preparing a great syllabus
look at it from a studnts perspective
be clear and complete
Kitt,
Essential for getting the course off to a good start.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Having a clear and concise syllabi keeps the students and instructor on the same page.
Jason,
I can appreciate the challenges you are facing having been there myself. My suggestion is to use the syllabus as a tool of value to you and your classes. Make it work for you in relation to your school and your students. There are no hard and fast rules on developing and using a syllabus, they are only guidelines. So make it work for you and enjoy teaching rather than trying to follow a specific formula.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
Our school does not give us the ability to edit our syllabus any more because some of the teachers were making grading scales for assignments "subjectively". I have one class that is 12 weeks long for 2 and a half hours twice a week and we only have 20 pages to cover and the syllabus includes teaching manual techniques I don't see covered anywhere. I have another class that is 50 minutes a day for 6 weeks, 4 days a week, and we are swamped with manual techniques that are explained well but the material is so fast paced we struggle to fit it all in. This six weeks I have been following the syllubus well but have also been including supplementary texts from other books and videos and forrum discussions on our related topics. The students have a small suprise this way and the ones who feel they can miss class and stay on track have one more reason to be in class this way. But it doesnt fit the paradigm of this course on what a syllabuses function is I don't think, at least not as much. Any suggestions?
Dawanna,
For sure as this is a very important part of being an effective instructor.
Gary
Dr. Gary Meers
