Asking students questions is great, but as kind of already posted dont ask the shy kids, ask the entire class. You will quickly identify the more outgoing ones, then you only need to ask certain students a question when they are interrupting class.
also with that age group I wouldnt expect it but you can always lay down the law on either class 1 or the first time you have a student who is getting disruptive. I let my students know on day 1 (I work with 15 year olds) that this isnt high school, they do not have a right to be here and I do have a right to tell them to leave. I am not a baby sitter, if you get on my nerves you will be going home, and if you piss me off you wont be coming back. I know it sounds a bit harsh but to date I have only had one kid who wasnt coming back. You dont want to play it like “I HAVE THE POWER!!!” but let them know that people are here to learn not listen to some moron disrupt class.
try group work for new material. a simple worksheet with 5-10 questions about the days material worded simply works well for this, hand out enough to form your class into groups of 4-5 and make sure to keep a copy for yourself. give them some time (depends on material but when you hear them talking about stuff thats not on the worksheet they are usually done, just make sure the slower groups have time. for my classes its usally 15 min.) then you can ask the class what they got for the first question and your outgoing students will read, then if you want ask another group what they got, (again the more outgoing kid will most likely answer) if they give a good answer let them know, if they got it wrong then expand on their answers, break out a bit of lecture to make sure they understand whatever it is they missed and move on to the next question. I have found its a great way to get them thinking on their own. and if the class gets a question right or wrong you already have an idea what you need to expand on or let go because they already have it covered.
Humor, sometimes completely off topic out of the blue humor works best. check youtube for dramatic groundhog (i think) for a brief clip that just gets a laugh. laughing is some thing that relaxes people and relaxed people both learn better and are less likely to be disruptive.
A thought: is there any formal method in place of gathering student feedback? If not, and possibly even if there is, it might be worth doing your own small-scale survey, especially with a class of that size. All that is needed is a simple tick-box (‘agree strongly’/‘agree slightly’/‘disagree slightly’/‘disagree strongly’) questionnaire a few weeks in, with several neutral statements about the course content and the depth to which it’s covered, and the way it’s being delivered. Just leave a copy on each seat before the students turn up and a box for them to return them to.
I’ve done very similar things with my school-based teaching, and it has produced some useful findings both for me and for colleagues in particular schools, while it also was reassuring that most of them said that they both enjoy their lessons and feel that they’re making good progress. (PM me if you want more details of what I did, and how the idea came about.) Obviously you may need or want to clear it with your supervisor, but that’s probably not a big issue, when I did the same with department heads their response was always the same, ‘please tell me what they say!’
Well… I had my first class yesterday. I wasn’t great, but I wasn’t awful either (they didn’t boo me). I managed to be somewhat coherent. I had to explain many things that they should have known already, I didn’t have time to do it all and at times I couldn’t make up my mind about what was important enough to mention. The kids were alright, pretty bored and tired, a few were interested and after the class was over they came and asked me some questions (and I was able to answer! yey!). My mantra now is “things can only get better”.
First off, know your material cold, front to back, back to front.
I teach Taekwondo. We train instructors and one of the things that we stress are what we call the Class Management Skills. Basically, if you run your class with these guidelines, you can’t go wrong.
Set the mood and tone of class. Make your classes upbeat and interesting, but be in charge at all times.
Create a positive climate. Make your classroom a place the students want to come to.
Use a personal approach/individual contact . A pat on the back goes a long way. Make each student in the clas feel that they have your undivided attention at least once during the class.
Set direct goals. Be very specific in what you want the students to accomplish in the class.
Give thoughtful feedback to student responses. Listen to them, make sure you understand what they are really asking. Work your rapport skills bigtime.
Reinforce positive behavior. Let them know when they get it right.
Give realistic praise. Don’t just say “Good job!” over and over, say exactly what they did correctly.
Give positive correction rather than criticism. Praise-correct-praise comes in here. Tell them something they did right, tell them something they can improve, and when they improve it, exercise step 7.
Refer to students by name. Everyone likes the sound of their own name. In addition, this helps build rapport.
Teach the concept of personal victory. We have a saying in our school: the hardest opponent/critic you’ll ever have is yourself. Do it better today than you did yesterday and you will be successful.
Congratulations on making through your first class!
You are getting a lot of good advice here, but there are a couple other things that may help you. First off, you are going to make mistakes. It is much more useful to know how to recover from a mistake than to practice endlessly hoping to be flawless. You will write the wrong thing on the board, mix up your answers, etc. It will happen. Just stop, rub your chin a bit while looking thoughtful, and say "No, that’s wrong… ". Then give the correction. It is very hard at first, but once you learn to “turn off” the embarrassment of making a mistake, your lectures will be much, much better.
Also, be aware that the students want you to be in control. There is nothing worse than an instructor who does not take control of the classroom. You don’t have to be dictatorial, but you do have to control the flow of the material and keep disturbances to a minimum. Most students like the classroom to be a structured environment.
One last tip. If you get asked a question you do not know how to answer, consider deferring it. For example, say “Ahhh… you’re too quick. If you just wait a bit, we’ll get to that later in the lecture. If we get to the end and you still haven’t got your answer, ask me again, OK?” This will give you time to think about the answer, and also compliments the student (in front of everyone). Often, students asking a lot of difficult questions are just looking for public acknowledgement that they are smart, and this technique placates them without putting you on the spot.
Best of luck with the rest of the course. Although painful, the skills you learn in the classroom will be of great value throughout your life. The ability to speak confidently in front of groups is very useful.
I haven’t read the rest of the thread, but my Absolute Rule is “be honest”. People can accept failures, mistakes, ignorance, brain farts, but when students feel the teacher is self serving or dishonest, a fundamental respect is lost which colors the whole interaction. I make a point of apologizing for almost anything possible.
Things *will *get better. Don’t expect to be great at first, and more importantly, if your first course is less than stellar don’t think that this means you don’t have the potential to be a good (or even great) teacher. Graduate schools by and large do not train teachers; you learn on the job. I was not a very good teacher when I started, and now I am good. In my last job I served as department chair for a while, and in that capacity I got to see course evaluations for new professors, and how they improved as they got a couple of semesters under their belts.
So you are most likely at the bottom of the learning curve. Don’t let this discourage you. That’s where everybody starts. Your teaching will only get better. And if you start off with a knack for it, then so much the better.
And congratulations on getting through your first class!
In my experience with med students, the ones who were too shy to thrive under the Socratic method never got through pre-med classes, to say nothing of the med school interviews.