by Julia Maffei

As a fresh new semester begins, I am reflecting on some ideas I have picked up along the way, including those from attending professional development such as the Lilly Conference and workshops offered at ACC.

1. You are a rock star

You are going to teach a great class because you are a great teacher. End of discussion!

2. Create a community of learners

Folks feel more comfortable and more invested in the class when they feel that they belong. Here’s a few ways to do this. 1) At the start of class, tell your students “Welcome,” “Good morning,” or “Nice to see you today.” At the end of class, say goodbye to each student as they leave. 2) Spend some time the first day of class getting to know your students and letting them get to know each other. Tell them about yourself. Have them interview each other and share what they learn about their classmates. 3) Learn everyone’s name, and call them by it frequently. Learning all those names can be challenging, but you can use your class roster to put faces with names. Make a seating chart. Use name tents (folded pieces of card stock on which student write their names). Learning all those names in a large class can be challenging. Work on those names during the process of returning papers and when students turn in test papers to you. 4) Get students to work together in pairs or small groups for a portion of the class. Besides getting students to get to know each other, it changes the dynamic of learning via lecture and engages students with each other. 5) A good way to connect with students is through Blackboard or Google Drive. ACC’s Faculty Resource Center can help you with these.

3. Keep it positive

If you don’t have anything nice to say…think of something. A “compliment sandwich” is easy to make and makes bitter pills easier to swallow. Start and end with something positive, and wedge a hard truth there in the middle. “Great ideas. Careful with spelling and sentence structure. Good organization overall.”

4. Q & A

1) Use open-ended questions that elicit longer responses instead of yes or no answers. “What questions do you have?” instead of “Do you have any questions?” 2) Give people time to think and answer by counting to seven (not out loud!) after you ask a question and wait for a response. 3) Use a parking lot for questions students have but may be off topic. “Good question! Can we come back to that later? Don’t let me forget.” 4) Make and give surveys on Survey Monkey or Blackboard.

5. Try an app

There is a world of apps out there to try. Quizlet.com is great for studying vocabulary and definitions. It has lots of tools to use and fun games you can play. Padlet.com offers a discussion platform that can be a great way to engage all students in the class. You can post a question and all can post an answer via their phones. Ask your colleague or your students to share some apps that they like and use.

6. Reflect

Take some time to think about how class went. What went well? What bombed? What new strategies might you use to tweak the class?

7. Stay hungry

Keep learning. Take advantage of resources we have on campus such as the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning and Faculty Resource Centers. Attend conferences, read articles, talk to colleagues. Learn some new material, sources and strategies that you can incorporate into your teaching.

8. Have fun

Enjoy yourself and students will too. Your attitude is infectious. Do a magic trick. Wear a funny hat or a carnation in your hair. Start the class with a song on YouTube and sing along. Play some games in class. The ball toss is a simple game. Students toss a ball to each other and take turns asking and answering questions. Don’t have a ball? Use a wadded up piece of paper. How about “fly swatter” for a vocabulary review? Write your words on the board and divide the class into teams. You read the definition, and students run to the board to be the first to “swat” the word on the board. Students can get pretty competitive!

These are just a few things that I am keeping in mind as I work on my syllabi for upcoming classes. I hope you all have a blast this semester!