Instructor Guide 1B: Forming Connections

Overview

  • In this activity, students will analyze characteristics that contribute to a productive, whole-class learning community, as well as to productive work groups.
  • In order to effectively engage in this type of course, students will need a supportive learning community, and it is important to spend time as a class building their new learning community early in the course. The suggested strategies are optional and may be customized, but bear in mind that the goals of this in-class activity are to:
    • Lay the foundations for a positive learning environment.
    • Establish a sense of community and shared responsibility.
    • Help students form connections with one another and with the instructor.
    • Give students key information about course content, policies, and structures.
  • This course, taught synchronously, whether face-to-face or online, is a completely contextualized, active, and collaborative learning course. When taught asynchronously, it is recommended that students be given supports such as digital spaces and tools to develop collaborative groups that support active learning and permit them to engage in community building.
  • This course will challenge students in terms of content and also in terms of expectations of students as learners. But students are most willing to work hard and try new things when they understand the reason for it. Therefore, throughout the course, look for opportunities to explain to students why you make certain instructional choices or why activities are designed in a certain way. These explanations are valuable in addressing student frustration surrounding active learning.
  • This activity connects back to Forming Connections [1A], where students first learned to form working groups in class and connects forward to the strategies for working groups that will be needed regularly throughout this course.
  • S1, S2, S3, C2, C4, V1, O3 ← Link to EBTP descriptions 

Prerequisite assumptions

There are no prerequisite assumptions for this activity. There is no What to Know preview page associated with this activity.

Intended goals for this activity

After completing this activity, students should understand their importance in the learning community and the course policies and procedures they need to know and follow. They should be able to gather information about students and/or initiate activities to help make a personal connection with each student.

A student information sheet and sample syllabus quiz are available for this activity. You may wish to have poster paper available for recording class norms and groups supports. Save the posters with responses and bring them to the first few class meetings, or type the responses and make them available for students to add to their binders.

Synchronous Delivery and Activity Flow

The sample activity delivery below assumes a face-to-face class meeting but can be adapted to a fully online or hybrid delivery by using break-out rooms for pairs and small groups.

Frame the activity (6 minutes)

  • Question 1 — working individually S1, S2, O3
    • Take a moment to have students read the opening paragraphs and record their responses in answer to Question 1.
    • Solicit student responses and validate student contributions by writing them on the poster paper. Probe for responses that elicit ideas like “contribute to our group discussion,” “be polite,” etc. It is also important to elicit more policy-focused responses.
  • Transition to the activity by briefly discussing the Objectives for the activity.

Activity Flow (15 minutes)

  • Caution — timing is important in this activity since it is comprised of many components. If this is the first day of class, it is important to have enough time to discuss the syllabus at the end of the class. The suggested strategies below are optional and may be customized, and included or not as desired.  S1, S3, C4, V1
  • Strategy: Define a positive learning environment
    • Have students work in small groups to answer Question 2. (5 minutes) After 3 minutes check in to make sure groups have time left to complete both lists.
    • Solicit one “supports learning” comment from each group, listing these on poster paper.
      • Be sure the list includes: be positive about yourself and peers, be respectful of one another, and word hard to be a productive member of a group.
    • Repeat with “inhibits learning” comments.
    • Hold a whole-class discussion about the two lists. “How can these lists help us this semester?” “What can I do as the instructor to help you have successful working groups?” Honor both positive and negative reactions during the discussion. Important points to make include:
      • Group work will be an important part of the course. Research shows that people learn and remember information best when they experience learning in a variety of ways (e.g., listening, talking, writing, reading, doing). This course is structured to incorporate these different ways of learning. In an active, collaborative learning environment, students are responsible for their own learning and for supporting the learning of others.
  • Strategy: Student Information Sheet [link to the sheet included in the DC instructor page]
    • Ask students to complete a short form that summarizes key information about them. This information sheet can also be a way to gather contact information if you do not have easy access to that information. Collect the Student Information Sheets on paper or create a digital form.
  • Optional Strategy: Quick reference index cards can be used to collect contact information and a few quick prompt responses such as those below. These can be used to give you something to talk about with students or to randomize calling on students in class.
    • “When did you take your last math class? What was it?”
    • “Is this your first time in college?”
    • “Tell me something interesting about yourself.”
  • Optional Strategy: Math Autobiography.  Ask students to complete math autobiographies to be completed throughout the term.

Wrap-up/transition (4 minutes)

  • Suggest that students move their Student Pages with Question 2 to the front of their binders for easy reference throughout the semester.  S2, S3
  • Transition to a discussion of the syllabus or distribute the syllabus and ask students to complete a syllabus quiz or read it to discuss in class next time.
  • Assign the homework or Practice and any What to Know pages for the Forming Connections activities you plan to complete in the next class meeting. C2