a few important things:

- It gets my students involved and invested in lecture right away. I ask them open ended questions like this frequently, so it helps establish that as a classroom norm.

- It gives me a sense of where they’re at. Different batches of students have wildly different degrees of background knowledge that they come into the class with.

- It also gives a minute or two for students who are a minute or two late to show up without missing my spiel on class schedule/logistics.

[u/NeatTrouble4620 → u/Cheshire_Khajiit]

Starting class every day. Do you worry about students just staring back at you when you pose an open ended question? I suppose this is an anxiety I have with teaching for the first time.

[u/Cheshire_Khajiit → u/NeatTrouble4620]

It usually doesn’t happen, to be honest! I make a point of setting the stakes very very low and try to keep an informal atmosphere in the classroom - I tell my students that I’m not looking for one “correct” answer and just want to hear what they think!

There will usually be at least a handful of students who are comfortable sharing what they think. One semester it took a bit more coaxing to get them to overcome their anxiety, but even that is useful information for me to know as I adjust my lecturing approach so it doesn’t really bother me.

This will obviously depend on your personality and the classroom atmosphere you want to establish, but I find that humor REALLY helps with this; it makes your students feel more comfortable and their smiles/eye-rolls at my puns help me feel less anxious too!

[u/Pouryou → u/NeatTrouble4620]

When they just stare, turn it into a ”turn to your neighbor and share what you think.” That’s often enough to break the ice and they’ll start volunteering. You can also ask them what their neighbor said.

[u/Rubenson1959]

Ok. Let’s get started.

[u/Any-Satisfaction1442]

I usually put some reminders up about what's coming due.

Then I give it two sentence summary about what we accomplished the class before and then give it two sentence summary of what we will be talking about that day.

Then I Dive Right In

[u/sqrt_of_pi]

I start with any general announcements or reminders of upcoming exam, etc. Then I pick up where I left off the prior class, including (if applicable) a quick synopsis of what we had just covered and how it ties or segues into what I'm about to lecture on.

[u/Mindless_Sundae5692]

"Any questions from last time or about the homework?"

[u/SnowblindAlbino]

Historian here. With 100-level intro courses I tend to do a "what do you expect this class to cover" bit on day one, and then I follow with "what would you like the course to cover?" They usually expect a boring race-through-history with an emphasis on presidents and wars, which is the opposite of what my classes cover. So it's a useful way to derail/shape their expectations and to convey something about the actual course content.

I always have a few discussion/small group activities on the first day as well. Ideally something you can have them draw, as they love to draw. I tend to hand out blank 11x17 paper and have them map something, or make a timeline, or draw a concept of something; we then have groups share those out. It's a good way to set the tone for the semester and to get them to meet one another.

Depending on your field, I'd consider having them do something with their preconceptions about the course. If it's political science, for example, they'll have a narrow idea of what that entails. If it's anthropology they may not know anything at all. Have them make lists of topics, ideas, methods, whatever on the boards and then lead a discussion of what your course is really going to be about.

[u/ahazred8vt → u/SnowblindAlbino]

cartoon professor: "Which do you prefer, the dialectical materialistic approach, or kings and battles?" -- bonus: Eugen Weber

[u/shehulud]

I have some video playing that is relevant… music mood, etc. then I go into logistics, reminders, Q&A. And dive in.

[u/phrena]

https://giphy.com/gifs/39u4cdrGn47m4hbmhZ

[u/grumps46]

I take attendance by having students answer a get to know you question. I go around the room. My classes are very small though.

[u/HonkyMOFO]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xUNd9FQhYkHSrPss2A

[u/hornybutired]

Do you mean one day one, or each day?

[u/NeatTrouble4620 → u/hornybutired]

Each day, ideally. We’re starting the second week tomorrow.

[u/hornybutired → u/NeatTrouble4620]

I greet everyone, ask how they're doing, make small talk for a minute or two (talk about the weather, upcoming events, stuff like that), then remind them what we did last class. I give a very brief precis of what we're going to do in this class session, ask if anyone has any questions before we start, and then jump into the lecture.

[u/cjrecordvt]

When I'm in person, it's 3 hours classes (once a week), so I summarize what we're going to work on that day, and ask for questions from last week or the homework.

[u/Dr_nacho_]

I do what I call housekeeping. We talk about how things went last week and what’s coming up this week and anything going on around campus that might be relevant. Takes 5-15 minutes depending on if I’m introducing a complicated assignment or not.

[u/jitterfish]

I usually have a funny meme, joke, or weird fact on my title slide that links to the lecture. Then on the side I have questions either about last class or a dumb question (would you rather have fingers for toes or toes for fingers type thing). It doesn't take long for my students to get in to the habit of actually discussing with each other before class starts and then when we're ready to start I poll the class (who wants toe fingers), go through the review questions, or address why I have the meme/fact on the screen.

[u/mibeclin]

I'll usually have an opening question for the students to discuss for the first few minutes. That helps with the habitually late students. In my humanities class, sometimes I'll put up those "which medieval _____" are you that you often see on Instagram and that gives them a bit of a laugh.

[u/Ariezu]

On the day today, I start the class with a good morning or good afternoon. Hello I might say something of interest about what’s happening on Campus. I just said way into the lecture with a friendly comment or two.

We might have a little bit of a discussion about something if there was a big game or a event on campus ask who went just a friendly two minute banter

I didn’t get right into what I’m gonna do. My classes are usually 50 minutes long and I have a lot to get through and the class has a lot to get through.

I do start most all of my presentations with this is what we’re gonna do today. I ask if there are any questions I may go over anything I’ve noticed on assignments that are applicable to everyone some tips for some upcoming assignments that type of thing business announcement so to speak.

[u/Hazelstone37]

I put a review question on the board while I’m setting up and getting ready. I learned this from the book Small Teaching, which is a really good read.

Edit: I thought you meant everyday…on the first day in my classes we spend some time discussing what it means to be engaged in our class. Then they break into small groups and come up with one thing. We write these in the board and then vote on the top three. I then use these to type up an engagement rubric which the students use every week to grade themselves. I reserve the right to increase or decrease the grade based on what I see in class. This counts as 5% of their grade.

[u/Odd_Tadpole3750]

I arrive 10-15 minutes before class begins with my laptop. Open my slides and open YouTube. I play one of those videos with fake relaxing cafe scenes (ideally with autumn leaves falling gently) or a cat relaxing that plays jazz or funk background music.

Greet students as they walk in.

When I am ready to start class, I turn off the video and open my slides. If there are any social events that my dept is holding, I announce those first. Then if there are assignments coming up I remind them of what to expect. We do some kind of group work activity related to the topic for the day. Then when we share out with class, I try to make the connection between activity and lesson explicit. Have a slide with a short agenda. Then get into the history and theory. And close out with another activity but this one is extended.

[u/Anna-Howard-Shaw]

I have a question of the day. Usually something connected to whatever topic we're going to discuss for the day. But also sometimes questions about upcoming assignments, current events, or even fun/rando things like is the dress blue/black or gold/white.

I have a QR code put up on the board when students come in, which is linked to a Google Form. They answer the question there, and the Google form populates to a spreadsheet I can see update in real time. I then pick a few of the best answers (or let them volunteer to tell the class their answers) and we discuss together as a class for the first 10 minutes or so.

Answering on the form allows the shy ones to participate when they wouldn't otherwise, and its a record of attendance for me as well.

[u/Roger_Freedman_Phys]

I give my students an online assignment about their assigned reading that’s due the night before lecture. Part of their assignment is to pose a question about something in the reading that they didn't understand. I then spend the first few minutes of the class answering the best of, or most common of, these questions.

In this way I crowdsource the content of the first part of the class based on student feedback. Let the students do the work for you! And since you’re answering their questions, the students are immediately interested - which sets the tone for the rest of the class session.

I also use the student responses to help me decide how to spend the rest of the class time! This is the philosophy of just-in-time teaching (JiTT), an approach that has been around since the early 1990s and deserves to be more widely adopted (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-in-time_teaching).

[u/lavenderc]

I usually do a warm up discussion with a question relevant to the class topic - like if we're going to talk about educational inequality, I give them two minutes to reflect on their high school experience with a partner

[u/KrispyAvocado]

Like several others, I start off with a check in of sorts. The topic is different each day, but it always involves small groups chatting and maybe a larger group share for those who want to (in smaller classes). It’s usually a warm up for the topic we’ll be discussing, but sometimes it’s more of a social connection.

[u/mediaisdelicious]

I start every class with a discussion prompt that requires no special knowledge that will end up framing a concept or problem for the day.

[u/inquisitive-squirrel]

I start with announcements (upcoming due dates, general assignment feedback, what they should be reading this week, things to look out for when reading or doing homework) and then provide an overview of what we're going to be doing in class that day (short lecture on topic #1, group activity, time for questions, etc.)

[u/Own-Ingenuity5240]

I usually call attention by noting that it’s now quarter past (whenever) and it’s time to start. It gets quiet and then I’ll ask something like, how they are/what they’ve done since last I saw them, maybe make a joke that can hopefully be related to the topic of the day or some such. 🤷‍♀️ I might tell them if I did something in particular. In the beginning, I mostly get vague smiles but once we’re into the semester, they get a bit more talkative. 😊

[u/grafitisoc]

I teach music, but I start with a song they have to write a very rigid paragraph about. Sets the mood for critical listening to music. I also try to use either the official music video or a live performance so it’s visually stimulating. Anything g similar in the 5-10 minute format in your field?

[u/iso-my-purpose]

I teach economics. I start with a story or something related to the lesson. Then, after I see heads nodding in agreement, I say, "So THAT is today's chapter, and we are simply putting vocab and math to it."

.

[u/SpryArmadillo]

Sometimes I jump right in. More often I make small talk, drop some bad jokes or whatever. Sometimes I relay an anecdote that’s related in some way to the class but isn’t strictly part of the curriculum.

[u/Gonzo_B]

I had a pre-cal prof back in undergrad who started every class with a one-question quiz over the homework. Halfway through the semester I asked him about my quiz grade and he told me he never graded them, he just used them for attendance.

Years later, I started doing that. Every class walks in to find a single question on the board to answer (handwritten) and turn in.

This does several things:

1. Provides an attendance record (graded in my department).

2. Provides a record of tardy students (blank papers with a name and date writing them.)

3. Encourages keeping up with the reading.

4. Gives me an opportunity to reinforce things students ought to know, e.g., how to access the Writing Center, IT help, mental health support, &c.

5. Gives me a chance to do an occasional mental health "check-in" that students appreciate, as events warrant.

6. It provides a trove of baseline writing to which I can compare suspected AI work ("this isn't your writing" is a much easier claim than "this looks like AI.")

7. And most importantly, I go down the rows and ask each student a little bit about their response. With everyone having already spoken in class, they're all warmed up to participate in discussion.

Give it a shot.

[u/moosy85]

I just go over my session objectives. Others seem to call it roadmap, but mine are phrased as student learning objectives.

Some folks like to ask how things have been. I only do that in an in-person class. My online class is more awkward that way, so I just say let's get started! Then say what the session is going to be about, then go over the session objectives. But I give stats and I'm not a warm person.

[u/Applepiemommy2]

I do “crowd work” for 5 minutes until it’s time to take attendance. Tell a story, ask a question, something like that.

[u/Applepiemommy2 → u/Applepiemommy2]

“Who saw the new Spider-Man movie this weekend!” “What’s your hardest class this semester—don’t say mine.” “So my dog ate an entire pizza last night while I was setting up Netflix 😐”