Diagnosing Students on the First Day of Class
Consider getting pertinent information about your students on the first day of class. One easy way to do this is with a survey. Choose questions which will help you identify strengths, weaknesses, gaps in knowledge and background, skill levels, and resource access.The first day of class is a perfect time to find out about situations that could be helped either by you or by informing students (especially incoming freshmen) about various resources on campus. For example, students whose writing skills need to be strengthened can be referred to the Academic Learning Services writing lab. While they may not have written any papers yet, they may have copies of previously written papers on their computers. You could ask them to do a writing sample (1-2 pages) during the first week. These papers can be taken to the writing lab and improved. Many of the difficulties students have in writing show up again and again on each paper they write. The advantage of going to the lab early is better access to the tutors. If students wait until the day before the paper is due, it may be difficult getting into the lab in time, especially during midterm and finals weeks.
Assumptions you may have made about what your students know or don't know, what they can or can't do, and what problems your course assignments might create can surface early in the term while there is plenty of time to make adjustments and referrals.
Survey questions will vary by discipline and course design. Here are a few possibilities:
- At 1-low and 10-high, rate your writing ability. Based on previous work, in what areas do you most need to improve?
- At 1-low and 10-high, rate your library research skills. In what areas of library research do you most need to improve?
- Are you skilled at taking good lecture notes? If not, what can I do to help you?
If you are planning to incorporate educational technology into your course, you might ask some questions like these:
- What kind of access do you have to a computer?
- Are you comfortable using email to communicate with faculty and other students?
- Have you ever used a newsgroup, bulletin board, or listserv?
- Are you comfortable navigating the web? (If you have no idea what I'm talking about, contact me right away).
Thinking ahead and anticipating problems and solutions can make a big difference in how smoothly the term goes.
Lizard 28 Fall 95
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Last Modified:
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