Personal biography: your place of birth, family history, educational history, hobbies, sport and recreational interests, how long you have been at the university, and what your plans are for the future.

Other than providing your name and the name of the course you’re teaching, here is some information you may consider sharing:

The point of an introduction is to establish yourself as a unique individual sharing the classroom with other unique individuals. –From the chapter “How Do They Treat Their Students” in Ken Bain’s What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard Press, 2004), available in the CFT Library Introduce Yourself “Professors who established a special trust with their students often displayed the kind of openness in which they might, from time to time, talk about their intellectual journey, its ambitions, triumphs, frustrations, and failures, and encourage students to be similarly reflective and candid.” For example, if they will spend a good deal of time doing group work over the course of the semester, you may want to break them into groups the first day. You may also want to model, as specifically as possible, the classroom environment you intend to foster during the class. Thus, students will appreciate a clear roadmap of what you will require of them over the course of the semester. lab-based or lecture style), or a class with a certain workload to balance the demands of their other courses and extra-curricular responsibilities. They may be looking for a class that will fill a particular time slot, include a particular learning environment (i.e. It is helpful if you can introduce yourself as a scholar and educator and provide insight into how you will teach the class and what you will expect them to contribute to the learning process.Ĭonsider that several of your students may be “shopping” for a schedule the first week of classes. The first day of class is your opportunity to present your vision of the class to prospective students.

1st class work