Who are We? Class Demographics

By Vanessa Vandergrift, Vanier College

At a Glance

Discipline

Languages and Literature
Interdisciplinary

Instructional Level

College & CEGEP

Course

Introduction to College English

Tasks in Workflow

Social Plane(s)

Individual
Group
Whole Class

Type of Tasks

Discussing
Writing

Technical Details

Useful Technologies

Google slides or Powerpoint
Smartboard projection

Class size

Small (20-49)

Time

Brief segment of class period (< 20 mins)

Overview

In this icebreaker activity, students answer questions about themselves individually, including: name/preferred pronoun, program, career goals, primary language and other languages spoken, devices available to them for learning, past experience with subject, potential obstacles to success, book/film/tv recommendations, description of the college with one adjective, and a question for the instructor.

The instructor uses this information to create an anonymized profile of the class (see slides for model) and presents these slides at the start of class 2. In response, students pair-share about the question, what was most surprising to you about our classroom community? This is followed by a brief whole-class discussion with pairs sharing out to the wider class.

If many students express that time management or anxiety are potential obstacles to success, the instructor can mention support services available to students and otherwise create a partnership with students in an open classroom environment where they know they will be valued and respected.

Instructional Objectives

Create the tone and establish community.
Condition students to course expectations by covering academic expectations (MLA, etc) and social expectations (i.e flipped classroom).

Workflow & Materials

Activity Workflow

View on CourseFlow

Document

Example Presentation

Vanessa Vandergrift

Document

Sample Questions

Vanessa Vandergrift

Document

Activity Workflow

Vanessa Vandergrift

Contributor's Notes

Benefits

Establish a student-centred environment and a sense of community
Observe demographic trends
Answer student questions
Share knowledge/expertise
Disabuse students of certain myths (i.e. English is not my first language — do I belong in this class? Students will see that English is not the majority first language and that many students are multilingual)
Introduce outside resources (student services of various sorts) in response to expressed student concerns
There is almost always laughter, particularly at the questions they ask of the instructor
Students identify with one another via common languages, programs, career aspirations, preferences for books/films/tv etc
Because students get full marks for completion and following directions, most start off on a strong foot; instructor can intervene and identify potential challenges with students who are late/absent and miss the assignment and/or don’t follow the instructions accurately

Challenges

The slides take time to prepare but it is worth it
Works best in a General Education classroom where students are coming from all different programs

Tips

Project the questions on screen and have a few hard-copy versions of the questions on hand (I often mention my green policy after they finish answering and let them know paper will be very limited in class — only possible when you have six Smartboards, probably)
Be strict about following directions because the assignment is also about setting expectations for success; I follow up with students who do something other than is asked
Follow up with student one-on-one in private if they indicate a serious concern/potential obstacle to success such as a mental health issue/learning disability etc; I have found that letting them know early (particularly in a first-semester course) about resources available and that they can talk to me as issues come up is very helpful
In addition to the slides, I save student information in Google sheets for later reference; if a student drops off for some reason, I may look back on this information later

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Published: 02/12/2020

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