Understand that a world of difference often exists between freshman students and graduate students. How you approach teaching a course should in part depend on what level of course you are teaching. Once students reach senior status and especially graduate level, they have shown through their achievements that they are capable of the work as well as mature enough to deal with their professors on a less formal level. For example, with these older students, you might want to encourage them to call you by your fist name. This will help them to think of themselves as real scholars rather than lowly students.
Develop a syllabus that includes clear explanations of the institution's polices as well as your own, such as when you will allow a student to make up an assignment or exam, or the consequences of plagiarism. Also be clear on how the class is structured. List expected exams, reports, journals or book reviews that students will have to complete. Provide the values that each of these will have toward the overall class grade. Also list all required texts.
If you need to copy or print out assignment sheets or other handouts, it's important to do it well before your class meets. Often instructors find themselves waiting in line to copy or print, so get there early or have a printer in your office. If you have a video you want to show, make sure the room has a working DVD player or VCR well before class.
Invite a guest speaker to talk to your class about a subject that the class is exploring. For example, if you are teaching an anthropology class, your students may be reading about methods used by archaeologists to date artifacts. Inviting an archaeologist who spends a great deal of time in the field to lecture to your class and answer questions can help students better understand what archaeologists do.
Select supplemental materials that will add to your lecture presentations and help to shed additional light on the subjects being covered in your class. Supplemental materials that can be given out during class time include printed handouts and videos, from documentaries to films to excepts from interviews of authors, scientists or politicians. You may also want to reserve time in a computer lab, depending on the subject you teach, so you can show students how to identify reliable online sources they can use when researching a topic.