1. Make the Most of the First Day of Class
- Eric Sales -
Graduate Fellow
Center for Teaching Excellence
Department of Sociology
Special thanks to: Stephanie Richardson for providing previous slides on this topic.
Stephanie Richardson, RN, PhD
University of Utah
College of Nursing

2. Before the first day: Visit classroom: Test tech
Consider the space for your class
Consider how you want to be perceived:
Your class will inherently judge you by your age, race, sex, etc. Manage your persona
Dress accordingly
Especially important for Grad instructors

3. Goals for the First Day:
What you can walk away with:
Who they are.
Why they are in your course.
What they can take home:
What the course will cover.
How to succeed.
How to communicate with you.
Belief in your competence.

4. Who they are: Learn their names: Call role on the first day.
Name tags, tents, seating chart, flash cards, etc.
Learn something about them:
Use an introduction strategy:
Written surveys, oral introductions, group intros, etc.
Consider class size and environment.
Engage both introverted and extroverted students

5. Why are they in your course?
Ask them! What do they want to learn?
Encourage student input on the syllabus and course content.
Are your students from your department?
Does your course have a gen-ed designation?

6. What the course will cover:
Are they in the right course?
Project or write name and number of the course (get there early)
Mention pre-requisites
Bring a copy of the text
Hand out the syllabus
How do you teach?
What do you want them to take away?

7. How to succeed: What’s most important in your eyes? Attendance
Writing quality
Critical evaluation of text
How and when will they be evaluated?
How can they get help?
What to say, what not to say
Late work, extra credit and flexibility.
Consider a syllabus quiz.

8. Communication Strategy
Explicitly discuss what your expectations are for communication with students.
Do you answer s on weekends? The night that an assignment is due?
Do you prefer canvas message or personal ?
How long does it normally take for you to respond?
Office hours?

9. Belief in your competence:
Get there early and greet students.
Your attire: Broadcast who you want to be perceived as.
Introduce yourself. Be more than a teaching robot!
Why are you qualified to teach this class?
What is your specialty/current interests.
Select personal details (eg. I love dogs, I grew up in New Hampshire)

10. Questions?
Contact: Eric Sales,