how to keep a course syllabus student friendly

If you want to hold onto details until you give an assignment, let students know that in the syllabus to ease their anxieties. Maintain a friendly tone Don’t frighten students with excessive warnings or threats. Clearly present your policies in a direct but friendly tone to make students comfortable from the start.

Full Answer

Do we need a syllabus for each course?

My goal for this “syllabus makeover” was simple: to create an engaging, attention-getting, user-friendly document. Accomplishing this would hopefully increase readership and have the added benefit of reducing the frequent questions I was receiving about information covered in the syllabus. Moreover, I hoped the new syllabus would set a ...

What is the purpose of a syllabus?

Knowing this, consider using plain language in your syllabus—keeping in mind the following best-practices: Organize information from most important to least important; Keep sentences and paragraphs short and easily scannable; Use common phrases over discipline-specific jargon whenever possible; Keep acronyms and “letter soup” to a minimum

Can You revise a syllabus into a handout?

A student checking her smartphone as she walks around campus. By building your syllabus with a mobile-friendly, web-based tool, you are increasing access for your students. It’s no secret that students in higher education are more likely to have access to a smartphone than a personal computer. A mobile-friendly syllabus is easy to interact ...

What is the quality of the syllabus?

A syllabus lets students know what the course is about, why the course is taught, where it is going, and what will be required for them to be successful in the course (Altman & Cashin, 2003). By clearly communicating expectations, instructors can circumvent a whole host of student grievances and misunderstandings during the semester.

How to make your syllabus more encouraging?

As you rework your syllabus, think about ways you can make your language more encouraging. When it comes to classroom expectations, you might reframe your statements to focus on what students should do for success, rather than what they shouldn’t (e.g., instead of saying “academic dishonesty will be punished”, you could say “I encourage academic integrity”). By turning commands into invitations, the overall tone of your syllabus shifts from contractual to welcoming.

Why is it important to build a syllabus?

By building your syllabus with a mobile-friendly, web-based tool, you are increasing access for your students. It’s no secret that students in higher education are more likely to have access to a smartphone than a personal computer. A mobile-friendly syllabus is easy to interact with on a smaller screen because it resizes automatically, unlike a PDF or Word doc, which are difficult to read on mobile devices due to sizing constraints.

What does a syllabus feel like?

At times, the syllabus can feel like a relic from a different age of academia: a formal, lengthy document that reads like a legal contract and lacks personality. In an attempt to make syllabi more engaging and student-friendly, some instructors have come up with clever ways of reimagining their syllabi. One example of this is the liquid syllabus.

What is the purpose of a liquid syllabus?

The purpose of a liquid syllabus is to serve as a welcoming and encouraging introductory resource for students, while still fulfilling the requirements of a traditional syllabus.

How does syllabus tone affect students?

Students’ perceptions of their instructors can rely heavily on their first impressions ( often more so than an instructor’s reputation and credentials) and studies show that syllabus tone can make a huge difference in these first impressions. Students perceive their instructor as more welcoming, friendly, and inclusive when the instructor’s syllabus uses such language.

Is a liquid syllabus a good investment?

A liquid syllabus is no doubt a bit of extra work , but the research seems to support that creating a liquid syllabus is a great investment in terms of equitable teaching. Here are a few features of a liquid syllabus that you might consider implementing in your own syllabi.

What should be included in a syllabus?

To do this, a syllabus should include the following: Important dates (e.g., assignment due dates, exam dates, and holidays)

What is a syllabus?

The syllabus as a permanent record. A syllabus should serve accountability and documentation functions. It should document what was covered in a course, at what level, and for what kind of credit. Such a syllabus contains information useful for evaluation of instructors, courses, and programs, and can thus be useful in course equivalency transfer ...

What is a syllabus in college?

A syllabus lets students know what the course is about, why the course is taught, where it is going, and what will be required for them to be successful in the course (Altman & Cashin, 2003). By clearly communicating expectations, instructors can circumvent a whole host of student grievances and misunderstandings during the semester.

What is the quality of a syllabus?

The quality of the syllabus is a fairly reliable indicator of the quality of teaching and learning that will take place in a course (Woolcock, 2003). Therefore, it behooves instructors to make the effort to construct a high-quality syllabus. The results of that effort can benefit the instructor as well as his or her students.

Why is a syllabus important?

The syllabus as a learning tool. A syllabus should help students become more effective learners in the course. While many of these items are not required for syllabi at Illinois, adding them can greatly improve students' ability to learn the material. To do this, a syllabus should include the following:

What is the process of developing a syllabus?

The process of developing a syllabus can be a reflective exercise, leading the instructor to carefully consider his or her philosophy of teaching, why the course is important, how the course fits in the discipline, as well as what topics will be covered, when assignments will be due, and so on (Eberly, Newton, & Wiggins, 2001; Grunert, 1997).

Does the University of Illinois have a syllabus?

Note: All instructors of courses at the University of Illinois are expected to provide a syllabus to their students clearly stating expectations for student learning outcomes.

What is a visual syllabus?

Traditionally, syllabi have paragraphs of information that students have to sift through. A visual syllabus breaks down the information into digestible parts. Think about what parts of your syllabus need to stay. Essential items like your contact info, course description, and course materials will need to find a way into your new design.

How to make a personal connection with students?

A simple sentence or photo about who you are can create a personal connection with students. Remember to include only essential information when revamping your syllabus. Keep the design simple and clean, but add some images to create interest.

What do I dread on the first day of school?

There is one thing that I always dread on the first day of school… explaining the class syllabus. There is something so mundane about reading a repetitive, lackluster document to your students. We should be celebrating the start of a new school year with a creative project, not painstakingly going over each SLO for the next semester. The truth is, so many of us are required to provide a syllabus for each of our courses. And in reality, it is necessary for students (and parents) to understand our expectations.

What is syllabus day?

You may have likely heard the term “Syllabus Day” when referring to your first classes of the semester. Ideally, those first classes are an opportunity to review the syllabus together and ask your professor questions around expectations and requirements of the course, as well as anything else you may need clarification on.

Why do we need syllabi?

Use your course syllabi throughout the term to stay organized, to guide you in successfully completing the course requirements, and to maximize your learning.

Why is a syllabus important?

Your syllabus can be an important source of information about the course material and about learning in your field. This approach involves moving beyond a document that exclusively lists rules and due dates towards a course guide that invites students into the subject area and the broader discipline, and generates excitement for the learning to come. You can develop a syllabus that describes:

What is course goal?

Course goals and outcomes. This might include an outline of the disciplinary content and skills that students will learn through the course, but might also address broader skills or topics (e.g. research methodology) that may contribute to or draw on other courses or fields of study.

What should instructors provide in grading?

Course Work and Grading. Instructors should provide a clear breakdown of the work required in the course, including due dates and assignment weights. In addition, instructors should provide an overview of each assignment and its assessment criteria.

Why is academic integrity important?

Academic integrity is essential to the pursuit of learning and scholarship in a university, and to ensuring that a degree from the University of Toronto is a strong signal of each student’s individual academic achievement. As a result, the University treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. The University of Toronto’s Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters outlines the behaviours that constitute academic dishonesty and the processes for addressing academic offences. Potential offences include, but are not limited to:

What is academic dishonesty?

All suspected cases of academic dishonesty will be investigated following procedures outlined in the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters. If you have questions or concerns about what constitutes appropriate academic behaviour or appropriate research and citation methods, please reach out to me. Note that you are expected to seek out additional information on academic integrity from me or from other institutional resources (for example, the University of Toronto website on Academic Integrity ).

What is a brief paragraph describing the main focus and broad goals of the course?

A brief paragraph describing the main focus and broad goals of the course – indicate the 2-3 “big ideas” of the course and the key skills to be developed

Is a course video copyrighted?

Course videos and materials belong to your instructor, the University, and/or other sources depending on the specific facts of each situation and are protected by copyright. Do not download, copy, or share any course or student materials or videos without the explicit permission of the instructor.

Introduction

Goals and Functions

What to include: Required Or Strongly Recommended Components

• Syllabi will certainly vary among disciplines and courses, so you should strive to tailor your syllabus to meet the specific needs of your course, students, and field. Nevertheless, here are some elements that most syllabi include, including some that are required by the university. Those elements mandated by the university are noted as such in the...

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Other Elements to include: Optional Components

Conclusion

Online Resources