The Meet the Instructor Message is an effective way to make a personal connection with your students and build a sense of community. You can inject personal anecdotes about your experiences in the field, highlighting your passion for your subject matter area. You can also include information about your family, hobbies, and teaching philosophies.
Tell a Story
Incorporate personal anecdotes into your message. Stories are a powerful way to inform and engage your audience simultaneously. Go beyond the what and when, and get at the why and how. Your message should not sound like you’re reading your resume.
Sample Outline and Talking Points
Use this sample outline as a starting point for crafting your message.
- Welcome and Introductory Statement
- Greeting
- Your name
- Education and Professional Background
- What are your degrees and credentials?
- How and why did you get into your field?
- What excites you the most about the future of your field?
- What research project(s) are you most proud of?
- What are some of your career highlights?
- Have you worked in the private sector? If yes, in what capacity?
- Experience and Background as an Educator
- How and why did you get into teaching?
- How do you motivate and/or inspire students?
- What excites you the most about the future of your field?
- What do you enjoy most about teaching?
- Personal Biographical Information (Optional)
- What hobbies are you most passionate about?
- What is your cultural background?
- How do you engage with your community?
- Would you like to share any information about your family?
- What are some of your favorite family activities?
- Closing
- Encourage students to communicate with your preferred method.
- Encourage students and wish them good luck.
- Say thanks and goodbye.
Tip
Consider including some personal photos or videos in your message. This helps to personalize your message even further and build a stronger connection with your students. If you would like to include videos, the media team can edit them after recording.
Make It Evergreen
The Meet the Instructor Message should focus on you and not a specific course or program. Your message should endure the test of time and ideally be flexible enough to use in any UW Extended Campus course you facilitate. Here are a few simple ways to ensure your message’s durability and versatility.
- Avoid framing your message as being for a specific course or program
- “I am excited to be your instructor for SMGT100”
- “This course will prepare you for your capstone”
- “I am excited to be one of your instructors in the Health and Wellness”
- Avoid statements that date your message
- “It’s summer right now and I love hiking in the summer”
- “I am excited you’re joining me for this fall semester”
- Don’t make references to specific tools or applications
- “You’ll find my contact information in Canvas”
Duration
Your message should be succinct. An ideal length is about 2-5 minutes.
Format
Your Meet the Instructor Message can be delivered in a multitude of formats. Below are the most common. Whichever you choose is up to you! If you don’t have a preference, however, and your course development schedule allows it, we recommend recording a video in our studio.
Video (studio recording)
Recorded in our studio in Madison, WI. Faculty write a script and read from a teleprompter.
Video (self-recorded)
Faculty record their video on their own. Resources and training are provided if needed!
Presentation
A slide deck with text, visuals, and audio narration.
Audio-Only
Just a voice recording. Similar to a podcast.
Text
Written format added to a page in the course. This is the default format for Meet the Instructor Messages that are created when a course is in maintenance.
Want to see more?
You can see more Meet the Instructor Message examples in our showcase!
Published on June 29, 2022 at 9:42:49 pm CDT. Last modified on November 29, 2022 at 8:38:48 am CST.