Along with the Course Syllabus, I attach a Course Outline. The Course Outline is broken down by sessions and lists the discussion topics, assignments and due dates for the assignments. The syllabus and Course Outline are explained during the first class meeting.
I usually discuss the course requirements the first day of class, and I usually follow this up with an email with the course requirements as an attachment and I give the students handouts that have the course requirements on.
Making the course requirements clear will vary depending on whether or not the class is a residential course or an online course. For the residential course, I cover the syllabus in detail making sure I highlight the course requirements. For the online course, I play a scavenger hunt where the students have to find different things within the course, with one being the cuorse requirements.
Hi Donald,
Being detail at the very beginning cuts back on a lot of confusion through out the grading period.
Patricia
Hi Tony,
The syllabus puts everything in perspective. It is a great tool for students to refer to.
Patricia
Hi Bridgie,
Students need to and expect to have a thorough review of the syllabus on Day 1. Rules should be shared on Day 1 as well.
Patricia
Review course materials and review syllabus at the beginning of the course.
outlining course and expectation and reviewing the course syllabus at the beginning of the course.
By explaing exactly what is on the syllabus and what is required to meeet the expectations of th class from the syllabus.
It is important for students to know the instructor's expectations. I use a course syllabus and course schedule in order to provide a framework or starting point for setting the expectations.
Hi Michelle,
I love inspirational quotes. I have shared many with my students. The students seem to really be up lifted by the quotes.
Patricia
I give each student a copy of the course syllabus. At that time I go through the course with them,going over the course objectives,resourses available, work ethic, home work assignments, class assignments, skill assessments and attendance policy and make up policy. I try to be as detail as possible.
Hi Sara,
Great idea about the agenda. You do a wonderful job making course requirements clear.
Patricia
Hi Melissa,
Wow, you certainly do a fantastic job of making requirements clear and effectively communicating with your students. They can not use the number 1 reason you mentioned because you have covered all bases.
Patricia
I am required to provide the students with a master syllabus issued by the school. In addition I need to provide a syllabus addendum to the students outlining my expectations as an instructor. I also provide a weekly outline of the class. The students can access it online 3 days before the start of that class. It contains all of the required reading and the class lesson plan for the week including lecture topics, discussion topic, and class activities. It also notes any quizzes that will be given and what the quiz will be on. I also include a list of homework assignments that will be assigned for that unit. I started doing this for myself so I had an outline to follow but I realized that it would be a great tool to keep my students informed on weekly class activities.
I am a fan of getting the information posted and clearly specified from the beginning. Not only does this allow students to plan ahead but it prevents excessive traffic or confusion.
I use the syllabus, announcements and weekly e-mail messages. I post a weekly announcement and send a weekly e-mail stating the requirements for the week along with my feedback or comments on the previous week.
I am also a fan of a quarterly calendar which lists due dates. I e-mail a copy to each student early in the term as a reference and as a hope to avoid the number one stated reason for missing a due date "I didn't realize what the due date was!"
These work well for me along with consistency on my stated late policy.
Melissa
I review the syllabus which is standardized for the class. I use an addendum that has my classroom expectation about attendance and behavior. I will be adding a late policy. I also give the students schedule of assignments for the quarter by week. I have found that it works best to pass out each separately.
When I attend a meeting or workshop, I am given an agenda. The first class of each week I give a current week agenda and preview for next week. The weekly agenda has been a hit for most students. The best is when a student will encourage other students to check their agenda for assignments and due dates.
In making course requirements clear for students I go over the syllabus with the students on the first day. Male sure that the syllabus is clearly understood by the students. I allow the students ask questions about the syllabus/course. I like to give my students an inspirational quote and have them write it on the top front page of the syllabus, incase they feel like giving up, I tell them to keep the quote on an important piece of paper that they are going to refer to during the term.
Hi Matthew,
I like how you shed light on your classroom rules being applicable to the workplace rules. We need to continue to make things as real for our students as possible.
Patricia
Hi Debi,
Your techniques to make coure requirements clear are very thorough as well as fair. Your students should not have any excuses from not knowing.
Patricia
