Syllabus Writing

Juldyz Smagulova, April 2005

Syllabus TutorialYour syllabus is one of THE most important documents you create for your class, serving as an agreement between you and your students.

It conveys a first and lasting impression of you and the course you've designed.

And it documents and shares your beliefs about teaching.

Even very good syllabi have incomplete elements that could bear revision before you next teach the course.

Your syllabus is a living, creative document

What is an Effective Syllabus?An effective syllabus conveys what the class will be like, what

students will do and learn, as well as what they can expect of you. A well designed syllabus achieves the following:

It increases the likelihood of student success in your class. It guides student learning in accordance with your expectations and demonstrates to students that you care about their learning.

It decreases the number of problems which arise in the course. Fewer misunderstandings arise when the "rules of the game" are explicitly stated.

It tacitly records and transmits your teaching philosophy. The syllabus is a public document. When you are up a promotion, your colleagues look to your syllabus for information about how you teach.

What is an Effective Syllabus?

It assists in your professional development. Writing and revising your syllabi provide you the reoccurring opportunity to reflect on both the form and purpose of your approach to teaching such questions as:

Why do I select the content I do?Should I present the content in this order?Are these the best teaching strategies for this course?Is there a better way to evaluate achievement?

It provides pertinent information about your course to your colleagues and department. For example, colleagues who teach subsequent courses in your department will be able to make assumptions about what students who took your course know and are able to do.

Now that we've confirmed what you probably already knew, let's begin with the nitty-gritty.

Introduction Your Basic Information section should consist of two types of

"course management" information:

The information about the course itself : Your course designator and title, e.g., Eng 5116:

General English 6. The number of credits The term and year, e.g., Spring 2005 The day, time, and location of your class meetings

(e.g., MWF 10:30 11:45, 305, Academic Building).

Contact information (name, office hours, phone number, etc.).

your name office telephone numberoffice location email address office hours mailbox location

Accessibility to Students

Increase your accessibility to students by considering class schedules when selecting your office hours.

Vary the days and times of your office hours so that students have a greater chance of being able to attend your office hours.

Always provide an alternative, such as scheduling time for an individual meeting, for students who can't make the regular office hours.

Envision scenarios about when and why students might need to contact you and provide the information they would need on your syllabus.

If it is necessary to cancel office hours, be certain to notify your students. It is advisable to notify students through more than one medium, e.g. announce it in class and post an email

Willingness to Communicate With Students

You can encourage students to use your office hours by expanding this section of your syllabus to include an explicit invitation to come talk with you and suggesting ways students may use this time to their advantage. These techniques also send a message to students which says, "I care about your learning. Helping you is important to me." This friendly, accessible attitude is important to students whether or not they choose to see you during office hours

Here are some statements included on University of Minnesota syllabi along with the listing of the professor's office hours:

  "Do not hesitate to ask for my assistance. Believe it or not, that's what they pay me for!"

"I enjoy teaching and I enjoy talking with you. If you have questions or just want to explore an idea, come by."

Description & Goals

This section of your syllabus will help students answer such questions as:

"Is this the course I thought it was when I registered?" "Is this a class I'm going to enjoy?" "Do I have the prerequisite courses and/or knowledge base to succeed in this course?" "Do the goals and objectives of this course correspond with my needs and interests?"

If the answer to any of these questions is "no," it's better for both faculty and students to find out on the first day of the term when adjustments can still be made. A description which conveys your enthusiasm for this course can also be a positive influence on the attitude the students will bring to the class.

Course Description Introduction

The minimum course description required in the syllabus is one which corresponds to the course guide. Embellish and personalize this description and tell students the general topics you emphasize in the course.

This is an excellent opportunity to share your enthusiasm for the subject matter and answer the question: "Why would a student want to take this course?"

After you have written the description of your course, ask a friend or colleague to read it and respond to these questions:

Would you want to take this course? Why or why not?

Based on my course description, how would you describe my attitude toward this subject?

Goals vs. Objectives Goals are general statements about what you hope students

will gain from your course such as, "Students will gain an understanding of ...." or "Students will develop an appreciation of..."

Objectives are more specific statements which include both an action verb and a content reference. They may also include a standard of performance ("with 80% accuracy") or a statement of condition ("with a calculator"). Examples of objectives include statements such as, "Students will be able to distinguish between ... with respect to ...." or "Students will be able to list, in consecutive order, ...."

Some faculty make the distinction between goals and objectives in their syllabus and include both. Others do not distinguish between the two. It is usually of little importance to students whether a statement is technically a goal or an objective.

Statements to Include on Your Syllabus

A detailed list of performance objectives is important to class planning and assessing student learning, however it is not critical to include on the syllabus. Most faculty choose to include only overall course goals and a sampling of high priority course objectives in their class syllabus.

The goals and objectives for a course generally fall into two categories:

content objectives: " Students will be able to identify basic types

of business letters" general skill or process goals which go beyond the boundaries

of the specific subject matter: "Students will learn to work effectively with others" or "Students will learn to use online databases.“

You may wish to include the most important objectives of each

type.

Example:

The principal objective of this course is to improve your learning and analytical thinking skills. This includes developing good study habits, time management, the ability to read and solve problems, reasoning by analogy, formulating good questions, and the use of model to visualize the atomic world.

You will learn to apply your knowledge to new situations (problem solving). This includes being able to recognize what's being asked, evaluating the available information, and conceptualizing how to solve problems. Often, this involves breaking a complex problem down into smaller, more manageable components and the use of tools such as sociological analysis and common sense to solve the problem.

Expectations The purpose of the Expectations section of the syllabus is to tell students

what they can expect the class to be like and to provide them with a clear understanding of their role in your classroom. You can prevent misunderstandings and increase the likelihood of student success by answering questions such as:

What approaches will be used in the class? Lecture? Discussion? Group work? Why have you chosen these approaches? Are students expected to attend all class sessions? Are students expected to participate actively in class? If so, what do you consider "active" participation? Is it important to keep up with the readings on a daily basis or is it

only necessary to complete the readings before the exam? How will issues of student diversity be addressed in the classroom? Are there guidelines for student conduct which they are expected to follow? What special procedures will students need to learn?

This section will provide examples and further information on ways to discuss your teaching methods, student roles and responsibilities, class atmosphere and conduct issues (including samples of 'ground rules for class discussion'), and special procedures which will be followed in the classroom (e.g., safety considerations in a lab course.)

Teaching MethodTelling students what teaching methods you will use in class andthe rationale behind them will help them set realistic expectations.Providing your rationale can decrease student resistance to newteaching methods and can increase their confidence in you as aninstructor.

Example:

TEACHING METHOD: This course is primarily a lecture course, presented in module form, supplemented with discussion, films, and guest speakers. I have purposely broken the material in short segments to facilitate its absorption. During a typical class period, I will begin with general business, and then will present two (approximately 20 minute) segments of material broken up by a "topic of the day."

Student Roles

On your syllabus, tell students what you expect them to do, both in class and outside of class. Although some expectations may seem self-evident, you are more likely to have students meet your expectations when you state them explicitly. Students have a better chance of being successful when they know precisely what you expect.

Instructors usually include their expectations regarding the following:

attendance class workload when students should complete the assigned readings participation conduct policies using technology (such as email or the class Web site)

 

Class Atmosphere

The atmosphere of a classroom is at least as important to student learning as your choice of content and the design of your assignments.

An atmosphere which is conducive to student learning is one in which is all students feel included, valued, and respected. Most instructors certainly hope that such an atmosphere will be present in their classrooms.

Discussing your expectations for class atmosphere in your syllabus tells students that this is an important issue to you and increases the likelihood that they will take their role in creating and maintaining a positive class atmosphere seriously as

Examples1. STUDENT CONDUCT

Instructors are responsible for maintaining order and a positive learning environment in the classroom. Students whose behavior is disruptive either to the instructor or to other students will be asked to leave. Students whose behavior suggests the need for counseling or other assistance may be referred to their college office or University Counseling Services. Students whose behavior may violate the University Student Conduct Code may be referred to the Director of the University Counseling Office.

2. Some instructors choose to establish course-specific ground rules and include them in the syllabus:

Observe starting times of the class and when we reconvene after a break Everyone tries to participate when working in teams Be brief and to the point when speaking in class Listen to what other people have to say Be open to suggestions Give everyone a chance to speak Build on other peoples' ideas

Texts & Materials The purpose of this section of your syllabus is to tell students

what books and materials they will need to purchase for your class and where they can purchase these items.

You may also wish to tell the students why these books/materials have been chosen and how you expect them to use them.

Be clear about which books and/or materials are required and which are optional.

List any additional equipment, materials, or supplies they will need such as a floppy disk, specific type of notebook, tape, etc. and suggest where they might be purchased.

If you have materials at a copy center on campus, give them the location of the copy center and the price of the packet.?

Grading

Because students are very concerned about how they will be graded, this section of the syllabus is often the first one they turn to. They will look for answers to such questions as "Can I succeed in this class?" "Can I get a good grade?" "Is the instructor fair?" "What does the instructor want from me?" This section reflects your beliefs about student assessment and about what is important in your field.

Grading is the most common area of student-instructor conflict. Many problems can be avoided by carefully detailing your grading procedures in your syllabus. This section of your syllabus should contain the following components:

Activities: a list of graded activities along with the weight of each activity Computation: an explanation of how you will compute final grades Evaluation Criteria: a description of the criteria you will use to evaluate

student work Policies: all grading-related polices, such as late work or incompletes

Grading

Encourage students to discuss their grading concerns early in the term. Keep students informed about their grades throughout the quarter so they are not surprised when they receive their final grade.

After you've completed the grading section of your syllabus, you may want to have a colleague review your grading system and give you feedback. The following questions may be helpful:

How does my grading system compare to others in the department? Others at the University?

What do my grading procedures tell you about what's important in this field? If you were a student in this class, what else would

you like to know about how I assign grades?

ActivitiesThe grading section should include a complete list of course

activities that contribute to the grade and an indication of the weight (number of points or percentage) assigned to each activity. Knowing the relative importance of the requirements at the beginning of a course helps students budget their time. Examples of course activities are:

quizzes and examinations papers homework assignments journals projects

Plus, it should include information about a number and types of activities (homework, presentations, quizzes, etc.)

Evaluation Criteria

You can promote student success by defining evaluation criteria that answer such questions as:

What kind of exams do you give? Essay? Multiple choice? True/false?

Will the exams test memory? Understanding? Ability to apply knowledge in a new context? Ability to present evidence logically?

Are the mechanics of writing included in the grading for papers and essay tests?

Is it necessary for students to show their work in problem solving?

Do you give credit for a sound approach even if the answer is wrong?

By also including a rationale for your evaluation criteria, you can convey valuable information about your field.

Discussing Evaluation Criteria

You have many different options for discussing your evaluation criteria. You can:

Include a separate section with an appropriate heading for each activity included in the grade (i.e., Paper 1, Group project, etc.). If the syllabus is over ten pages, remember to include a table of contents to help students access the information more easily.

Link to more detailed explanations of the criteria for particular projects on an on-line or L-drive syllabus.

Make only a general statement about the project and let the students know how and when they will receive more detailed information about the assignment

Other Provisions

Some instructors encourage students to track how they're doing in the class by providing a place in their syllabus for students to record their grades on each of the assignments.

    

Definition of Grades

In some universities it is required to include the definitions of grades as follows, and shall also include the workload expectations

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Academic dishonesty in any portion of the academic work for a course shall be grounds for awarding a grade of F for the entire course.

WORKLOADOne conventional credit is hereby defined as equivalent to three hours of learning effort per week, averaged over an appropriate time interval, necessary for an average student taking that course to achieve an average grade in that course.

Reviewing Your Evaluation Criteria

When you have completed your evaluation criteria, ask yourself:

Do my evaluation criteria accurately reflect what Iconsider to be most important about this course?

Be certain that there is a clear relationship between your

course objectives and the way students are evaluated. Students often complain that they don't see this connection. One frequent lament sounds similar to this: “Instructor X said the most important thing she wanted us to get out of this class is to be able to think critically about the material, but our entire grade was based on two multiple choice exams which tested our memory of names, dates, and definitions!"

Policies

Students need to know your policies about several important issues related to grading practices. Including relevant policies in your syllabus can help avoid future conflict with students. Some of the policies listed below may not relevant to your class.

The following is a list of policies you might want to include: incompletes Grade disputes Late work Exam retake and resubmission of coursework Extra credit Make-up work Academic integrity Other policies

Calendar

A complete course calendar usually contains several kinds of information for each course meeting or every week of class, including:

the course agenda lecture and discussion topics special in-class activities, such as guest speakers and

films daily reminders, such as "Be sure to bring your tapes" due dates for readings due dates for assignments dates for exams and quizzes

Schedule Changes Because of the many demands on the typical student, it is important to

set a fairly detailed schedule to enable students to plan their time effectively. It is particularly important that students have as much advance warning about major tests and assignments as possible. Ideally all major assignments and tests will be included in your syllabus, but it any case, students should have all the necessary information no later than the seventh week of the term.

Despite careful planning, situations sometimes arise which can alter your course calendar. For this reason, we recommend that you include the following disclaimer:

This schedule is tentative and subject to change.

It is also helpful for students if you clarify what is subject to change and what is not. For example, you might want to state that:

Topics, guest speakers, and films are subject to change. The order of the assigned readings may change slightly. Exams and assignments will NOT change.

If you need to change your calendar during the term, give students the changes in writing as well as announcing them in class.