Our previous posts in this series focused on creating and introducing inclusive syllabi. While the syllabus is often “the first point of contact with instructors,” your students’ first impression of you and the course is solidified on the first day of class. Inclusive Teaching: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom (Hogan & Sathy, 2022) address the importance of first impressions and argues that “if you want to show your students you are going to be the kind of professor that supports all students, know they will be judging you immediately” (86). That’s a lot of pressure for an already stressful first day! Drawing on this and several other pedagogy texts, this post aims to help you to make a lasting positive first impression with your students. 

Welcoming Students  

Chapter 7 of How Learning Works : Eight Research-Based Principles for Smart Teaching (Lovett et al., 2023), addresses the importance of course climate and how your students’ sense of belonging is an important aspect of their ability to be successful in your course. So, how do we as instructors cultivate a sense of belonging? While this work is not something that can be accomplished in a single day, the first day of class is an important first step. As you prepare to teach your first class this fall, there are a few techniques you can try to increase students’ sense of belonging. 

Simply finding each classroom on the first day can feel like a daunting task. One quick and easy way to help lessen student anxiety is to have a welcome slide (Hogan & Sathy, 2022). This small but significant technique can ensure that students enter the space knowing they are in the right place—a great first step to feeling that they belong.  

In addition, students entering the classroom will look to you as the instructor to set a welcoming tone. Try greeting students individually as they enter the room in order to establish that they are welcome in your class as an individual with their own unique lived experience and viewpoints. Even if you can’t greet every student, making an effort to do so will not go unnoticed by the class (Hogan & Sathy, 2022, p. 91).  

Self-disclosure 

Chapter 4 of Inclusive Teaching Strategies: Strategies for Promoting Equity in the College Classroom (Sathy & Hogan 2022) points to self-disclosure as a way to build rapport with students and improve classroom climate. A study by Mazer, Murphy, & Simonds (2007) demonstrates that when students know more about their instructor through self-disclosure, they often view their classroom more positively and therefore demonstrate improved motivation in a course. However, a more recent study by Jacob L. Cayanus & Matthew M. Martin (2008) shows that an important consideration in instructor self-disclosure is valence: if students perceive an instructor’s self-disclosure to be relevant to the course it will be received more positively by more students. Conversely, an act of self-disclosure that students might perceive to be unrelated might be perceived by them as “out-of-place or inappropriate for the classroom setting’’ (96).   

Therefore, especially for more vulnerable instructors, choose your moments of self-disclosure wisely: discuss personal experiences that you can relate to the material for your course. For example, you might discuss how you first encountered the subject of your discussion or even how you struggled to learn something new. Describing how we struggled to learn, but eventually mastered, a new skill models growth mindset for students and encourages them to adopt it themselves.    

Pronouns 

As also mentioned in Sathy and Hogan (2022), LGBTQIA+ students will notice when instructors show their awareness of the use of pronouns. It can seem strange for some people at first, but it is actually quite simple and grammatically correct! Modeling the use of pronouns demonstrates for students who are not familiar with pronouns how simple it can be to share them as well as communicates to minoritized students your awareness of some of the issues that impact them.   

Pronouns are integral to how we see ourselves as individuals, and through sharing pronouns we communicate our desire to honor other people’s lived experiences. If we get in the practice of sharing our own pronouns regularly, we will encourage others to do the same. Like learning and using someone’s name, the correct use of pronouns is an important way of affirming someone’s identity and is a fundamental step in being an ally and creating an inclusive classroom climate. Instructors often assume that their classrooms are neutral spaces, but research has shown that students do not perceive classrooms this way, bringing into new spaces their experiences from previous ones. Introducing and using pronouns from the first day of class can create a new expectation for some students that their identity will be respected.   

We never want to force someone to use pronouns however, as not everyone may feel safe sharing their pronouns just yet. So always model their use yourself first and then invite others to participate as well. Consider also setting your pronouns globally in Canvas.   

If using pronouns feels uncomfortable or you struggle with using “they” as a singular pronoun (or using alternatives like ze or él/ella/elle), practice! We all learned to use pronouns, so continue to learn by getting a picture of someone who uses pronouns you are not used to and practice referring to them using them. It might seem silly, but if you practice using a new pronoun it will soon seem as normal as using any other, and it can make a big difference to the person you are speaking with! 

Engaging with the Course Syllabus 

Overflowing with lengthy policies that are often written in punitive language, the syllabus can seem impenetrable or even exclusionary. In their book The New College Classroom (2022), Cathy N. Davidson and Christina Katopodis pose an important question: “What if we had students transform all of the dreary, deadening, legalistic, and policing policies of a syllabus into their own class constitution, a set of principles that all members of the class agreed to abide by?” (103).  

Having students rewrite policies in their own words helps ensure they understand not only what the policies say but also why they matter to their own learning. This also signals to students that they are co-learners with you and their peers. Co-creating class constitutions builds a sense of community and turns your first day into an opportunity to set mutual and inclusive expectations.  

Although potentially daunting (so much to consider!), the first day of class is an amazing opportunity to communicate to students that you value them and their participation in your course. If you do not have time to extensively revise your syllabus, plan first-day activities, or memorize all your student names and pronouns, just pick one suggestion from this blog and try it out! What we know about teaching is that the way we improve our teaching is by reflection: try something new and iterate until we find a method that works for us. So, try a new method or activity your first day and reflect on the changes you see in your classroom. Small seeds can bear much fruit, and we’re always here to help!

 

Looking for more ways to have a great first day of class? Read the previous CITL blog post on creating inclusive syllabi and look out for our upcoming post on Day 1 Activities. You can also make a consultation with a CITL staff member to discuss a more course-specific approach to starting your semester.