Liquid Syllabus

How does your syllabus play out the big picture.

Is it meaningful or scary?

Many institutions have required components to help you design your syllabus. Most syllabi requirements includes (From How to Create a Syllabus: Advance Guide by Kevin Gannon):

  • Basic course information. What course is this? (You may be required to include the catalog description.) When and where does it meet? How many credit hours does it offer? Is the course face-to-face, online-only, or blended? Are there prerequisites?
  • Instructor information. Who are you? What’s your departmental affiliation? Where is your office (if you have one)? When and where can students meet with you — what are your regular office hours, or do you schedule individual conferences? How can students communicate with you via phone or email, and do you have a preference?
  • Course goals. What will your students be able to do as a result of this course that they could not do, or do as well, before? What purpose does this course and its material serve? Are there discipline-specific objectives, larger metacognitive goals, or both?
  • Course materials and requirements. What books, readings, and other course materials will be needed, and where can students acquire them? Are there other skills that students will need to be successful (for example, proficiency with specific software)? Will the course involve site visits or fieldwork outside of regular meeting times?
  • Course policies. Do you have policies regarding attendance or missed work? Are there particular classroom expectations that students need to be aware of? What about technology use?
  • Grading and assessment. What will students be asked to do? How is the course grade determined, and what is the grading scale? Do you offer extra credit?
  • Course schedule/calendar. What will students be asked to do for particular class sessions? When will quizzes and/or examinations be given? What are the due dates for the papers, projects, or other assessments? Is there a final exam, and if so, when? (Many institutions have a special calendar for final-exam week.)ation, storytelling, correspondence and diary. Writing has been instrumental in keeping history, dissemination of knowledge through the media and the formation of legal systems.

If I were a student, how would I experience my syllabus?

      • What would I take away regarding the culture of the class?
      • My instructor's teaching style?
      • My instructor's expectations of me?
      • How might I experience the syllabus if I were a first generation student?
      • An African American student?
      • A Latino/a student?
      • An LGBTQ student?
      • A financially insecure student? Could I afford the book and course materials?
      • What does it mean to assess a course syllabus from an equity perspective?