Posts Tagged ‘writing an effective syllabus’
January 9 - The Syllabus as a Classroom Management Tool
By: Mary Bart in Effective Classroom Management
Complaints about incivility in the classroom are not new, but most faculty believe incivility is on the rise. Couple that with our litigious society, and it’s no wonder that one of the most important skills faculty need today is classroom management.
December 14 - Our Top 11 Most Popular Articles for 2011, part 2
By: Mary Bart in Trends in Higher Education
It wouldn’t be the end of the year without a few top 10 lists, but this year we’re taking it one step further with the top 11 articles of 2011. Each article’s popularity ranking is based on a combination of the number of comments and shares, e-newsletter open and click-thru rates, and other reader engagement metrics.
November 3 - Report Uncovers the Hidden Costs of Managing Syllabi
By: Mary Bart in Instructional Design
How much time do you spend each semester creating, updating or maintaining your course syllabi?
According to a new report released today by the Syllabus Institute, on average instructors spend more than 24 hours creating a new course syllabus. The average instructor also spends 6.5 hours updating their syllabus for a new semester and nearly 3.5 hours maintaining their syllabus throughout a semester.
September 28 - The Question of Control in the College Classroom
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
The August 24 post, What Does Your Syllabus Say About You and Your Course?, in which I asked a series of questions designed to encourage revisiting the syllabus in terms of its role in setting course norms and establishing the tone of the course generated some interesting responses. I am always pleased when a post stimulates reaction, including disagreement. This is how we learn and grow as professionals. It also makes blogs worth reading, in my opinion.
August 24 - What Does Your Syllabus Say About You and Your Course?
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog
A colleague shared an excellent but not yet published paper on the syllabus. It got me thinking as this is the time most of us are revisiting these venerable documents. Oh, I know, some of you finished yours back in May when the semester ended. And then there are the rest of us who are working on them feverishly as the beginning of new academic year quickly approaches.
May 24 - “Why Are We Doing This?” Establishing Relevance to Enhance Student Learning
By: Jeff Fox in Effective Teaching Strategies
Students frequently wonder and sometimes ask, “Why are we doing this? Why do I need to know this? Why are we spending so much time on this? Why do we have to do this busywork?”
When students don’t see the connection between the content and activities of the course and their future lives, they question what’s happening and what we ask them to do. Research confirms that perceived relevance is a critical factor in maintaining student interest and motivation. It also contributes to higher student ratings on course evaluations.
November 15 - Teaching Strategies That Help Students Learn How to Learn
By: Sara Coffman in Effective Teaching Strategies
What skills do you wish your students had prior to taking your course? Reading comprehension, time management, listening, note-taking, critical thinking, test-taking? Let’s face it, most students could benefit from taking a course in learning how to learn. But who wants to take a study skills class?
July 8 - What to Teach When There Isn’t Time to Teach Everything
By: Mary Bart in Online Seminars
Faculty have always faced time constraints when planning their courses, but the Information Age is now making it even harder to decide what to cover in a semester. Get advice on what to include, and what you can safely disregard, as you write their syllabi and plan your busy semesters.
March 23 - What Students Expect from Instructors, Other Students
By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching and Learning
Some years back The Teaching Professor featured an article highlighting Mano Singham’s wonderful piece describing how he moved away from a very authoritarian, rule-centered syllabus (reference below). It’s one of my very favorite articles—I reference it regularly in presentations, and it appears on almost every bibliography I distribute.
