The Scintillating Syllabus What Does Best Practice Research Tell Us About How to Construct Effective Syllabi?

Warm Up: Why Syllabi? Take five minutes to complete a brief journal entry / brainstorm in response to the following prompt: Why do you create and distribute a syllabus for your classes? I will ask you to share your ideas with the group.

Promise Structure Success Guide Invitation Syllabus

Invitation To invite my students to share in the excitement of my discipline: to offer guiding questions that will frame our work in the course. How do cultural forces shape the lives of young Latinos in America today? (Puente English 803) How do competing versions of the California dream shape our state’s politics and culture? (English 100) How did a promised land--a new world--founded on dreams of freedom, equality, and economic opportunity descend into the horror of civil war? How has the culture and literature of that emergent and divided nation shaped who we are today? (American Literature)

Sample first page of syllabus Students invited to join an intellectual quest Guiding Questions Presented

Promise To make promises to the students about what they will be able to do when they have completed this course and how their progress toward those outcomes / objectives will be assessed. Outcomes / Objectives Assessment

Objectives / Outcomes Two Sources Your expertise Course Outline of Record Why are students taking this course: what will they leave the class able to do?

Invitation leads to Promises What will students be able to do at the end of this class? Knowledge, yes, but also “outcomes” or skills

Evaluate the following assessment policy? How would you modify it? Grading Policy Students will be graded on a percentage scale as follows: A = % B = 80-89% C = 70-79% D = 60-69% F = 59 and below%

Assessment: Key Elements Types of assignments and weight of those assignment Rubrics / Criteria / Methodologies Make up, revision, or dropping low grade policy Submission requirements Late work policy VP’s and Deans Room for students to recover from mistakes-- retention? Clear, detailed Live by your policies Imagine an administrator dealing with a complaint about your grading--does your syllabus make that Dean’s job easy?

Assessment linked to outcomes and course goals. Types and weight of assignments provided Policies emphasize where student is at the end of the course, leaving room for growth.

A Success Guide Provide study skills and success strategies guidance A Learner-Centered Syllabus Might…

Provide a sense of the class structure.

A Learner Centered Syllabus Might… Connect students to other campus resources require students to see a counselor to update their ed plans) Consider an “hours by arrangement” model that requires students to invest a certain number of hours using campus resources Include information about an optional class field trips or service learning activity

Structure To keep myself, the students, and the class organized and focused during the semester. Calendar Communication Tools Classroom Guidelines Attendance Policies

Communication Course Title and # Classroom #’s Your Name Phone Web Tips and Expectations

Classroom Guidelines: Key Elements Be clear about your concerns and “pet peeves” Involve students if you can Keep posted in classroom (or in student binders, etc.) Discuss / Explain Use positive assertions when possible

Evaluate the following attendance policy? How would you modify it? Attendance Policy Committing the necessary amount of time to succeed in this course begins with attending class. If you are not attending class, you cannot learn from our classroom community, and I cannot effectively evaluate your progress. For this reason, I reserve the right to drop a student who misses six hours of class or more. I give a quiz at the beginning of each class meeting. Students who arrive after the quiz begins may not participate in or make up the quiz. If you are absent from class, send me an summarizing what we covered in class and including a one paragraph reflection on the reading.

Attendance Policy: Key Elements Why Should Students Attend Class? Make up options? Documentation Positive vs punitive Grades and attendance Clarity and consistency

Hot Spots to Check For Does your syllabus generate excitement about or interest in your class? Does your syllabus communicate who you are and what you believe as an educator to you, your students, your colleagues, and campus administrators? Are all your assessment policies actually in the syllabus (ex. Do students need to complete all major projects and final to pass the course?) Is your assessment clear and detailed? Can a student easily calculate or find her grade at any point in the course? Could a campus administrator easily understand and defend your policy and practice? Does your grading policy leave students some room to grow and develop? In other words, does it encourage retention without lowering expectations? Have you communicated your expectations of and pet peeves about classroom behavior to students in some written form? Do you have the most recent and official disability language in your syllabus?