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How to approach the first class?

 I have the first class in a few hours. I know what I will do--teaching notes and slides are ready--but I want to introspect a little on what it means to design and conduct the first class. Here are some of the approaches that I have been exposed to: 

a) broadly introduce the thematic orientation of the course, anticipate the content to be taught in subsequent classes;

b) have an informal conversation with students, get to know each other, create a comfortable atmosphere, informally introduce the themes of the course, defer a more elaborate introduction to the second class;

c) establish ground rules and expectations for students, inform them of the syllabus and requirements for the course and give them a peek into the content-to-come;

d) gauge student interest in the themes and issues to be taught, ask students to talk about what they already understand about the themes in the course and build on that knowledge/intuition.

These approaches are obviously not mutually exclusive and overlap frequently, but each of them might hold separate assumptions about the approach to teaching. 

The first approach, for example, could be premised on the need for prioritizing the 'content' of the course. The teacher is not necessarily interested in explaining the logistics of the course or getting to know students, but wants to establish that the teacher disseminates certain discursive knowledge and initiates the student into those areas of thinking. 

The second approach might be premised on the need for establishing a more comfortable, informal, and personalized vibe in the classroom, where students can feel free-er and interact with each other. Here, the teacher is not necessarily interested in discussing the themes of the course, but aiming to present themselves as accessible, approachable--the focus is on producing a comfortable, interactive space. 

The third approach is to address the inevitable expectations, confusions, and anxieties that students have as they approach the course. The focus is on clarifying the logistics and mechanics of the course--assignment and grading requirements, expected classroom conduct, attendance policies, and so on. 

The fourth approach seems to be premised on the idea that students already bring particular knowledges/perspectives to the course and that should become an active component of the thematic knowledge being taught. The focus is on bridging the gap between what the student already knows and the prescribed curricular knowledge.

Now each approach has its own limitations and possibilities. And even though teachers might hold a certain approach to be desirable, there might be contradictions in how they actually go about implementing it. For example, in the fourth approach, the assumption is that the teacher is more democratic and considers existing student knowledge to be as important as 'official' textual knowledge. However, the inclusion of student perspectives may turn out to be merely tokenistic and don't actually become an active part of curricular knowledge. Or perhaps the perspectives of students who can present their knowledge in a more articulate, confident way end up getting prioritized. Or differences in perspectives, especially those contrary to the value-systems of the teacher, may not be rigorously engaged with. I'm thinking through all these points especially since I lean towards this approach more than the others. I have already planned a couple of exercises where the first inputs to the course (through a word association exercise followed by a group discussion) will come from students--let's see how that goes. 

Also, these approaches inevitably overlap as the course progresses, if not in the first class. I think I tend to de-prioritize the third approach, partially because I assume that students can figure out the logistics on their own (and it doesn't require a separate conversation) and partially because I feel expectations/norms evolve over time as the course progresses. I don't feel comfortable prescribing certain kinds of conduct. I assume that the clarifications will inevitably come as we stumble and make mistakes. However, I think there are many assumptions I'm not working through*. Students are confused or uninformed about certain aspects of the course for particular reasons--it would be more useful to enquire into those reasons first rather than assuming that they'll figure out things on their own. For a change this year, after the first class is over today, I'll stay on for a while, to address questions and concerns that some might have. Let's see how that goes. :) 

Finally, a lot might change when we conduct the first class 'online'. Hm. 

I wonder how students are approaching the first class. 

*want to write a future post on this 


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