Students introduce themselves after learning about professional introductions and active listening in a business setting, then evaluate a fictional peer’s introduction.
Why Use This?
This different take on the traditional course introduction gives students the chance to directly apply course content to an authentic situation: introducing themselves to a new team of colleagues. While acting as “colleagues” with their instructor and classmates, students get to practice these skills themselves and also provide feedback on an example introduction.
How Does It Work?
Students first learn about professional introductions and active listening, then watch a video of a fictitious team meeting where employees introduce themselves. After watching the video, students use a tool called GoReact to record and upload their own introductions. They are also invited to critique the introduction they watched using the principles they’ve already learned in the course.
Keep In Mind
To get to know students more informally, ask them to respond to one or two additional prompts (for example, asking if they have any pets, what their hobbies are, etc.) when they post their introduction videos.
Easily adapt this example by presenting the scenario as a discussion or assignment prompt and asking students to write or record (via audio or video) their introductions instead.
Testimonial
Carousel that shows one slide at a time. Use the Right and Left arrow keys, or the Previous Slide and Next Slide buttons to navigate.
The Course Introduction process helps us simulate a real-life video meeting with students. They play the role of a new intern at a hypothetical company, and this provides them with an experience that is similar to a real status meeting where new interns have to introduce themselves as well as reflect upon the introduction of a fellow intern. For the instructor, it allows us to "see" the student and get to know them a little bit better from this video assignment, especially in an asynchronous class. For the student, it gives them the opportunity to practice this type of situation which they will undoubtedly come across as they get an internship or take a first job.
I think this example illustrates a goal of an authentic task. Students are asked to do something (introduce themselves to a work team) that they may have to do someday on the job. They get practice applying the skills directly. The video also makes it feel like a real team meeting. Additionally, the team meeting video introduced students to "characters" they would be meeting throughout the ongoing case study in the course where students act as interns drafting different types of business communications.
