What's Done on Day One? Set the Tone for the Long Run!

• Activity Number: 536
• Type: Roundtables
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 1, 2012 : 12:30 PM to 1:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Education
• Author(s): Larry Lesser*+
• Companies: The University of Texas at El Paso
• Keywords: first day of class ; active learning ; inquiry based ; motivation ; misconceptions ; discourse

Abstract

August already?!? All too soon we'll all face another Day 1 in the classes we teach. While our classes vary greatly in topics, length of meetings, number of students, etc., there are realities that cut across this diversity. When a course begins, students may not arrive with abundant background knowledge (and certainly haven't yet done any assigned reading in the textbook), but do arrive with confusion, concerns, and/or (mis)conceptions about the course and our discipline. The "Day 1 literature review" in http://www.amstat.org/publications/jse/v19n3/lesser.pdf suggests that first impressions may make a lasting difference in student attitudes, motivation, etc. So instead of just calling roll and rolling through the syllabus, what discussions and activities could help set the tone by building classroom norms of active learning and stimulating statistical habits of mind/questioning? For a head start or jump start, you can view examples in the half-hour webinar archived at http://www.causeweb.org/webinar/activity/2012-01/. There are many more ideas and examples worth discussing and sharing, so bring yours to the table -- a safe forum for feedback before Day 1 arrives once again!