Delivered just prior to a new academic year, MacEwan University’s First Day Boot Camp workshop offers faculty members strategies and activities for engaging students’ attention and encouraging their active involvement in a class, right from day one. Our STLHE session will combine condensed versions of Boot Camp activities we have found most interesting and motivating for faculty, with a look behind the scenes at how our Boot Camp has been built. Participants will have the opportunity to learn strategies both for stimulating student enthusiasm and for designing Boot Camp sessions that succeed in attracting faculty members even during a very busy time of year. Faculty members interested in grabbing students’ attention right from the first day of class will learn about carousel-style graffiti, techniques for managing power dynamics, avoiding information overload, and more. Educational developers seeking to hold similar First Day of Class workshops at their own institutions will benefit from the perspective of the presenters who also designed and facilitate the Boot Camp – an educational developer and two curriculum coordinators, all of whom teach – and the lessons we have learned about creating a session faculty will find appealing and useful.
M. Bart. (2009, July 6). How to use the first day of class to set the tone for entire semester. [Web log article]. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/how-to-use-the-first-day-of-class-to-set-the-tone-for-entire-semester/
M. Weimer. (2013, January 9). First day of class activities that create a climate for learning. [Web log article.] Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/first-day-of-class-activities-that-create-a-climate-for-learning/
