NUTSHELL NOTES "Teaching tips in a nutshell" - The University of Colorado at Denver's One-page Newsletter for Teaching Excellence

Drafting a good syllabus for your course can help your students gain a smooth entry into their semester and can prevent a number of frustrating events for you at a later date. The shortcomings of any syllabus most likely will show up in the final weeks of the semester when students and professors are harried, and misunderstandings become trying for all concerned. The pointers given here are not intended to dictate to you how your syllabus should be done. Instead the list allows you access to what has been discovered about syllabi. Most grading complaints that result in serious damage to professors and their institutions can be traced back to badly constructed syllabi.

Some authorities state that a syllabus is "a contract with students," but those who encourage writing of syllabi as though they were closed contracts (i.e. a rigid schedule that guarantees what will be covered on a given date) may dupe professors into causing serious problems for themselves. Many courses are not suited to being taught under a rigid schedule. This is particularly true for teachers who use active-learning strategies instead of relying only on lectures. According to W. J. McKeachie, the answer to "How complete, detailed and precise should your schedule be?" is "Not very." This is because circumstances arise that make it advisable to depart from a rigid schedule, and there is no advantage to committing yourself to a course of action that you will later regard as second-best. Students themselves are the most important variable in a course plan, and your own schedule should be sufficiently flexible to take advantage of students' awareness and interests. One of James Eison's "Ten Maxims for New Teachers" is extremely important to reflect upon during preparation of syllabi: "Teach less, better." Research shows that little factual detail is retained a few months after a class, so what will be most valuable to students will be that which provides long-term retention. Albert Einstein once said that "Education is what remains when one has forgotten everything learned in school." Planning your syllabus around the major concepts that you want your students to understand is more likely to yield satisfying results than a schedule based upon page numbers and topics.

A "GOOD SYLLABUS" will probably provide the following. Check your own regarding these points.

• Textbook and/or outside materials needed
• Your office number and office hours
• Grading scale
• Type of knowledge and abilities tested during exams
• Pre-requisite courses or skills
• Why your students should want to take your course
• What parts of the overall discipline are represented by this course
• How the course relates to the primary concepts and principles of the overall discipline
• The objectives of the course
• Why the objectives are important
• How the student will be better for having taken the course
• Why the course is organized in a particular sequence
• If the course will be primarily lectures, discussions or group work
• How the knowledge will be acquired by the student
• Call to be made aware of students' special needs
• List of required readings (insofar as known)
• Policy for missed tests
• Policy for late work
• Policy for absences
• Policy for extra credit work