The Five Minutes Before Class

I was catching up on my reading of the Chronicle of Higher Education (CHE) and came across the article “Small Changes in Teaching: The Minutes Before Class” by James Lang. This article at the moment is accessible to the general public. But in case wider access is removed at a later time, let me summarize the main idea. Lang argues that those few minutes you have before class can actually be used very productively. When he started teaching, he would spend the final moments gathering his thoughts before launching into class at start time.

Over the years he finds that these “warm-up minutes actually represent a fertile opportunity [to] enhance the learning that will take place in the hour that follows, to build a positive atmosphere for class discussion, or [getting] to know students better.” Here are his three suggestions, and my use (or lack thereof) of similar measures.

Suggestion #1: Spend time asking students “How are You?”

The crux behind this suggestion is creating opportunities for increased interaction and building a rapport, leading not only to better discussions in class, but increased student engagement overall. (The professor cares!) In this area, I need much improvement. While I do spend the first few minutes learning student names, and occasionally chatting a little more with the students near the front of the class, I have not done much else. (Okay, at the beginning of the semester I do have students tell me a little bit about themselves on a small index card – which isn’t much.)

Lang describes an introverted colleague who took the time to spend the first few minutes briefly chatting with a couple of students in each class period. His colleague would visit different parts of the classroom to rotate through all the students. The result: improved class atmosphere, better connection with students, and the students noticed and commented positively in end-of-semester evaluations.

This is something I could certainly do. I need to get over my introverted and focused routine so I can concentrate on engaging the students. I know my class material well enough by now. One thing I have done in smaller classes (not often) is to have each student visit my office at least once during the first two weeks of class for a short 5-minute conversation. Depending on the student, these can be awkward sometimes, and they seem to find it strange that I’m interested in who they are as individuals. Perhaps it’s because my office is unfamiliar territory while the classroom (with the other students) is more familiar and less intimidating. My goal is to try and put this into practice starting in my class tomorrow!

Suggestion #2: Outline the framework for the day’s class

One thing we know from research about the difference between novice and expert learners, is that the experts have a clear framework of their discipline. They know how the pieces (or branches) connect to the main trunk. This is not always clear to novices who grapple with isolated pieces of knowledge. The recommendation is to have the agenda on display at the beginning of class and constantly refer back to it.

This is something I’m relatively good at doing. I start my class with a five-minute review of the most important things from the previous class. (Students like this!) I then lay out our plan for the day. Now I’m not always good at writing this on the board, sometimes I remember – but at other times I don’t if we are having some discovery-type activities. In my case, I think there is room for improvement in providing a clear framework and referring to it regularly. My classrooms are a little short on board space and sometimes I erase my “plan” in the flow of maximizing board space. I need to be more conscious of what I’m doing.

Suggestion #3: “Create Wonder”

The specific suggestion Lang provides is to provide an interesting picture or video at the beginning of class for students to consider (if they come early or on time) and spend the first few minutes of class discussing it. He learned this from an astronomer who used an “Astronomy Picture of the Day” from NASA.

This is something I do in almost every class, and I got this idea from one of my colleagues a number of years back. The quality of what I put up varies depending on how much work I put into it ahead of time. I try to pick something from current news related to the topic at hand. With Thanksgiving season approaching I have shown them information about pumpkin-flavored spice (that has no pumpkin in it) and I have another one prepared on serotonin, sleepiness and Thanksgiving Turkey.

As Lang says, what this does is convey to the students that as an instructor, “I find this stuff fascinating, and I think you will, too; let’s wonder about it together.” It especially works well on some days when midway to the class something clicks with a student who makes the connection and brings up the picture I showed at the beginning of class in discussion! Okay, it doesn’t happen that often – but I’m moderately good at referring back to it at some point during class if it is sufficiently informative. Sometimes I’m lazy and just put up a chemistry joke that’s nerdy and lame but students find funny. It usually connects to the class material so hopefully it activates some memory pathway when exam day rolls around.

Those are the three suggestions. Try them if you’re a teacher!