What Kind of Syllabus?

Teacher and student reviewing a syllabus
A recent study found that professors and students aren’t on the same page when it comes to the course syllabus (Lightner & Benander, 2018). How about you and your students? As faculty, we probably don’t all see eye to eye, but most of us consider the syllabus a pretty detailed road map that shows students the way through the course. Most of us devote considerable time and energy to developing a syllabus. We write it with the idea that students need to read it, not scan it, even though most of us spend time early in the course carefully going over the syllabus because we’ve learned the hard way that students don’t read it. And most of us politely and patiently respond to any questions students have about the course, even though the syllabus answers most of them. So there are a few issues we might profitably explore.

To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...
Could doodles, sketches, and stick figures help to keep the college reading apocalypse at bay?...
We’ve all faced it: the daunting stack of student work, each submission representing hours of potential grading. The...
Storytelling is one of the most powerful means of communication as it can captivate the audience, improving retention...
For some of us, it takes some time to get into the swing of summer. Some of us...
About a year ago, I decided to combine the ideas of a syllabus activity and a get-to-know-students activity....
The use of AI in higher education is growing, but many faculty members are still looking for ways...

Create a free account, or log in.

Gain access to limited free articles, news alerts, and select newsletters

Login here

Get unlimited access to The Teaching Professor

Stay informed. Subscribe Now.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 thereafter. Cancel anytime.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Teaching Professor

You only have  free article views remaining.

WELCOME OFFER

$19.00 $14.00/month

for your first 6 months. Use coupon code TP6MO.

$19.00 a month thereafter. Cancel anytime.