The Lecturer's Re-entry Plan: Designing an Encouraging First Week of Teaching

<h3>The weekend before, if you only have 30 minutes</h3> <p>If the whole fortnight has gone, this is the salvage version. Pick the row, not the whole table.</p> <table><thead><tr> <th>If you only have</th><th>Do this</th><th>You will have</th> </tr></thead><tbody> <tr><td>5 minutes</td><td>Write the course promise on one line and put it on your first slide</td><td>A class that knows what it is for</td></tr> <tr><td>10 minutes</td><td>List every assessment with a date and a weight, in order</td><td>The deadline map, which is the highest-value thing on this page</td></tr> <tr><td>15 minutes</td><td>Cut the week one reading to three items and set a 40-minute limit on each</td><td>A week one nobody can fail</td></tr> <tr><td>20 minutes</td><td>Write the 8-question diagnostic and its answer key</td><td>A baseline and a first win for students</td></tr> <tr><td>30 minutes</td><td>Rehearse the first 10 minutes aloud, timed, twice</td><td>A first session that does not wobble</td></tr> <tr><td>45 minutes</td><td>Build the 5-session first week from the table in section 3</td><td>A week one that does not depend on inspiration</td></tr> <tr><td>60 minutes</td><td>Test slides, audio, poll, screen share, and write the paper backup</td><td>Technology that cannot ambush you</td></tr> <tr><td>90 minutes</td><td>Send the pre-term email with the three deadlines and one question</td><td>A class that knows what is coming</td></tr> </tbody></table> <h3>Two weeks before</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Course promise written in one sentence, in student language.</li> <li>[ ] Audit done: keep, change, retire, decided for every element.</li> <li>[ ] No new required reading in week one.</li> <li>[ ] Deadline map published, with the two heaviest weeks marked.</li> <li>[ ] Low-stakes diagnostic written: 8 questions, 10 minutes, answer key ready.</li> <li>[ ] Week one session plans written, in the 10-minute skeleton shape.</li> <li>[ ] Warm-up bank started: 10 questions minimum.</li> <li>[ ] Technology tested end to end, with a paper backup.</li> <li>[ ] Feedback channels set up and tested by you personally.</li> <li>[ ] Draft feedback and final feedback turnaround dates agreed with yourself: 7 and 12 days.</li> </ul> <h3>Week one</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] First 10 minutes: purpose, structure, participation contract, next step.</li> <li>[ ] Diagnostic announced as ungraded before it happens.</li> <li>[ ] Nothing cold-called; nobody asked to introduce their background.</li> <li>[ ] Every student has spoken, or written, or both.</li> <li>[ ] Two-week deadline map shared verbally and in writing.</li> <li>[ ] First email sent, with one question and one useful link.</li> <li>[ ] Tracker started: attendance, submissions, notes.</li> <li>[ ] The class told what you will change because of the diagnostic.</li> </ul> <h3>Weeks two to four</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Draft feedback returned within 7 days.</li> <li>[ ] Marked sample published alongside the rubric.</li> <li>[ ] Everyone flagged in week one contacted by the end of week two.</li> <li>[ ] Everyone silent for two weeks contacted by the end of week three.</li> <li>[ ] Week three feedback survey sent: five questions.</li> <li>[ ] One change made out loud, publicly, because of the survey.</li> <li>[ ] Mid-term used to change the teaching, not only to produce a grade.</li> <li>[ ] Week 1 diagnostic re-run in week six, and compared.</li> <li>[ ] Nothing in the first six weeks exceeds 1,500 words or 6 hours of student effort.</li> </ul> <h3>Across the term</h3> <ul> <li>[ ] Weekly: session prepared, three warm-up questions, one question planned for the room.</li> <li>[ ] Weekly: tracker updated, five minutes.</li> <li>[ ] Weekly: 90 minutes of marking in a single block.</li> <li>[ ] Weekly: one hour protected that is not teaching.</li> <li>[ ] Term: participation assessed on preparation and contribution, not volume.</li> <li>[ ] Term: every group task has a deliverable, roles, a time limit and an individual piece.</li> <li>[ ] Term: support route written down and known to the class.</li> <li>[ ] Term: one escalation handled the same day it is raised.</li> <li>[ ] Term: energy trough at weeks 3 to 5 planned for in advance.</li> <li>[ ] End: exit survey with three questions, and a written list of what changes next time.</li> </ul> <h3>The last thing</h3> <p>A returning class does not need a brilliant lecturer in week one. It needs a lecturer who is organised, honest about the break, quick to give feedback, and visibly in the room. Everything above is logistics in service of those four things.</p> <p>And when you want one more genuinely free resource to hand a student who cannot buy a book, the free library at anyfreebook.com aggregates open collections and public-domain texts in one place, with the rights information stated plainly.</p>