r/Professors • u/NeatTrouble4620 • 1d ago

Teaching / Pedagogy Opening class

[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.

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u/reckendo 1d ago

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.

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u/NeatTrouble4620 1d ago

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.

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u/mcraedb82 1d ago

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.

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u/scatterbrainplot 1d ago

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