In the spirit of seizing those valuable minutes before class, our own Laura Power briefly presented at Big Faculty Council the following classroom warm-up:
In Laura's words, it's "kind of cheesy," but who among us is opposed to a little cheese if it's effective?
So how does author James Lange propose that we make an opportunity of those usually-wasted minutes before class?
1. Mingle with students. At an individual level, ask students how they are doing. Strike up a conversation. Lay the foundations for the beginning of trust-filled student teacher relationship.
2. Provide the big picture. According to Lange, "Novice learners tend to see facts, concepts, and skills as discrete, isolated pieces of knowledge, without any awareness of the connections that join them all together." In those minutes before class, we can help students fit those pieces into a broader, coherent whole. Write the day's agenda on the board or an outline of the day's material. Once class begins, refer back to the outline or agenda, explicitly pointing out how the material hangs together in the larger framework.
3. Spark wonder. Display something interesting for students to observe as they enter the classroom, focusing their informal conversation and providing a launching point for discussion as class begins. Says Lange, "[It can be ] a great sentence in a writing class; a newspaper headline in a political science class; an audio clip for a music class; an artifact in an archeology class."
What other small changes can we make in those pre-class minutes to enhance our students' learning? For related reading, consider "You don't Have to Wait for the Clock to Strike to Start Teaching."
