You can't overemphasize this!
This is such a critical piece of the successful running of a course. You can assume students know what to expect, especially if they've been at the school for awhile, or you teach more than one class and you've had those students before. But I find it is always better to take the time at the beginning of every class to set clear expectations, go over the syllabus and school policies, and establish clear boundaries. And, it's always better to be a little harder/stricter at the beginning because you can ease up later as opposed to being soft at the beginning and then trying to enforce structure later on.
Hi Stephanie,
Good comments about how you work with your students.
As you stated you must be clear, and comprehensive when you set forth the requirements for your course. In addition, as you know you will be asked many times over to repeat what you have already said. The students' minds have to be ready to hear the assignment requirements one more time as the deadline for completion comes near.
Gary
Great comments. I teach first and second semester students. I found out quickly that the students seem(!) to forget what I expect of them between the first and second semester. The time I spend reestablishing my rules is well spent and avoid many arguments later.
I agree you cannot overemphasize your expectations and content of subject matter. I feel we all need to temper this with the student's expectations of the course remembering that some of them are new to advanced education, and may have been out of the educational enviroment for quite some time.
