Understanding Learning Objectives - Read the syllabus?
Understanding Learning Objectives
Though you all know that it takes quite a bit of planning, development, and experimentation… I feel that having a detailed syllabus takes the pressure off of me as an instructor. Everything is laid out day-to-day and week-to-week so everyone is in the ‘know’. Now, if we can only get the students to read them! I don’t know about any of you, but I find that most students tend to want to be told on a daily basis what we are doing instead of checking their class itinerary. Though we review the syllabus and cover the content of the quarterly classes on day-1, they seem to want to be hand-held afterwards.
Do you shake your head when you walk into your class and someone asks: “What are we doing today?†What are we doing today?! Why did I hand out a 20+ page syllabus on day-1?
I want my students to grow into leaders, not followers. With the cost of education I sure would want to be prepared to enter the classroom with the advanced knowledge of what to expect that day. Maybe I should hand out a quiz on week-2 having them list 10 of the major learning objectives from the syllabus …that would be a start
Okay, I’ve vented.
Hi Jacqui:
I give the students a quiz on the syllabus, too. The idea came from the online courses we offer. Even though my students are present on campus for their class, I still make them go through it.
Also, even though the information is in the syllabus, the syllabus is several pages long. I've received feedback from my students that they want something a little more condensed, and preferably one piece of paper so they can put it in the clear front cover in their binders. For this, I've made a calendar. Most of the class schedule is the same from course to course, and even from week to week, so the calendar is very similar for each course. Making a "base" model, and then adapting it to each of the 9 courses was easy enough. (The tricky part comes when there is a holiday thrown in).
I don't do a lot of hand-holding. I find most of my students haven't been held accountable for much in their lives, but they will be as soon as they complete the program. Enabling them by giving them information that is readily available, and they SHOULD already know is doing them more harm than good. I will remind new students for the first week or two of any assignments due, but after that, they should have the hang of it.
Additionally, I put the daily "schedule" on the board, along with the date, when I first go into class. The schedule is broken down by time of day to include breaks, lecture, quiz, study time, etc. It works for me, and the funny part is sometimes the students will remind me that I've missed something! "Today is Thursday. Aren't we having exam review today??"
Maybe one of these ideas will work for you and your class.
One trick is to require small homework assignments that come out of the syllabus. A 10 question worksheet requires the students to dig for information. Just be prepared when they complain about the assignment!
I too have experienced this! The current class I have although, has done a wonderful job referring back to their syllabus - I wish that was true for them all. The first day of class I go over the syllabus in length and after each class, I prepare them for what to expect in the next class - even though it states this in the syllabus.
We are given syllabi that we are to give students on the first day of class. Our classes meet once a week for 4 1/2 hours, so at the end of each class we revisit the syllabus to see what is on for the next week, and then I give them their assignment page. It is difficult to keep them on track with only seeing them once a week, but since I teach one of the first gen. ed. classes they have, I sort of lead them by the hand in how to organize their notebooks with the syllabus in the front,etc. That way they always have it when we talk about it at the end of the class each week.
I so agree with your sentiment on this topic. Sometimes I feel that there should be a daily quiz, just a few questions to measure if we have accomplished our objectives for the day.
I have just experienced a class where at least 20% of the students read the sylibus. It was so much eaiser to begin the lesson with a larger percentage of the students following along. I was able to quickly include the students who needed more guidence.
Dara,
Just for clarity...the course syllabi do not have topical outlines attached?
Tremayne Simpson
We seldom hand out syllabi anymore - we make them available online for the students to view. The syllabus itself is not 20 pages - it's closer to 3 or 4. We don't give the students the course outline which lays everything out day-by-day or week-by-week. I find the course outline to be the most helpful of all the documents I use when planning out a class. The course outline keeps me on track and helps me see the big picture. For me, the lesson plans are just an expanded version of the course outline.
I share your concern and agree with Danielle. I share with my students that I am not on remote control...that is, just coming into class is not enough. Their participation is vital to the learning process.
Sometimes I write the agenda for the day on the board before class begins.
Often, at class end, I ask for someone to tell all of us what is required before we meet again.
I especially try to review before the end of class what we have accomplished together in the course objectives. This tells me that they have taken ownership of the lesson.
Jacqui,
I wish I had feedback for you!
I just wanted to let you know that I will follow this thread closely. I am very curious to see if our fellow instructors have any helpful input.
Some days I feel discouraged. I have encountered exactly what you described, so I started projecting the outline of that class on the board at the beginning of class. It helped, sort of. But now I have students that email me the day before and ask “What are we doing tomorrow?â€
I find myself asking? Do students truly want to learn or just complete a class.
