Do You Know Your Students' Names?

One of the things I talk about in my workshops on teaching is the importance of learning students' names.  I was never good at this myself until I decided to make it a point to practice this skill.  After all, we require our students to learn theories, concepts, terms, formulas, dates, etc.  We should at least do them the courtesy of learning their names.  The students will be surprised and pleased you did and less likely to be disruptive.

Some tips:

• Repeat the name back to the student as soon as you first hear it.
• If a student has a question, ask for his/her name and use it when you answer the question.
• Try to make a connection: Carol has curly hair.
• Use a seating chart so that you can practice connecting names and faces.  Spend a couple minutes right before class looking at the students and chart to test yourself. 
• Consider taking photos of students to help you learn names.

Comments

[Tammy Lenski]

Delaney, you're so right that students notice and care when we remember their names.

I co-teach with a colleague and we make a point of learning all students names -- usually around 25 -- by the end of the first 3-hour class period. A lot of them comment to us about how welcome it made them feel and signaled we were truly interested in who they are.

And I'd add a tip to your very good list, at least for those who co-teach: Make it a friendly competition. My colleague and I challenge each other about who can get the names memorized first in that initial class, and it sure does help!

[Rush Nigut]

It seems a little amazing to me that you would actually need to stress the importance of remembering the names of the students in the classroom.

[Delaney Kirk]

Hi Tammy,
I had the students fill out a seating chart the second day of class this semester which I then memorized while they were doing a team activity. At the end of class, I went around the room and said everyone's name (only first names). The students actually clapped!

[Delaney Kirk]

I know, Rush. But you would be surprised how many faculty don't bother. I taught a workshop a couple weeks ago at an university (which I won't name) and a professor in the room told me and the rest of those attending that he never learned his students' names...that if they want to get to know him, they have to seek him out!

[Rush Nigut]

I guess I was pretty lucky. I don't recall a single professor that had that attitude.