an odd question and a picture

[warch]

Look over your required chapters and plan out your course. What will you provide or offer that is beyond the text? What are the big questions/problems that are investigated? What do you want them to learn? What should they know and be able to do after the class? List these out. What will they learn, the real, deeper concept stuff, that they wont just forget 3 months later? Work backwords to plan your classes from the key learning goals (or those prescribed chapters). Provide a clear syllabus on day one, you can reserve the right to tweak it though. Require attendance and dont be soft. Let them know they will need to earn their grade. This is college after all. You may have some latent HS cruise attitude. Hey, its their dime. They are adults.
That application to real life is very important. Stressing discussion is key- but it can be really hard, particularly with college students that dont know each other and dont want to look dumb. You need to set the discussion tone from day one. Get them talking, everyone. Go around the room if you can. Helps you with the names too. Make notes on your classlist to help you remember.

I second the "dont read" and add dont just blather on, lecture. Devise questions to kick off each session and connect with the readings. Make class active. In class, dont you do all the work. Besides reading and talking, how else can topics be investigated? Mock work situations? "challenges" presented that kick off a topic or project? With this sort of application students can even grade thier own or each other's success. Did they complete the project, on time with accuracy?

Maybe allow them to discuss in small groups then in the larger one if its a big class, or even assign them randomly to smaller working groups. I enjoyed classes and did well in ones where I had the support of the instructor and fellow students. Be creative in your approaches and dare to break up the rows of chairs pointed at the front desk. Get them moving and working.

Your first classes wont be perfect, but keep tweaking it and ask for, plan for student feedback. Steal and adapt all good ideas. Good luck and have fun.

[wolf]

1. Purchase a tweed jacket with suede or leather patches on the elbow. Wear it to every class, no matter what the weather. Never have it dry cleaned.

2. Start the first class by telling the world's only accounting joke. Adjust punchline of the joke to fit the layout of the classroom.

[Skunks]

- Be entertaining without going over the top. I love anecdotes, but other people might not; in a general sense, though, you have /got/ to keep the students interested and involved.

- Be well-prepared and well-organized. I once had this crazy-good history prof. She'd start the lecture promptly at 1PM with an "mm, okay", then talk for exactly 50 minutes. Had a full set of lecture slides (Powerpoint, running off a PBG4 (bonus points)) for every class. Came off as mildly anal-retentive, but the lectures were pretty cool and fairly educational.

- Grade fairly, give good feedback. And write your margin comments clearly, for fuck's sake.

- Don't repeat yourself if someone doesn't understand, unless they can't hear you talk. Rephrase it, come at it from some other angle, but don't just bash your head into them. And, on the same note, pay attention to body language. If they're nodding emphatically and sighing, stop talking at some point.

- First name works fine. My most-hated profs are the insane fuckups who insist on being "Doctor whatever" at all times. The cool ones have always just said, "first name is fine, really." The only thing that, in my mind, undermines classroom respect is hypocricy and, to a limited degree, the really insane-nervous profs who have shrill high-pitched valleygirl voices or just sort of tremble and sweat profusely. They're getting better, or my ears are getting worse, though.

Someone already said it, but be honest instead of bullshitting to "save face".

[TheLorax]

I’m really excited about doing this. I’ve ordered annual reports from all of the companies of the djia to use for a class project – nothing too painful, I’m going to have everyone pick a company and see how what we’re doing in class is used in the annual report. It may or may not work, but I think it would be fun to try it. I wish this textbook had been this easy to read when I was on the other side of that desk though.

[staceyv]

you are already going to be a good professor, without our advice, because you are so thoughtful about how you're going about things, you have the desire to do a good job, you look at things from the students' perspective, and you seem cool. so don't worry!

you could try having your students call you "mr L", or whatever your last initial is. it's not as informal as your first name, and not as formal as your last name. that's what my anatomy professor did, and we were friendly with him and laughed a lot, but we also studied hard and respected him. (anyone that friggin smart earns my respect automatically, no matter what i call him).

adding humor to the lessons helps to keep attention! and it just seems to me that if the students like YOU, they will try harder to learn the materials, out of respect for you and the fact that you're there teaching it. ofcourse, i did have a few teachers in high school who i really liked but i didn't do well in the class, but that was because i HATE physics and geometry.

i hope you keep coming back to the cellar. i bet you'll have a lot of interesting stories to tell, and intelligent advice for those of us who need it. (i love eccentric people and i really really appreciate intelligent people...don't leave us )