Learning results from the interaction between students and the material to be learned. Unfortunately, you cannot force it: You have no direct control on the learning itself. You can, however, manage the two components of the learning interaction: students and material. Supposedly, you already have expertise in the material to be taught — you can explain it if you must. More difficult and more important is managing your students by facilitating the learning activities you will have them do. Having students be active is even more difficult when the group is large.
An active learning approach requires an appropriate atmosphere. Students must feel that their participation is encouraged. They must believe that they can try things and fail without losing face, that is, without being judged by either their instructor or their classmates. They must be convinced that achieving the learning outcomes is both possible and desirable for them. Such an atmosphere is built and reinforced throughout the course. Still, whatever you can do to "break the ice" early will make everything easier going forward.
Breaking the ice
To feel he or she is part of a group, an individual must share the nonverbal and verbal space of this group. You can facilitate this process in two ways. First, set up your classroom in such a way that no student is physically isolated, as by sitting far away from everyone else: To encourage interaction, shorten the physical distance between students. Second, make each student speak as early as possible: For example, ask students to introduce themselves at the beginning of the first session. Such a round of introductions is also useful because it enables you to collect relevant information and helps both you and the students learn who is who.
For the round of introductions, you might ask students to say the following:
- their (first) name, as a simple way to assert themselves;
- their situation or previous experience with the content, such as through related courses they have already taken;
- their expectations or motivation for taking the course (if the course is elective);
- something more personal (yet not likely to elicit judgment), such as their favorite food or favorite color.
By having the students introduce themselves as early as possible during the first session, by listening actively to what they say, and by introducing yourself last, you send a strong nonverbal message — namely that the session will focus on students rather than you. Students will then more easily feel like participating.
After clarifying who is who, eliminate the other unknowns about the course. Specify the overall learning outcomes and all the practical details: when the class meets, what is expected of the students during the course (in the classroom and outside of it) and at the end of it, when you are available outside of class, etc. You can usefully put this practical information in writing, typically online.