I was reading this article yesterday morning, "Small Changes in Teaching: The First 5 Minutes of Class" and decided to try one of the ideas in my webinars. I used this slide.
The idea is to activate what students already know about the subject matter. Prior knowledge is the foundation on which new knowledge is built. Information below is from the article.
Asking students to tell you what they already know (or think they know) has two important benefits. First, it lights up the parts of their brains that connect to your course material, so when they encounter new material, they will process it in a richer knowledge context. Second, it lets you know what preconceptions students have about your course material. That way, your lecture, discussion, or whatever you plan for class that day can specifically deal with and improve upon the knowledge actually in the room, rather than the knowledge you imagine to be in the room.
Seemed to work pretty well. I was able to use what was shared to shape what I did next. I shares this Short video and link to the article with the webinar team. I'm sure they all do cool things as well to start a webinar. Small Changes in Teaching: The First 5 Minutes of Class By James M. Lang JANUARY 11, 2016 The Chronicile of higher education
