on the first day of class I meet and greet I ask students what they expect out of the class I ask them to tell me something about themselves I take notes and then I make reference to what they talked aboutor their expectations usually this makes them tell me something else I keep a note pad close and when the student leaves or when I can I jot down our conversation and that keeps me with fresh information that I can interject if I find a student losing interest. I make sure that the student knows that I am trust worthy and not going to let out anything he or she shares privatly with in reason of course