In an article for the Chronicle of Higher Education, James Lane (author of Small Teaching) explains:
“The opening five minutes offer us a rich opportunity to capture the attention of students and prepare them for learning. They walk into our classes trailing all of the distractions of their complex lives — the many wonders of their smartphones, the arguments with roommates, the question of what to have for lunch. Their bodies may be stuck in a room with us for the required time period, but their minds may be somewhere else entirely.
It seems clear, then, that we should start class with a deliberate effort to bring students’ focus to the subject at hand.”
One strategy he advocates for is:
Reactivate what they learned in previous courses. Plenty of excellent evidence suggests that whatever knowledge students bring into a course has a major influence on what they take away from it. So a sure-fire technique to improve student learning is to begin class by revisiting, not just what they learned in the previous session, but what they already knew about the subject matter.
One way you can do this is by posing simple questions at the beginning of class followed by a few minutes of discussion: “Today we are going to focus on X. What do you know about X already? What have you heard about it in the media, or learned in a previous class?” – Lang explains that this helps students:
“connect to your course material, so when they encounter new material, they will process it in a richer knowledge context”
It also helps you understand what preconceptions and misconceptions they may have about material.
Weimer (2018) suggests you ask questions about material previously covered. The strategies she suggests include:
Resolutely refuse to answer the question. That’s exactly what students want you to do.
Give them a hint. “We talked about this when we were talking about X?” “Check your notes for October 20. You might find the answer there.”
Be patient. It takes time to retrieve what you’ve just learned and just barely understand.
Still no response? Tell them, that’s the question you’ll start with tomorrow and if they don’t have an answer then, they’ll next see that question on the exam.
Have students review previously presented content.
“Take three minutes to review your notes from November 1. Do you have anything in your notes that doesn’t make sense to you now?” If someone offers an example, encourage other students to respond. “Help Shandra out. What do the rest of you have in your notes about this?” Conclude by giving them another minute to write more in their notes if they need to.
At the beginning or end of the class session, give students the chance to review notes from a designated day with someone sitting nearby. Encourage them to trade notes and then talk about what they do and don’t have that’s the same. What do they both consider the most important material in that set of notes?
Use the text in class
If the text offers a good definition, description, graphic, example, sample problem, study question, or something else, tell students you have it highlighted in your text. Ask if they’ve highlighted it in theirs. Then inquire about reasons why it might be highlighted.
Identify a key concept discussed several days ago or in a previous module. Start with what’s in their notes. Then ask about text material on the concept. Where’s it located in the text? What’s the relationship between what’s in the text and what was presented? Does the text add new information? Does it provide a different kind of explanation? Does it offer more examples?
Roberto (2021) recommends Creating Meaningful Prework:
Students will also come to class more prepared to contribute if you set the stage with effective prework activities. Reading assignments alone aren’t sufficient, and grades are not enough to motivate. We must broaden our perspective and think creatively about what prework is. The tasks we give students should answer the “So what?” question and require them to grapple with the material in some way, so they’re not blank slates when they get to class. It’s all about preparing them to engage. I’ve found the following tasks to be more effective than assigned readings; ask them to do some of the following:
Watch a ShowMe tutorial. This is an Apple app, though there are similar apps for other platforms. ShowMe turns your tablet into a whiteboard so that you can draw and bring in different colors and images as you record your voice. It doesn’t have to be fancy. The key is making a short video that breaks down a concept and readies students to apply that information. We need to get away from posting lengthy lecture videos and expecting students to sit through them.
“Articulating the ‘So what?’ before you hand out an assignment—and including compelling examples that reinforce the subject’s relevance—motivates students to do the work well, not just for the grade.”
Listen to an Audacity podcast. With this free software (also available at IUWare), you can record short audio podcasts that students can listen to on the go. My podcasts include a few simple bullet points and reviews of key topics.
Conduct interviews. Give students something active to do with the material. Sometimes the most effective prework is having them go out and be anthropologists, to observe or interview people about the topic. It could be someone on campus, out in the community, or even in their own homes.
