Table 12: [Potluck] 1st 5 Minutes of Class: Getting Students Engaged

Abstract

**Participants are strongly encouraged to bring a few printed copies of a specific example activity, assignment oràstrategy they use in their classroom related to this topic to share.**
NOTE: You can still join a potluck even if you didnââ¬â¢t bring anything!
Welcome to ITL and this table! àJoin your fellow Mason instructors to informally discuss this table's topic. At the table, you will find desk copies of related resources (digital versions are available below), and an experienced Mason colleague who has experience and strategies related to this topic.ààNot sure what to talk about?ààHere are some conversation starters:

• Share a little about yourselves:à

  • Department

  • Years at Mason

  • Courses you are teaching

  • What excites you about teaching?

• What brought you to this table?à

• What sort of mindset do you typically want students to be in as theyââ¬â¢re participating in your class? How is that mindset different from or similar to the ways they are approaching their work or interactions outside your class?

• What strategies have you used in the first minutes of class àto help students shift or set their mindset for your class? What might you like to try out?

• Students can be ââ¬Åengagedââ¬Â without leaping out of their seats or getting paint all over their hands, and they donââ¬â¢t always have to ââ¬Åengageââ¬Â with the most difficult questions or issues of your course: how could you ââ¬Åengageââ¬Â students by having them complete a quiet, individual task? ...by asking them to bring and share an object or idea? ...by assigning them to a ââ¬Åhome-roomââ¬Â team? ...by using a ââ¬Åroll-callââ¬Â question to hear quickly from everyone (ââ¬Åchocolate or vanilla?ââ¬Â)? ...in some other way?

Have an example or resource to share?ààSubmit through this link and we'll upload it after the conference:àhttp://library.gmu.edu/publishing/submitàStill have questions?ààLeave a post it note on the table sign at the end of the Share-a-thon or email your questions toàstearns@gmu.eduàààADDITIONAL RESOURCES:ààà