There’s a lot at stake for educators on the first day of school, writes Assumption University professor James M. Lang for The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“On that first day, I would argue, your students are forming a lasting impression not just of you as a teacher but of your course, too,” Lang writes. “Their early, thin-slice judgments are powerful enough to condition their attitudes toward the entire course, the effort they are willing to put into it, and the relationship they will have with you and their peers throughout the semester.”
Lang provides an online guide with four core principles for planning the first day of a course, examples of good first-day activities and more.