Discussing Classroom Culture: A Better Use of Syllabus Day

We all know that syllabus day isn’t effective. Instead, I use the first day to have a class discussion of cultural characteristics that influence students as they step into a mathematics classroom that they likely have never named and thought about explicitly. We discuss individualism, perfectionism, and a focus on quantity over quality. These traits prevent students from getting help when they need it and can lead to anxiety and other the negative feelings about mathematics. Here, I will share my experiences leading this discussion as well as feedback from students suggesting this is a way to increase students’ sense of belonging, help them change behavior to address anxiety, and build more positive feelings about our class.