Designing a Course Syllabus for Maximum Student Learning

1. Designing a Course Syllabus for Maximum Student Learning Katharine E. Stewart, PhD, MPH Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences kestewart@uams.edu

2. What is a syllabus? What is its purpose?

3. Syllabi are crucial for learning • Demonstrate the place of the course in a curriculum (“the big picture”) • Set students’ expectations for the course • Convey instructors’ enthusiasm for the course • Help students assess their readiness • Help students manage their learning throughout

4. Syllabi are crucial as policy • Serve as contract between student and instructor • Inform students of policies/procedures • Meet school- or university-wide policies for curricular review and accreditation

5. What should be in a syllabus?

6. First, check your university policy • Many departments, schools, or universities have required elements for syllabi. • Ask if templates are available (if not, samples of recent syllabi may help) • Remember that a syllabus is a public document. Consider who will be reviewing it: • Students • Colleagues • Department/school reviewers or accreditors • Your P&T committee

7. Adapt the following recommendations to fit your university’s requirements!

8. Basic elements: Cover page • Course number, name • Semester and year • Department sponsoring the course • Number of credit/semester hours • Meeting time/location • Instructor’s name and title, office location, office hours, contact information • TA information, if applicable

9. Course description and objectives • Course description (from catalog!) • Add expanded description that includes scope, purpose, relevance to the major or the core. • Prerequisites or co-requisites, ideally with justification, to help students evaluate readiness. • Check: does your school recommend always having an “or permission of the instructor” option? • Course objectives describe what you want your students to be able to do if they have succeeded in the course.

10. A bit about course objectives • The structure of these may be mandated by accreditors, so check with your department chair or your curriculum committee rep. • Should include not just knowledge, but action objectives – what should students be able to do after your course? • Should help students get a sense of how the course will teach them relevant skills. • Consider how Bloom’s taxonomy relates to the level of your course.

11. Websites to help with course objectives • http://www.ehow.com/how_4646973_course-objectives-using-blooms-taxonomy.html • http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/nfrg/10_03_writing_course_objectives.htm

12. Course organization • Outline the structure of the course: what topics will be covered, and when. • I like to use a table that looks like this:

13. Required materials • Textbooks • Additional readings (reserve with your library if possible – see if eReserves are available) • Websites that will be resources • Equipment or supplies • Software • *Be sure to indicate which are required, and which are recommended. Remember a student’s budget is usually tight, so don’t require something that the students won’t need to use.

14. Course assignments • Provide a rationale for all assignments • Describe the assignments in detail (see sample syllabus provided in this handout), including expectations regarding format, length, etc. (or tell how/when this will be given) • Indicate how it will be graded, if possible, and how much it will count toward the final grade • Indicate in course calendars the due dates • Describe all policies re: late assignments, extra credit, etc.. Then, FOLLOW those policies.

15. Evaluation and grading policies • May be included in course assignments (described in previous slide) or a separate section • Be sure policies are clear – have a colleague review them. Students will find EVERY loophole you leave open. • Avoid vague statements like “Course participation will count for 20% of your grade.” • HOW will you evaluate course participation? • WHAT will distinguish excellent from good from poor performance? • Explain how students can get help: from you, from TA’s, from other resources.

16. Course policies • Attendance, tardiness • Academic integrity (use approved policies) • Disability policy (ditto) • Recording classroom activities • Policies for late work, missed exams, extra credit • Food/drink/cell phones/etc. in class • Overall, describe what students can expect from you, and what you expect from them. Your behavior is a model for their collegiality.

17. Other considerations

18. Changing your syllabus • Make a clear statement in your syllabus that the contents are subject to change, and state how changes will be communicated to students. • Do not increase course requirements substantially after the semester begins; this is a “bait and switch.”

19. Special courses: Labs • What do you expect in lab reports; provide examples of excellent/good/fair reports (and explain what makes them good or bad) • Describe how lab homework will be graded. • Define all lab policies, especially safety. If lab behavior will influence the grade, explain. • Lab work is often group work. Group work grading can be difficult. How will individual contributions be evaluated? How will “team player” qualities be evaluated?

20. Special courses: Seminars • Discussion makes up a larger portion of seminars. Preparation and participation are therefore crucial. • Consider attendance and participation grades, and how to reward thoughtful contributions. • Consider distributing “thought questions” a week or two before each assignment, and reward those who are ready to discuss. • Define clearly how term papers will be evaluated (what makes a good one or a bad one?).

21. Other resources for creatinggood syllabi • http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/designteach/design/syllabus/index.html (includes links to sample syllabi) • http://learningforlife.fsu.edu/ctl/explore/onlineresources/docs/Chptr3.pdf (this is FSU’s guide; your university’s specific policies may differ) • http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/P2_1.php (from U. Michigan) • http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/teachlearn/tutorials/index.html (an amazing resource from U.Minn, including syllabus development)

22. Review of sample syllabus

23. BONUS ROUND!Jedi Teaching Tips Great ideas from http://www.chronicle.com/forums (search for “Jedi”)

24. Perspective is everything, part 1 I give a bonus for “seat time.” While I don't give points for attendance, I do use it for borderline grades. At the end of the term, if they have missed fewer than x hours of class time, then I add y% to their total grade.It's a Jedi mind trick to change the emphasis from “I have to show up or I'll get docked points” to “I’ll get a bonus if I attend regularly.” -- “cc_alan”

25. Perspective is everything, part 2 I used to require students to rewrite lab reports that were below a ‘B,’ and I got a lot of whining.  Now I allow students to rewrite if they get below a ‘B,’ and I get a lot of gratitude. -- “scienceprof”

26. A little bit of control feels GOOD In one of my classes, the majority of the grade comes from their in-class work and preparation, and a smaller percentage comes from the final. On the first day of class, I allow the students to collectively choose the percentage weighting of the final. I give them a range: not less than 20%, not more than 30%. Almost always they choose 25%, which is what I had in mind, but they like it more when it’s their choice. -- “voxprincipalis”

27. A bit of control, continued Last year I started allowing my students to vote on which vocabulary words would be on the quiz.  Say there are 80 words.  They vote for the top 40 words that they think are useful to know.  Then 20 words will show up on the quiz.You would think that the grades would improve, but they only improved marginally.  However, the excitement and enthusiasm about vocabulary increased tremendously. -- “felecia68”

28. Make a concept relevant to the grade, and it’s learned forever… In my stats class, when we get to discussing central tendency, my students get to debate (and then vote) on how they’d like me to grade their homework portfolio. I’ll either take the mean, median, or mode of their individual % correct on their homeworks. They absolutely love it that they get to make the decision, and boy do they remember their central tendency afterwards. -- “anonymath”

29. And finally, my approach to group work grading • Grading group work is always a bear; there’s often one person who feels like they did “all the work,” and there’s often one student (or more) who are perceived by the rest of the group as slacking off. • My course policy is that students assign the group participation grade. I set the parameters, give them guidelines, and then they turn their grades into me. My TA and I have a chance to influence the grades as well. • I find that this nearly always rewards hard work and punishes “slacker” behavior.

30. Finally, a few words of inspiration • Teaching is an awesome responsibility. You’re in a position to inspire so many people. You’re also in a position to demoralize them. Choose wisely. • People are inspired when they are challenged to work hard to reach a goal or a dream, perhaps something they weren’t sure they could achieve. • Having someone believe in you enough to make you stretch your intellect is a great gift. Believe in your students. • “Education is not the filling of a pail. It is the lighting of a fire.” -- William Butler Yeats

31. Thank you very much for this opportunity to work with you. If you would like to contact me, please do so. (for support, for advice, for a “pre-read” of a syllabus, whatever) I don’t always respond within 24 hours, but I will respond. Put “SREB” in the subject line. Katharine E. Stewart, PhD, MPH kestewart@uams.edu