WEEK 5
THE ART OF WRITING COURSE PROPOSAL AND SYLABI
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” --Mark Twain
Homework: Write a Course Description and Course Structure for your course
For Class 5, if you are working towards teaching in the fall, please read this document in its entirety before writing up the rough draft of a proposal that you will bring to our next class. The “Course Description” section of your proposal has an absolute limit of two hundred fifty-words for either a five or a ten- week course. The “Course Structure” section is your rough plan for each class, in effect the beginning of a syllabus. Those of you who postpone teaching in the spring are not off the hook. Please write a mock proposal for a course…the same homework just not for submission to the Curriculum Committee.
Using only 250 words (the committee counts the number of words) a course description must intrigue the reader. Your immediate goal is to entice a student to read on. You can see examples of how other Study Group Leaders approached the problem by reading their course proposals. You anticipate that a prospective student will earmark your proposal because you have not disguised the topic using dull descriptors. The reader expects you to captivate them with fascinating promises. The mysteries of the universe they can finally wrap their arms around. That explication of a poem or novel they had promised to study but never did.
EXAMPLE OF HOW SOME OF US THINK WHEN MULLING OVER THE ASSIGNMENT
The answer to that compelling question: “Are our National Forests Disappearing?” (see Class 3) …. After diligently exploring as many resources as I could think of, I found the culprit…the Mountain Pine Beetle! Fascinating for me, fascinating for others! I spent weeks mulling over various course topics and am certain that in the Mountain Pine Beetle, I have a winner. I am ready for the next hurdle, the task of writing a proposal for the Curriculum Committee to evaluate. Just saying their name sends electricity up my spine. I am supposed to convince this committee that my course, the one I have put my heart into, stands out from the many before me in line. But do I dare? What if I look at my email one morning and find a one-line message: “While we don’t have a place for you this year, we encourage you to try again, Cordially…” How can they not include my course in the catalog?
Fully recovered from the fantasy rejection, I remain convinced that my course on mountain pine beetles will be in the BOLLI Course Catalog the next time around. Perhaps I should broadcast the sad fact that, yes, the safety of forest species has been ignored for far too long! Take my course on forest management and find yourself willing and ready to wage war against mountain pine beetles!
What is the Curriculum Committee?
They are a group of BOLLI members who have heard either directly or indirectly of your interest in giving a course. They are prepared to assist you in all stages of writing your proposal, beginning from when it was just a concept.
If the topic has weight and appeal, a liaison person will be assigned to you. They will help you explore which details to expand, which to leave out. Here is a fact worth remembering: Courses have been taught at BOLLI where no one knew what the SGL was talking about, but the students enjoyed themselves immensely. With new SGLs who have never taught at BOLLI, the liaison person will spend considerable time helping you shape your ideas. In the end, if the topic is not suitable, meaning the Committee believes it will not attract students, your liaison person will let you know.
See the Spring 2022 Course Proposal Intent to Teach:
Spring 2022 Course Proposal Intent to Teach
Click here to view detailed Spring 2022 Course Proposal form in Word format:
Spring 2022 Course Proposal form in Word format
And here are the dates for classes next Fall:
Fall 2021 Course Schedule Dates
The deadline for telling the Curriculum Committee that you are considering teaching in the Fall will be in early April 2022. The deadline for submitting your final course proposal will be in early May 2022.
What information does the Proposal Form Require
The formal process begins when you fill out a proposal form, an online, electronic document. First you write a course description. This includes: learning objectives; characteristics of a class meeting (Discussion? Lecture? Small groups? Student Presentations?)
Then you devise a course structure or “plan” for each class. The “plan” is not a full “syllabus” (see comments on syllabus below), but rather a short form syllabus. A plan demonstrates your capacity to structure your material. The plan is not printed in the catalog. You will write a full syllabus after the committee has informed you of their acceptance.
The proposal form also includes a third person biography. Look at the current BOLLI catalog to see what others have written…note that there is not too much “crowing.” You will also need to have a list of thoughtfully selected reading materials and their costs. The maximum book allowance per course is $45. If books are not used, links to articles online should be free (not require a subscription.)
Remember, you do not have to be a professional writer or educator to teach at BOLLI, but you do need to write clearly so there is no confusion. The course description and its title must conform with what you teach! Otherwise, some students are likely to drop the course citing your failure to provide “truth in advertising.” Fundamentally, this means your write-up in the catalog does not match what is being taught.
The Art of Writing a Proposal
The Curriculum Committee is always on the lookout for potential SGLs who can communicate well, organize their thoughts, and arouse enthusiasm.
BASICS OF COURSE PROPOSAL WRITING:
Active and passive voice sentences both convey action, but active sentences are more persuasive, decisive, and confident.
Proposals written in strong, clear language are more effective. Active sentences are usually shorter, more dynamic, and more forceful.
Active voice is emphatic, decisive, and accepts responsibility for action.
Passive voice in writing tends to create longer, less persuasive, and sometimes ambiguous sentences.
Passive voice weakens your message by evading responsibility and distancing you from your customer.
Develop a course “plan” that keeps you on track as you follow the narrative arc of the course you have created.
Think carefully about the course trajectory. Provide a detailed framework that expands the major concepts.
Ensure that the style of your proposal grabs the reader’s attention.
The title must be especially riveting.
Write in a style which attracts the highest-level student you can imagine.
BOLLI students expect challenging, clearly advertised courses.
Proofread, edit, and check your facts.
Writing a syllabus
Now, let us move on to the syllabus. The link below is helpful, alerting you to factors to consider as you work out the mechanics and goals for each week. Remember, there should be a narrative arc connecting the beginning to the middle to the end. Without this arc, the student would feel adrift, wondering if they had missed something or that they were heading towards Moscow when they thought the destination was Paris. With the arc firmly in your mind and on paper, the likelihood for success rises dramatically.
https://teaching.washington.edu/topics/preparing-to-teach/designing-your-course-and-syllabus/#Syllabus
Your syllabus will include what to read or watch or listen to for each class. The syllabus must be a well-crafted, week-to-week guide or road map. At each stop along the way, you will provide a selection of study guide questions meant to help students to question the validity of what they have read; integrate the material; develop unexpected insights; and allow for generalizations. Keep your approach to the material fresh and interesting.
https://www.thoughtco.com/ways-to-keep-your-class-interesting-4061719
Use the syllabus to convey to the class the potential to discover intrigue and mystery from class to class. You would like to have your students looking forward to what they will be learning next, that they will have a sense of excitement knowing that you will not be repeating yourself or reading from slides. Laugh and have fun, encouraging your students to join you.
Last Words
Students will be so much more amenable to discussion when they are relaxed because you, their teacher, are relaxed. Impress the strength of learning new information at home as a preparation to explore in class concepts and concerns raised in the homework. Think outside the box: invite guest speakers; do breakout sessions; do a field trip. Find ways to engage the students.
We do not know if meeting on Zoom will continue in the Fall of 2022. Still, in whatever space your class makes its debut, our experience is that second or third period attracts a larger pool of potential students than first period.
Our pine beetle expert persevering after an initial defeat.
Despite my proposal on mountain pine beetles failing to make the cut, my resolve to teach remained as strong as ever. I sat down for coffee with my liaison. They suggested I pay attention to topics that were less arcane, perhaps something relevant. I blinked. Back to the drawing board.
Of course, there was a solution, even if the title of my latest proposal was far more risqué than mountain pine beetles. How about the title: “What’s wrong with the electoral college and what can be done to fix it?” The topic is not esoteric; our democracy may depend on whether we have enough faithless electors who will vote their conscience; and it is time to approach the Constitution as a living document! A five-week course? No, ten. I can picture hordes of students stampeding to get their name into the lottery. A full class!
Where did I place my liaison’s phone number?