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Learning Student’s Names

Page history last edited by Kimberly 15 years, 3 months ago

Joan Middendorf, Learning Student’s Names

 

This article gives 27 suggestions on how to learn student’s names (useful as I am so bad at it). Firstly it explains the importance of doing so: it encourages students to become engaged in discussion, asking questions, and in listening more closely to the professor, and helps the students find the material in general less intimidating. Even in large classes, Middendorf argues, learning at least some names will make a real difference. The suggestions include taking pictures of the students and writing their names on them, drawing quick sketches of the students (for personal use only), having the students make “passports” with some personal facts on them, name tags, dividing the students into teams, having them introduce each other, having the students visit your office, seating charts, and so on.

 

Obviously some of these approaches seem more promising than others. The idea of photocopying the student’s driving licenses seemed quasi-legal and definitely should be avoided! Mainly however I was concerned that many of the suggestions seemed to put the weight of the work on the students. I feel it is up to the teacher to learn the students’ names, and it is not ideal, for example, to make them learn each others names and then introduce each other to the teacher. This may put too much pressure on shy students, as the article noted at one point. Seating charts are a little restrictive, and having the students split into teams is obviously only suitable for certain classes. The simpler approaches seemed the most promising. Taking photographs of the students would be helpful, although I do wonder if some students might find it a little off-putting. This may become less of an issue over time, as camera phones and the like become ubiquitous; perhaps a quick snap with an iphone would be more welcomed. Ideas like name tags, and having students give a silly, memorable trait or one sentence quote along with their name, seem like they would be effective with a minimum of fuss. Requiring students to individually visit the teacher’s office beforehand would be useful not only for learning names, but also for encouraging discussion and for them to feel comfortable coming to the teacher with problems in the future. Finally, making quick sketches of students, presumably where they couldn’t see them, sounds like fun and probably useful – although it assumes some artistic talent!

 

Added by Elliot Cross - 4/23/08

Edited by Christopher Caulfield - 12/08

 

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