By Gerry Hess from Gonzaga University School of Law
Even the most mundane events in the classroom are opportunities for us to create an engaging, positive learning environment. Do you use handouts in class? How do you distribute them?
Some students prefer hard copies of handouts and others would rather work with an electronic version. It is easy for us to accommodate both preferences. But more importantly, our distribution of the hard copies is a golden opportunity to connect with our students. Walk around the room, give each student a handout, and greet each student. For a couple seconds, you and the student have a personal interaction. This simple method lets students know that they are not anonymous and that we are partners in the classroom. Not bad for something that can be done in two or three minutes before class begins even in a class of 50.