Search
Close this search box.

Tailgating for Teachers: Building Community before Day One

Credit: iStock.com/sshepard
Credit: iStock.com/sshepard
I’m hopelessly unathletic, which means I’ve usually observed the rituals at the so-called sports school where I teach from a distance—until recently, that is, when a student invited me to something called “tailgating.” My takeaway? The sense of belonging and excitement that I witnessed during this pregame ritual reminded me that pre-course rituals can do the same for our students. Read on for ideas about how to make the lead-up to a new semester count (no beer or body paint required).

To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...
Active learning is a mostly meaningless educational buzzword. It’s a feel-good, intuitively popular term that indicates concern for...
Perhaps the earliest introduction a student has with a course is the syllabus as it’s generally the first...
Generative AI allows instructors to create interactive, self-directed review activities for their courses. The beauty of these activities...
I’ve often felt that a teacher’s life is suspended, Janus-like, between past experiences and future hopes; it’s only...
I teach first-year writing at a small liberal arts college, and on the first day of class, I...
Proponents of rubrics champion them as a means of ensuring consistency in grading, not only between students within...

Are you signed up for free weekly Teaching Professor updates?

You'll get notified of the newest articles.