No matter what modality you’re teaching in, you have opportunities to make first impressions with your students – through your syllabus, through the first synchronous interactions, through the attention you’ve paid to digital accessibility, through the organization of your Canvas courses, through the choices you’ve made for readings and assignments, through their impressions of relevance the course will have to their careers and lives.
Research shows that these first impressions students have of their professors and courses influence their likelihood to stay in the class, to be motivated to do coursework, to engage in learning activities.
Thin Slices
Much research on first-impressions utilizes a strategy called “thin slices” whereby raters are provided with short clips (5-30 seconds) of video (usually no audio) and asked to form impressions of the presenter. Researchers have evaluated the accuracy of this “thin slice” methodology, finding that certain attributes (negative affect, extraversion, conscientiousness, and intelligence) are accurately observed after a very short exposure, other attributes (positive affect, neuroticism, openness, and agreeableness) require a longer period of exposure for accurate assessment, although 5 minutes may be sufficient (Carney et al., 2007). Perhaps what is most salient for university faculty is that humans are used to making quick judgments of people, and while these are relatively accurate, there is a very short window in which to make an impression.
The Syllabus
There is evidence that when students read a welcome statement on the syllabus from the instructor, it positively impacts their motivation including their intention to attend office hours and take more classes within the department (Lapiene et al., 2022). This may be especially important in asynchronous online classes where there are more limited opportunities for an instructor to establish their presence. In online classes, an instructor may want to reiterate the welcome statement with a video recording students also watch in the first week of the semester.
In addition, the tone of syllabus has an impact on students. When the tone is perceived as friendly, students report that the instructor is warm, approachable, and motivated to teach the course (Harnish & Bridges, 2011).
Syllabi also signal instructors’ beliefs in students. In one study by Canning et al. (2022), syllabi messages indicating an instructor’s growth mindset beliefs about students’ abilities to learn and achieve affected belonging for all students and performance for female students. These growth mindset signals can be structural (such as grading for partial credit on homework) and verbal encouragement (such as the instructor’s readiness to provide support if a student feels underprepared).
The First Day of Class
An initial study by Buchert et al. (2008) discovered that while students may have some information about a professor’s reputation before a class begins, the impressions they form in the first two weeks outweigh any preconceived ideas about the instructor and also do not waiver through the end of the semester. However, a follow-up study by Laws et al. (2010) found that in fact, these impressions were formed and persistent from the first day of class. Upperclass courses had higher favorable ratings than first-year courses.
So what should be done on the first day? One evidence-based approach (used in a variety of disciplines) is the reciprocal interview (Case et al., 2008), which has shown benefits for all students and especially those from historically underresourced identities in higher education. This activity begins building a community of learners, emphasizes the critical role and purpose of student inquiry and engagement, and allows students to develop early relationships with peers and the instructor.
After a quick review of the syllabus, the first part of this two-part activity begins with interview questions presented to students with questions such as:
1. What are your goals for this course? 2. How can the instructor best help you achieve your goals? 3. What reservations, if any, do you have about this course? 4. What resources do you bring to this course? 5. What norms of behavior or ground rules should we set up to ensure that the course is successful? 6. What are some of your pet peeves of professors and classes? What are some annoying traits of professors that you’ve had? (Case et al., 2008, p. 211)
Students are given time to respond individually (5 minutes), discuss in small groups (10 minutes), then bring to the whole class (15 minutes).
The second half of the activity is an opportunity for students to interview the professor. They are given topics to consider asking questions about related to course expectations, approach to grading, the students’ role, the instructor’s objectives, etc. Students are given time to brainstorm individually (5 minutes), formulate questions in small groups (5 minutes), and then ask questions of the instructor (10 minutes).
This activity could be adapted for an online class, using a discussion forum.
References
Buchert, S., Laws, E. L., Apperson, J. M., & Bregman, N. J. (2008). First impressions and professor reputation: Influence on student evaluations of instruction. Social Psychology of Education, 11(4), 397–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-008-9055-1
Canning, E. A., Ozier, E., Williams, H. E., AlRasheed, R., & Murphy, M. C. (2022). Professors who signal a fixed mindset about ability undermine women’s performance in stem. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 13(5), 927–937. https://doi.org/10.1177/19485506211030398
Carney, D. R., Colvin, C. R., & Hall, J. A. (2007). A thin slice perspective on the accuracy of first impressions. Journal of Research in Personality, 41(5), 1054–1072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2007.01.004
Case, K., Bartsch, R., McEnery, L., Hall, S., Hermann, A., & Foster, D. (2008). Establishing a comfortable classroom from day one: Student perceptions of the reciprocal interview. College Teaching, 56(4), 210–214. https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.56.4.210-214
Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. R. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: Students’ perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14(3), 319–330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-011-9152-4
Lapiene, K. E., Pettijohn, T. F. I., & Palm, L. J. (2022). An investigation of professor and course first impressions as a function of a syllabus welcome statement in college students. College Student Journal, 56(3), 281–288.
Laws, E. L., Apperson, J. M., Buchert, S., & Bregman, N. J. (2010). Student evaluations of instruction: When are enduring first impressions formed? North American Journal of Psychology, 12(1), 81–91.