Syllabus
All my instructors give detailed information on their syllabi. I make sure it is clearly labeled and the objectives are stated.
Deana,
The syllabus is many times the first communication process in any course. Helping the students understand expectations in any course is essential. Thanks!
The syllabus is vital for student success in many ways. I like to engage students through my syllabus by including a short video on class expectations. I explain instructor expectations and course expectations in the video. Each week, I upload a new video based on the current week's expectations. I revert back to the basics - or the syllabus - and interject information in the video from the syllabus to reinforce student understanding!
Jennifer,
We are always looking for ways to help students understand and achieve the learning outcomes. Thanks for your input.
I agree! By providing students with detailed information, it allows them to be more successful with the assignment or project while also minimizing additional work for the instructor. :)
Alfred,
Hope they take your suggestions with more than a grain of salt. ;-) "Canned" courses need some flexibility as all students/classes are different.
Thanks!
No we cannot edit the assignment during the course. We can make suggestions at the end term for the next term.
Alfred,
Can you edit the assignments/projects to meet the needs of the students (as each course is different) even if you still meet the learning outcomes?
I teach entirely online and the university provides the syllabus. I cannot change it. So in the first live chat I go over the syllabus. As we all no we don't have a large attendance but they can watch the archive. Just like you all do I also post course expectations in the announcements and go over them during the week 1 chat.
Sarah,
The syllabus is many times the first form of communication with the students. It's important to make sure the syllabus introduces and clearly explains the expectations and assignments/projects, etc. Thanks for your input in this forum.
A clear syllabus is extremely important for encouraging students to view the work seriously. It definitely needs to be dynamic, however. I often try to get a sense of who my students are and what they are majoring/interested in and then build additional activities in tailored around this. One my favorite activities for this is the group discussion. While I can pre-schedule the times of such meetings and work, the dynamic element of it comes in when I can allow the students to focus on the course material in a way that allows them to draw knowledge from it that can be applied to them personally, in their professional or academic capacities.
Regards
Sarah
Jeremy,
Glad you are learning from these modules and you see the importance of a dynamic syllabus. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for your post.
I was inspired by that reading about creating a dynamic syllabus. I teach in a hybrid program so we have a mix of both resident and online...but use only the "flat" syllabus. Creating something more dynamic is now my number one priority!
Bernadette,
Right on! The syllabus is many times the first form of communication with the students. The details are important. I also like creating a short syllabus overview video with my face/voice to start developing that personal environment. Thank you.
The Syllabus must have specific details especially when there are requirements for discussion posts...I like the idea of providing links for more interaction and guiding the students to vital information.
Sarah,
You are right. Planning is important, but something always seems to change. Thanks for being flexible.
And, thanks for your input.
I like the idea of a dynamic syllabus. I have found that no matter how well planned you think a course is, adjustments need to be made. Thinking about these kinds of changes to meet students' needs as positive rather than negative is something of a breakthrough for me.
PatJohn,
The syllabus is many times the first piece of communication to the students. It is important that the information is clear and all students understand the learning outcomes. Thanks!
