First day questions to ask students in a questionnaire

Photo: Student behind computer looking towards a larger screen

Please answer the following questions to help me get to know you a little more! I can tailor activities or questions in this course to prepare for standardized exams or apply in the real-world:

1) Please share your pronouns that you want me to use?

2) Please share a phonetic spelling or a recording of your name. Also if you use a nickname, please list here.

3) What field(s) are you most interested in? (i.e. Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Art, Environmental Studies, Education…)?

4) What future goals (career, academic…) of yours would learning help you accomplish?

5) What challenges do you anticipate in this course?

6) Academic strengths are traits and skills that enable an individual to excel academically. Some of these skills/traits develop naturally, while others require practice. Some examples but not limited to: Attention to detail, creativity, critical thinking, enthusiasm, problem-solving, visualization, perseverance, flexibility, or organization. Describe two (2) of your academic strengths:

7) Academic weaknesses are traits and skills that require an individual to seek as areas of improvement. Some examples but not limited to: Procrastination, lack of focus, lack of enthusiasm, difficulty staying organized, or fear of failure. Describe two (2) of your academic weaknesses:

8) What do you plan to do to improve on your weaknesses and continue excelling at your strengths in this course (what strategies will you use to garner your own success)?

9) What do you want me to know about you?

10) What else would you like me to know or to be thinking about as we try to create the best possible learning environment and keep everyone healthy during the rest of the semester?

11) Multiple choice: What are ways that you can contact me based on my first day lecture? Choices: email, phone, text messaging, twitter, visit my office, stay after class to ask question

I go through the responses and try to identify ways I can start to engage students or identify accommodations. If it seems like a large amount of my class has similar weaknesses/strengths, I will highlight it in lecture various resources online or on-campus. For question 9, I've had students disclose a work schedule, parental and/or family roles, disclosure of health barriers or triggers possibly related to content.

When teaching, I do my best to warn folks on possible triggers. I always put on closed caption to any videos I show.

Links to other resources:

The First Day of Class

Questions to Ask Students on the First Day

How to Give Our Students the Grace We All Need

Using Surveys to Get to Know Your Students

Get to know your students as individuals