How to Write a Syllabus that Students Like (and learn from)

9/1/2023

Fifty percent of a great class is its syllabus.  Over the years I’ve had horrible syllabi and I’ve had good ones.  The problem is that I sometimes didn’t know which was which until after the course is over. COVID and web-teaching don't make it easier

If you’re looking for syllabus ideas or templates you can use this semester, I’ve included some ideas below. Most are relevant for in-person classes, but other things (like class previews) are even easier to pull off with mid-size and smaller courses on the web. I've also included an annotation of why certain things worked better than others, such as these:

• It’s useful to have your most recent syllabus revision listed by its most recent date (instead of by it’s version number)

• Students often ask: “What’s this class about?” & “What will we do in class?”  One intro paragraph can answer both.

• Non-native English speakers and shy students have a hard time participating in large classes. Class Previews help them. An hour before each class, I hold a Class Preview that tells people the discussion questions I’ll be asking that day, and then we discuss them ahead of time. Anyone’s welcome to show up.

• For large classes, try to have TA office hours every day (or M-Th)

• Try to be super specific about what you expect for an A assignment, and what your policy is on late assignments and missed classes.

• Rather than having both the final exam and their project due at the end of the semester, I frontload the course with the most work and move their project up to the half-way point.

• Letting students drop their lowest scoring assignment reduces their anxiety and the pressure they feel.

• By having students turn in two copies of their project (one to grade and one to file), it helps ensure the same projects don’t show up year after year.

• I have a screen-down, no-laptop policy.  If people say they are taking notes, I ask them to send me the notes after class to see if what I’m teaching is coming across like I hope.

• Class insight cards can give class contribution points to well-prepared, but shy students.

• Extra credit opportunities are great. They help reduce student anxiety.

• If your course is cross-listed with both undergrads and grads, the graduate students will need to do something more (usually about 20-25% more).   I also have four specialized class sessions (and a dinner) only for them.

• I try to organize the course into very discrete sections.  This way I can frequently review each section in class before I start a new one.  This way it very discretely shows how the parts of the course build on each other.

• The Final Project was renamed “Integrative Assignment” and moved to the middle of the semester. They have to work a lot harder early on in the course, but the quality goes up, and their Finals Week stress level goes down.

• You can get the most from a guest speaker’s visit if – before class -- you require students to read something written and published about the guest speaker. (It also makes the guest speaker more of a celebrity). On the day they speak, I will usually show a short Youtube clip of them before introducing them.

• I want the last class session of the semester to be valuable.  After they turn in their exam and their course evaluations, I give them the option to leave.  For those who stay, I tell them stories of two big lessons I learned in life (the hard way), and how they can deal with challenges in the future.  It’s an unusual way to end the class, but it always ends it on a high and memorable note.

Good luck writing a great syllabus, having a great course, and having a triple-great semester.