Successful Beginnings for College Teaching: Engaging Your Students from the First Day
By Angela Provitera McGlynn
In Successfol Beginnings for College Teaching, veteran instructor Angela Provitera McGlynn shows you the many tools and strategies you can employ to get your classes off to a positive, fruitful start—right from the very first day. You'll learn how to make your expectations clear, create a wdcoming classroom atmosphere, motivate your students for the long haul, and keep your students involved through the inevitable “midsemester blahs” and on to the end of the term. You’ll also explore how to deal with an increasingly common and disturbing classroom problem—student incivility—so that all of your students can learn in an inclusive, safe environment that is free from frustrating distractions. Whether you're an experienced instructor or just getting started, Successuol Beginnings for College Teaching will help you engage your students and gain the most they can from your course.
Table of Contents
Open the entire book: In PDF Format 
Chapter 1. Classroom and Course Management: The Nuts and Bolts of Successful Beginnings
Chapter 2. A Positive Start: First-Day Classroom Activities and Icebreakers
Chapter 3. Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment
Chapter 4. Promoting Student Participation and Motivation
Chapter 5. Dealing with Incivility in the College Classroom
Chapter 6. Keeping the Ball Rolling to a Fruitful Conclusion
Chapter 7. Turning “Successful Beginnings” into Successful Teaching Experiences
Appendix: Creating Your Course Syllabus: A Brief Overview
About the Author
Angela Provitera McGlynn is a retired Professor of Psychology at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) in West Windsor, New Jersey, where she taught for more than thirty years. She is the co-author (with Florence Rhyn Serlin) of Living with Yourself, Living with Others: A Woman's Guide (Prentice-Hall 1979). She is also the author of three books published by MCCC: Celebrating Diversity: Enhancing Harmony on Campus (1990), Teaching Tips: Improving College Instruction (1992), and Classroom Atmosphere in College: Improving the Teaching/Learning Environment (1996). In addition, she has written numerous journal articles on a wide range of topics, presented workshops across the United States, and appeared on radio and national television programs.
Publication Information: McGlynn, Angela Provitera. (2025). Successful Beginnings for College Teaching: Engaging Your Students from the First Day. The WAC Clearinghouse. https://wacclearinghouse.org/repository/teaching/books/successful/
(Orignally published in 2001 by Atwood Publishing)
Digital Publication Date: November 30, 2025
Contact Information:
Angela Provitera McGlynn: amcglynn5@verizon.net
This book is available in whole and in part in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF).
Copyright © 2025 Angela Provitera McGlynn. Presented on the WAC Clearinghouse with permission of the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License. pages, with notes, figures, and bibliographies. This book will also be available in print from University Press of Colorado as well as from any online or brick-and-mortar bookstore. Available in digital format for no charge on this page at the WAC Clearinghouse. You may view this book. You may print personal copies of this book. You may link to this page. You may not reproduce this book on another website. For permission requests and other questions, such as creating a translation, please contact the copyright holder.