Planning the First Day of Class

How do we begin?

On the first day of class, students will likely walk in with several assumptions about what they expect from the course. A few possible misconceptions include:

- Thinking the class is frivolous because it's communication and they do that all the time

- Viewing the class as a public speaking-exclusive class, instead of a hybrid course

- This class will be the death of them because public speaking is scarier than sharks and ghosts combined

On day one, our job is to walk them through the basics of what the course will cover in order to head off these perceptions. We must also set clear academic and professional expectations, introduce students to the concept of communication (on a Tuesday/Thursday schedule), and create a .

In this blog post, I will walk through the following parts of my first day lesson...

- Introducing the course

- Getting to know one another

- Setting clear expectations

- Teaching the Communication Process

While I will typically post my lesson plans in an outline format, I will here walk through the first day--as I envision it--in a narrative format. Text highlighted in yellow indicates information printed on the PowerPoint slide; portions highlighted in blue reflect hand outs or other materials that I will provide.

When I provide a resource or a walk through like this, it is meant only as a guide -- not as something that you need to follow verbatim. Pick and choose what you like, scrap what you don't, and feel free to comment and tell me if you think something I'm doing won't actually work.

Introducing the Course (10 minutes)

• Students will enter the room. As they enter, their attention will be directed to a prompt on the PowerPoint:

Based on your life experiences, write a definition for the word communication. Be prepared to explain and justify your definition to the class.

• Once the class is settled in and I have taken roll, worked out inevitable scheduling discrepancies, etc., I will proceed to initiate a discussion around this prompt. As they give their definitions, I will pose probing questions to "dig in" to their responses. For example:

If their explanation of the definition is lacking:

- Where in your life has this definition been applicable? 

- Can you give me a scenario where this would apply?

If their definition is limiting:

- But doesn't ____ also count as communication? Why don't you include that in your definition?

If their response shows a lot of thought and imagination:

- Okay: So, if you were going to take a class on that, what would you expect to cover?

We will spend a few minutes on this discussion, depending on how well they're getting it. It has no clear terminus; what I am looking for is a logical segue into a discussion of what the class is. Why am I employing the Socratic method on students before I even introduce myself? For three reasons:

1) I like to keep students guessing. I want to make them wonder a bit, "Who is this guy?" before I up and tell them.

2) The study of communication is, to some extent, intuitive (in that we communicate all the time). Therefore, letting students start with a question-based dialogue can raise important ideas I can then "hook back" into later on in class.

3) I always hated it in college when instructors started class by handing out the syllabus and dryly reading through it right away. As a general rule of thumb, I don't want to imitate the instructors I didn't enjoy.

• We will then transition into a discussion of what COMM 107 is and is not. The bullets below reflect the bullet points on the PowerPoint; the un-highlighted part afterward is the points I will hit aloud.

107 IS: 

- A hybrid course --> Interpersonal, intrapersonal, media, interviewing, rhetoric, listening, group, and yes, public speaking;

- A professional course --> In this course you will learn skills and attitudes that will enable you to excel in your future career and your classes regardless of your major

- A civic course --> You will learn to advocate, to express yourself, to wield your first amendment rights!

- A cultural course --> You will reflect on how different societies have different expectations, and how to navigate those expectations in your day-to-day life;

- An identity-forming course --> You will learn who you are. Samuel Butler once said that life is like learning to play the violin on a public street-corner and picking up the instrument as one goes on. Nowhere is this more true than in a speech class, where your ideas will play out in interactions in front of others. You will learn a lot about yourself in this class.

107 IS NOT:

- Your grandpa's speech class --> We live in the 21st century. I'm not going to just teach you to organize a basic three-point persuasive speech. We'll learn that, too, but we also have to engage as communicators in many ways!

- Easy --> You must complete the readings, you must practice your speeches outside of class, you must engage and participate in class.

- Memorization and regurgitation --> I am not a baby bird. My intellectual digestion is fine. Do not regurgitate concepts at me. There are concepts to learn--but the class is called Principles AND Practices. We will do both!

Getting to Know One Another (20 minutes)

If I were on a MWF schedule, the entire first day could be dedicated to icebreakers and getting to know each other. However, since I teach T/Th, I need to cover the entire Communication Process chapter today--so I don't have as much time to dedicate to icebreaker activities. I also won't lie--I don't really like icebreakers and find them a little awkward. (I'll make up for this by having a lot of activities up front that reveal student personalities in line with the content.) 

• Fortunately, I've got a delightfully simple, quick icebreaker in my repertoire called Fist to Five. It goes like this:

i. Fist: Who are you?

ii. Thumb: Something you like (thumbs up)

iii. Pointer finger: Where you’re going (Why UMD? What major?)

iv. Middle finger: Something you hate, hate, hate

v. Ring finger: Your passion in life (Something you deeply care about)

vi. Pinky: Fun little random fact about you

Each student will stand at their desk, facing the room, and deliver their fist-to-five. I want to reinforce standing up right away (students will protest or start talking without standing; I'll simply react in my booming Teacher Voice: Marshall, stand up!), but I won't ask students to move to the front of the room for the sake of time. I'll begin with my own fist-to-five to model how fast it should move; I'll also use this as an opportunity to express my passion for this course and what it hopes to achieve.

Setting Clear Expectations (20 minutes)

• Make it matter. (First seven minutes)

It's important that students understand how deeply sacred, meaningful, and crucial this course is in your heart. I know that sounds sappy, but it's vital to the life of your class. Nothing is more powerful than showing students that this content has deep, crucial meaning to you. Starting with this gives you rationale for having high expectations later: you're hard on them because you care. Here's how I plan to set the tone:

First, I will play the video of Malalai Joya, a woman who stood before the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan and risked persecution by speaking against her own government. She risked her life in a nation where the fredom of speech has been systematically limited. Her speech, in its entirety, can be found here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLC1KBrwbck *

On the PowerPoint, I will then show the following:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I will then have students turn to their neighbors and answer the following questions with them:

- What would it be like to live in a country where protest speech like Ms. Joya's is limited?

- Why did our government see fit to lay down this right before all others?

- How has your ability to freely express yourself benefited you in your own life?

After a brief discussion of interesting points raised in his conversation, I will conclude by stressing the fundamental point: That in America, we have been blessed with the right to communicate; and it is a travesty if we walk through our lives without taking advantage of the full power afforded by that right in all situations. And that is why this class matters, deeply, to me--and to all of you.

• What I expect. (Last thirteen minutes)

Syllabi will be handed out. One trick I learned in high school: don't do menial things like hand out papers on your own. Make a student do that. 

Just as we have all experienced "Information Overload" these last few days, our students will be too. Their eyes will glaze over as you go over the syllabus. I am not going to waste time on these and I will move through them deliberately and firmly. I'll also reiterate before and after that they need to review the syllabus themselves and will be held to the requirements listed on the document. Students will be asked to hold all questions until the end of my explanation. I'll hit these major points:

Every day expectations

- Participation --> Ten out of 200 points; you must be engaged in class; buy coffee if necessary, but you will be alert, enthusiastic, and I will be cheerfully in-your-face if you are not!

- Discussion --> Socrates once said, "I refused to address you in the way which would bring you the most pleasure." I hope to capture the same in here. I employ cold calling and other techniques to involve everyone in discussion. It's easier, though, if everyone just eagerly volunteers. So, do that.

- Cell phones/PDAs/laptops --> Turn them off. Especially during a presentation. Because that would make me angry--and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

- No gum chewing/food --> These are beautiful facilities and I want to keep them that way. Water and coffee (with a secure lid) are permissible.

Absences/tardies

--> First of all, really, really hit how incredibly important it is that students attend class every day.

- Two free absences --> After the second, you will lose two points off of your P&E grade for each meeting you miss.

- Excused absences --> You will need an excuse note from your doctor or club/activity or whatever legitimate reason you missed. Written notification is required one week before an absence, unless the student is ill--then I will need documented proof of illness on the day you return to class.

- DO NOT MISS SPEECH/EXAM DAYS --> I recommend that every instructor reinforce the heck out of this point. Just because it isn't "your day" to perform doesn't mean that it isn't an obligation to come provide an audience for classmates. Students must attend every speech day. No makeups will be provided for presentations or exams unless you were absent for an excused reason. 

- Tardy policy --> Get here on time. If you arrive late twice, you will accrue an unexcused absence. There is an insane amount of material to cover in this class and we cannot sacrifice a second. 8:00 AM means 8:00 AM. 

- Make friends with a note-taker --> It is not my responsibility to tell you what you missed. You need to make friends with a responsible classmate who will fill you in on what you missed. You need to be here as well to receive updated information on deadlines, assignments, and so forth!

Assignment Guidelines

- Professional Attire on Speech Days --> You will be required to wear professional dress on speech days. This means the attire you would wear to a job interview. If you are not sure what to wear to a job interview, please look this up on Google with a search term like "what to wear to a job interview."

- Extra Credit --> Available by attending the Oral Communication Center (see last page of syllabus)

- Cite Sources in APA 

- Turn in hard & soft copy --> I expect both a physical hard-copy printout of written work as well as an emailed copy sent to my address: msteudem@umd.edu

- Begin ALL EMAIL SUBJECT HEADINGS with "COMM 107" --> so my Gmail filter knows to flag it as class-related!

- Plagiarism --> Taken very seriously, and I am very, very good at spotting it. Review, review, review the university's academic conduct regulations on this subject.

- Communication Research Studies --> Since UMD is a research institution, you must participation in at least one hour of comm. research this semester. Opportunities can be found by checking the URL on your syllabus. Do not wait until the end of the semester! First come/first serve.

Reading!

ALL reading must be completed before class --> I don't want to waste valuable classtime going over material you should have (and could have) learned on your own. We need to dedicate this time to analyzing and applying the concepts you have learned and to practicing the skills you need to excel in life. Come to class with the concepts in mind and the reading completed or you will feel overwhelmed.

Any questions? -- Questions that only apply to individual students will be asked to hold until the end of class, since we have content to get through!

The Communication Process (20 minutes)

Unlike my MWF colleagues, students will not have read yet during this class (since they're just beginning). As such, I cannot expect too much application here. It will be important that I reinforce how important it is that they read and review this chapter after-the-fact: I will remind them that they will be held accountable for knowing concepts from the chapter on their Mid-Term Exam.

Communication is Central (5 minutes)

Discussion: Going back to your definition at the start of class, in what ways has communication been central to your life? Tell your neighbor one situation in which your ability to (or failure to!) communicate has had a tremendous influence on your life.

Communication is Competency and Commitment (5 minutes)

I'll briefly hit bullet points regarding the attitudes/skills associated with communication; the ethical commitment one makes (I'll PowerPoint Quintilian's quotation regarding the "Good man speaking well"); and the conceptual understanding it takes to truly communicate effectively.

Communication is Complex (10 minutes)

I will introduce students to the top-down speaker/audience communication model on a PowerPoint. I will then pose a simple question: What is missing from this diagram?

Through discussion, I will guide students to consider the myriad aspects of communication they may not have considered before class began:

-- How does the context of the speaker influence the message?

-- Does the communication just stop when the speaker sits down?

-- Are listeners passive receivers of a message? 

-- Is this how a conversational exchange looks?

-- How about an email exchange? A phone call? A job interview?

-- What if the words the speaker uses are misunderstood? 

-- What might the listeners be dealing with that could affect their attention to the speaker's meaning? [I could pull up an example from teaching zany high school students here...]

-- What if the speaker and listeners are on a totally different page?

-- How might the listeners communicate their feelings back to the speaker?

-- What if a guy is standing outside jackhammering while the speaker tries to talk?

-- What rules do the people participating in the exchange have to follow, if any? Are there "unwritten rules" in our day-to-day conversations?

We won't actually get to all of this. But the point is to at least touch on some of the many ways in which communication is complex: process, symbolic, dynamic, continuous, irreversible, interactive/transactional, contextual, systemic.

We'll give a brief and specific nod to the idea that communication is irreversible by referencing Representative Todd Akin's moronic comments about rape, which is a topical and extremely solid example of how once words leave your mouth they can never come back. 

Reminders and Reinforcements (Five Minutes)

- Students will be reminded to read chapters 1 and 2 in Berko, et. al.

- I will remind them of the expectations stated earlier regarding reading!

It's also important to be thinking one lesson ahead and providing students with additional quick assignments that can help set the tone for the next class. I will give students the following assignment, and tell them to look on ELMS for the URL and further information:

You will locate your specific dialect on the American English dialect map (if you are an international student then consider how your native tongue influences your speaking of English). Consider how your region and community influenced your way of speaking: how you pronounce certain vowel sounds, the phrasing you use, terms you say that others don't, and so on:  http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap

(This will begin setting students up for the class on Verbal Language!)

__________________________________________________________

Whew! There's an agenda for the first day. I probably can't actually hit all of that in the time I've allotted, but as long as I keep an eye on my watch I can keep moving. Typically, my lessons will have a bit less structure and will be more activity-centered--it's just hard on the first day when there as so many expectations to hit, so many introductions to make!

Please provide me feedback in the comments--let me know what is helpful and what is not. Also, write down (for the benefit of others) what other approaches you plan on using on Day 1 of class!

* Helpful resource: If you want to download a YouTube video in advance to avoid potential internet outages or problems, visit: http://www.keepvid.com