1. Welcome the students by passing out the syllabus.
2. “What are we doing here?” (approx. 5 minutes)
- discuss the purpose, content, and nature of the class
- include pedagogy you'll use, goals for the class, etc.
- go over the syllabus
3. “How will we accomplish what we are doing here? (approx. 10 minutes)
- go over the mechanics of the class (e.g., readings, group discussion, tests/quizzes, group projects, etc.)
4. “What will the instructor be like?” “How will the class be organized?” (approx. 5-7 minutes)
- tell the students a little about your background, including where you're originally from, where you were educated, your research interests, how long you've been at the institution, other courses taught, etc.
- discuss your grading policy and give them an idea of how the last group performed in the class (e.g., % earning “As” “Bs” “Cs” etc.)
- discuss your expectations of the students while they are enrolled in the class (I give them a “student contract” that they sign, return to me and which I copy and keep the original).
- Discuss your expectations of yourself as the instructor (I discuss my “teaching philosophy” and give them a copy of an “instructor's contract” that I put together).
5. “Who are you?” (approx. 20 minutes)
- Try and find out a little about the students who are taking your class. I typically pass out a short survey which I collect and go through so the students can also “meet” each other.
Total time: 40-45 minutes
- John Sloan, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Psychology of Women
A few times when I taught a graduate course in the psychology of gender and sex-roles I asked each person to take 5 minutes to write a sentence or 2 about: (a) their worst nightmare of what this course would be like, (b) their most idealistic hope of what it could be like, and (c) the major psychological differences, if any, between men and women. I asked them not to sign their work.
When the 5 minutes was up, I took the papers, shuffled them, and handed them out randomly. During the rest of the first class, each person read aloud the paper he or she had been given.
Almost every “nightmare” got a big laugh when it was read aloud, gave us an opportunity to talk about some of the taboo topics (including group process issues), let me dispel some misconceptions about the course, and allowed the class to discuss what all of us could do to create a community that respected diverse experiences and beliefs, encouraged questioning and critical thinking, and appreciated thoughtful dissent.
After reading aloud and discussing each paper, I asked the class if they could determine whether if was written by a man or a woman. Those who ventured opinions were asked to disclose what clues led them to their belief about authorship. We kept track of the majority opinion about the authorship of each paper (with the author letting us know whether the class had been correct of not after each vote) to see if the class's attempts to assess whether the authors were male or female were significantly better than chance.
The students seemed to like this introduction and it seemed to get the course off to a good start.
- Ken Pope
I use a technique I learned from the SWS/or women's studies list. I generate a quiz that consists of facts that we will learn over the semester that may challenge preconceptions - the group most likely to be victimized is women, young males, elderly or what year did women get equal rights in the law (never). I have the students guess and then pair up to come to a consensus on some fraction of the questions. Then have the class discuss the questions looking at why they chose the answers they did. I try and emphasize that sociology is not just general knowledge, but instead an empirically based questioning of “common knowledge.” It gets the class talking with each other and participating and gets a start on sociological analysis.
- Pat Murphy, SUNY-Geneseo
When introducing themselves, I ask students to include a stereotype that they think has influenced their individual identity (since the students tend to think psychologically versus sociologically). Their answers usually fall along race, class, and gender lines, so then I follow this up with a discussion of the sociological imagination. It tends to get them talking right off the bat.
- Anonymous
Introduction to Sociology
I distribute but do not discuss the syllabus (I do that second day). I then pose a problem for the class, based on a recent study, chosen so that it will inevitably illustrate key sociological concepts (e.g., culture, institutions, social organization). This semester I did the following: “Black men are twice as likely as white men to present for medical treatment with advanced stage prostate cancer.” (J Clin Oncology, excerpted in AHCPR Research Activities, 3-99). The previous problem was: “The lower the income of the user, the more likely condoms are to break” (Family Planning Perspectives, May-June 1997). I then divide the class in small groups and ask them to work together to come up with an explanation. After about 15 minutes, we reassemble in a large group, put the major reasons and explanations on the board, and interpret them. I conclude by using it as an introduction to what will occur in the course.
Social Problems
As in introductory, I distribute but do not discuss the syllabus. I give the class a “Social Problems Quiz,” with 10 questions drawn from (fairly) recent studies covering as many of the problem areas that we'll be studying in the course as I can. All are self-graded true-false questions (they do not hand them in). Sample questions: “Women are more concerned about the well-being of others than men are.” (True, Beutel & Marini in ASR, 6-95). “The biggest reason why women on welfare can't hold jobs is an excessive frequency of drug and alcohol dependence.” (False, it's lack of a car and license – Focus, Spring 1999).
After the 5-10 minutes it takes to fill it out, we go over the first few questions. I ask for a show of hands for “agree” and “disagree,” and get a couple of explanations on each side from students (I do not comment on them). I then provide the “correct” answer (in that it's what the study found); nobody in the class ever gets them all right, and for many questions most of the class is wrong. This leads to a discussion of the nature of our personal involvement in social problems, which makes it difficult to study them, and an introduction to what we will study in the course.
- Eric Godfrey, Ripon College
I actually have two “first day of class” periods. The first period is spent entirely on reviewing the syllabus, talking about appropriate classroom behavior, and sketching out the class for students. My second “first day of class” starts off with people breaking into groups. Each person tells one true thing and one false thing about themselves, and we have to guess which one is the correct item. I also put one true thing and one false thing on the board about me and students get to vote.
- Anne F. Eisenberg, SUNY-Geneseo
I want to endorse the notion that it helps to do some sociology in the first class. Most students have little familiarity with sociology as a discipline and text definitions are usually lacking. I like to introduce the notion of sociology as “debunking,” although I do not use that description explicitly on the first day. I have used various brief questionnaires, and ask my teaching assistant to tabulate, by sex, answers to the question “Do you think that you will take more than 6 weeks off from employment to care for your newborn child?” (Students may, of course, answer that they do not plant to be employed or that they do not plan to have children).
I use that 2x2 table as a springboard for a discussion of why we find such a strong gender pattern, which leads to a discussion of structural constraints on “individual” decisions. Students typically offer economic, psychological, and biological explanations – as well as structural ones – and so we can explore a little the differences between the disciplines. I also tell them that I used to do this with a show of hands, but several men told me afterwards that they were reluctant to say they would like to take time off to be with an infant, for fear of negative reactions of their classmates. So then we can talk a little about gender norms, and the problems of reactivity, confidentiality, etc. in data collection.
I do not always accomplish all of this, because I think it's important to go over the syllabus, my expectations of students, etc. – but it has proved an effective introduction to the notion that one of sociology's contributions is understanding that “individual” decisions are rarely that. (In the first week, we discuss suicide rates, too).
- Karen Campbell, Vanderbilt University
I introduce myself (e.g., how long I've been teaching, how long I've been teaching at this school, how many years I've taught this class) and express my enthusiasm for teaching this particular course, distribute the syllabus (which is quite detailed – includes all assignments, dates, requirements, etc.) and a key concept list for the course, go over the highlights of the syllabus with the students, and end the class session asking each student to introduce herself/himself to the class (name, major, minor, and one or more of the following: career goal, current job, or hobby). I take notes during their introductions and usually make a summary statement about the diversity in the classroom (depending on what they have said – in majors, jobs, hobbies, career goals) and emphasize that this diversity will be a big benefit to the course. My classes are typically 40-45 students with 75 minute sessions.
- Martha Thompson, Northeastern Illinois University
On the first day of class, I always have the syllabus ready. I tell the students a bit about me and my family – maybe make a joke about something – my cat and dog. When I came in this year, 75 students were sitting there without a peep, so I asked them to introduce themselves to their neighbor until it was time to start. I go over part of the syllabus – goals, requirements, and talk about the three books. Then I ask them to get into groups of 5, introduce themselves to each other, and make a list of problems they encountered in starting the semester. I ask them to select a recorder. After 7 or so minutes, I have them turn their chairs back and have the recorders from some of the groups give me a list. I write these on the board under the heading “private troubles.” I then explain Mill's sociological imagination and make another column for public issues. I ask them how some of the items can be turned into public issues. I emphasize that understanding the sociological imagination is a major goal of the class as well as a dominant way of thinking in sociology. In the next class I finish discussing the syllabus.
- Susan Greenwood, University of Maine
I use the first day of class to do some "real" sociology. I hand out the syllabus at the end of class. We discuss it the next period. There is a quiz on the first section of the text and the syllabus shortly after that.
On the first day of class, I do a sociological discussion of suicide statistics with strong class involvement. We look at race, gender, age, rates in different countries, ratios of male to female in different countries, methods, etc. I of course then tell students that we have replicated Durkheim's classic study and describe his study. This works very well. There are many web sites with good statistics.
I have in the past done an in-class survey to test an hypothesis or to compare our students to GSS data. Testing an hypothesis works well when there is a "hot" political issue that is affected by gender or major.
I also have taken some item of "common sense” or about which students think they know and give them a "quiz” in which we compare their answers to GSS or other data. This works best when the data contradict common sense or add significant insight. We talk about evidence and the sociological imagination.
- John Eby, Messiah College
Two ideas:
1. Pretend to be a student. I come in with the students and sit down in the middle of the classroom. I wear clothing that helps me blend in but still look the part of a nontraditional student. After 15 to 20 minutes as the students are grumbling about where the professor is, I get up and say, "Heck, I bet we can learn this material together." I then go to the front of the class and begin asking students what they think sociology is, what its about, etc. We use the textbook to answer questions. Students begin to figure out after 10 to 20 minutes that I am the teacher and we engage in a discussion of authority, power, democracy, status, roles, and leadership.
2. Music day. I come in with various songs (pop, rock, rap, jazz, heavy metal) that demonstrate various sociological themes. The class and I then try to analyze these songs within a sociological framework (what could the author/composer have been trying to accomplish (sales, influence popular culture, build a social movement, start a genre, other ideas are generated).
- Art Jipson, University of Dayton
I often have students make collages or drawings on butcher paper - something like, "What is your vision of Canadian Society" or whatever the course topic is.
Often I do not give out the syllabus until the end of class and usually do not go over it until the second class. This helps to avoid the redo of explanations with students who have not made it back yet. It also helps to set a tone that this is not about details, marks, assignments, but is about learning.
- Randolph Haluza-DeLay, The King's University College
Here's my favorite... personally walk through the class among the students regardless of the size of the class and try to introduce yourself and shake hands, ask the name of the person and greet them as personally as possible. They might even feel like humans...
Most of the learners I've had in 31 years of teaching are absolutely shocked... but pleased... shocked because no one had ever done this.
In essence, my grandmother was right...
- Stephen Steele, Anne Arundel Community College
Introduction to Sociology: When I am developing the concept of the social construction of gender identities, I use the text by Ellen Seiter, Sold Separately: Parents and Children in Consumer Society. On day one, I ask students to raise their hands to show who watched which TV shows and who played with what sorts of toys when they were little. I use examples of the shows and toys discussed in the book: GI Joe, My Little Pony, Ghostbusters. After a show of hands, students split into groups to discuss the shows and toys of their childhood. After about 20 minutes of small group discussion, we meet again as a class and generate themes and shared experiences and link back to the concept of gender. We then add how race, class, and culture might affect TV viewing and toy use.
Teens and Families: To begin this new course I developed on day one, I introduced major themes, one being variation in families and the social construction of families, teens, gender, and sexuality. I showed a 15 minute clip from "Paris is Burning" a documentary which chronicles the lives of transgendered Chicano-African American teen males in NYC and the families they construct-the House of Channel, the House of ... This is a great way to make the class inclusive from day one and gay and lesbian students feel that the class is a safe space.
- Kate O'Donnell, Hartwick College
The following ideas are taken from Quick Hits: Successful Strategies by Award Winning Teachers, edited by Eileen Bender, Millard Dunn, Bonnie Kendall, Catherine Larson, and Peggy Wilkes, Indiana University Press, 1994. This book is a collection of teaching ideas from Indiana University professors and produced by the Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET).
“We're all ignorant, just about different things,” Will Rogers said. I say it at the start of every semester in nearly every class I teach. Why? Because in this age of hyper-specialization, we academics can hardly keep up with our own research areas, let alone our own disciplines or related disciplines. In this era of rapidly advancing knowledge, the “truth” of our own doctoral exams quickly becomes the “falsehood” of our students. In this age of multiple disciplines and multiple media and data systems, people are simply exposed to different bodies of knowledge and information. “Expert” though we academics be, ignorance is not something students have and faculty don't. Ignorance is an equal opportunity experience. And if recognized and openly acknowledged as such, it can be a catalyst for true collaborative learning – the kind of learning in which students learn from teachers, students learn from other students, and teachers learn as much from students as students learn from them.
- Holly Stocking, Journalism
On the first day of class, I sometimes bring a video camera, particularly if the class is a large one. I film each student for about 10 seconds (they like the attention; it's a good ice breaker, and it takes surprisingly little time). I then digitize the pictures into the computer to create a computer photo book, which turns out to be a great reference manual for me. First, it helps me to learn the students' names; secondly, it helps me recall students years later when they ask for letters of recommendation or I receive mail from them. With my photo album, I can quickly retrieve associations.
- James Mumford, Afro-American Arts Institute
What you do during that first session is crucial. Distributing copies of your course syllabus and administrative policies, though essential, should not be the sole purpose of the session. While some professors routinely make the first session a brief one, such brevity can be perceived as either a lack of preparedness, indifference to the subject or the class, or outright laziness. If you have an interesting first session, students certainly will not be marking time until the end of the period. A boring first class is a harbinger of what is to follow. I involve students in the first class discussion. Involvement is a simple exercise in getting to know one another or something more intellectually stimulating. The involvement and student-professor interaction is what is important.
- Robert Orr, Computer Technology
I start the first class by asking my students what they know about a topic. I then put their answers together to create a collage of thinking and knowledge. At the end of the semester (or even during the semester), I ask students to revisit their original thoughts to see if they still feel the same.
- FACET Alumnus
