{"id":1131,"date":"2016-01-25T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-01-25T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/?p=1131"},"modified":"2016-01-25T11:49:42","modified_gmt":"2016-01-25T16:49:42","slug":"whats-in-your-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/2016\/01\/25\/whats-in-your-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s in Your Syllabus?"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Priscilla Bremser, Contributing Editor<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I had what seemed the perfect first full-time teaching position, in that much of the planning for Calculus had already been done when I arrived. \u00a0The department chair handed me the textbook and the syllabus, essentially a day-by-day schedule of book sections and homework assignments. \u00a0This being the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, where every student takes Calculus, a lot of wisdom had gone into the schedule. \u00a0I now look back at that syllabus with a mixture of gratitude for the jump start and recognition that much has changed. \u00a0What\u2019s in your syllabus? \u00a0What does your institution require, and what is most important to you? \u00a0What is decidedly not in your syllabus? Do you hand out a paper copy on the first day, or is it all online? \u00a0How well does the syllabus reflect what you want your course to be?<\/p>\n

For some time after my move to Middlebury College, my syllabi followed that basic first model. \u00a0Eventually, however, I felt constrained by detailed plans that had made sense in August but didn\u2019t fit the October reality. \u00a0After too many classes that ended in a rush to cover specific content<\/a>, I began to offer a general outline of topics for the semester, along with exam dates, reminders about the honor code, and only the first assignment. \u00a0Putting together assignments a week at a time allowed me to be more responsive to what I was seeing and hearing in the classroom, while honoring my commitment to engage particular concepts. \u00a0Looking back, I see that shift in the syllabus as an early sign of my disillusionment with a strict lecture format.<\/p>\n

Once I started bringing students into Inquiry-Based Learning <\/a>territory, a syllabus needed to include a description of what we were doing and why. \u00a0As I tried to articulate a rationale for more active class sessions, I was compelled to consider what my compositions in the syllabus genre communicated to students, intentionally or not. \u00a0For example, apart from locking us all into a rigid timetable, devoting most of the typing to a list of homework exercises risks putting the textbook at the center, while I want to put learning at the center. \u00a0A reproduction of the catalog course description, including terms that novices don\u2019t yet understand, isn\u2019t exactly an invitation into a captivating intellectual experience.<\/p>\n

Hence my current syllabus<\/a> starts with a short description of the course content for the non-expert. \u00a0Next comes my contact information, followed by my learning objectives, again with as little technical language as possible. \u00a0Only then does the reader come to the schedule of topics and important due dates, at the bottom of the first page.<\/p>\n

One of the challenges of writing a syllabus is that, as the first document I present to my students, it serves multiple purposes. \u00a0As much as I would prefer to stick to a conversation about learning, external pressures intrude. \u00a0In the interest of minimizing disputes, I\u2019ve learned to state clearly my policies on absence and late homework. \u00a0\u00a0Middlebury\u2019s honor code necessitates an explicit description of what kind of sharing is acceptable and what is not. \u00a0More generally, many colleges and universities have explicit requirements for what is included in a syllabus. \u00a0Also, the audience is not just students; internal and external committees routinely collect syllabi in their reviews of faculty members, departments, and institutions.<\/p>\n

Most important to many students, it seems, is information about how I will assess their work. \u00a0Some tell me bluntly that they allocate their study time in direct proportion to the percentages in my grading policy, which can send me into an internal rant about how The System has driven them to focus on extrinsic rewards rather than the intrinsic satisfactions of intellectual growth.<\/p>\n

Actually, though, these seemingly invasive topics are connected to learning, and I try to be explicit about those connections in the syllabus. In an active learning environment, I tell students, it is especially important to arrive to class having put in a good faith effort on the homework due that day. \u00a0To establish and maintain a learning community, everyone should come to every class on time, barring illness. \u00a0You must engage your own brain in order to learn, and this is an institution devoted to learning, which is why we have an honor code.<\/p>\n

The possibility of a website for each course introduces both flexibility and complexity into syllabus composition. (Did I mention that I started at Middlebury in 1984?) My course sites have included, in addition to daily assignments, a rubric for evaluating proofs (adapted from Keith Devlin\u2019s<\/a>), a a statement on Inquiry-Based Learning<\/a>, and samples of written work. \u00a0This helps me meet my goal of keeping the actual syllabus to two sides of one sheet of paper, a valuable exercise. \u00a0My hope is that the shorter length increases the chance that students will actually read it.<\/p>\n

Do they read it? \u00a0Thinking deeply about what is or is not on the syllabus leads quickly into a broader consideration of the nature of communication between me and my students. \u00a0Should I ensure that they read it by giving a quiz, in the interest of their mathematical progress, or should I allow them to learn from experience that they are responsible for that progress? \u00a0Given that I\u2019ve decided to do less, and more judicious, telling<\/a> about the mathematics, could I be more creative about conveying my expectations and teaching philosophy? \u00a0One thing is clear: \u00a0the syllabus can only do so much. \u00a0A technique I learned from a colleague in the humanities is to start the first class not with handing out the syllabus or taking attendance, but rather with the actual material of the course. \u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s start with some math\u201d seems the best introduction of all.<\/p>\n

A careful consideration of the syllabus leads to all kinds of questions about contemporary higher education. \u00a0In addition to the coddling vs. building character debate, there\u2019s the question of grade inflation. \u00a0If I value class participation and reward it with a significant portion of the grade, then will the resulting grade distribution be objectionable to some colleagues? \u00a0\u00a0Does the need to explicit about late work policies and academic honesty, along with some institutions\u2019 exacting requirements for syllabi, \u00a0say anything about legalism on campus? \u00a0I recently took a required online course concerning Title IX regulations on harassment; it ended with \u00a0\u201c… \u00a0you can inform students by including information in your syllabus on resources, reporting options, and student rights. Check with your Title IX Coordinator to see if your school has approved language regarding Title IX reporting and resources to include in syllabi.\u201d \u00a0I\u2019m ready to include such language on the course website, but would including it on the actual syllabus help or hinder my efforts to create a small community centered on learning mathematics?<\/p>\n

Evidently the changes in my own syllabi reflect transitions in my attitudes toward my students. \u00a0As a nervous young lecturer trying to stay on schedule, I prepared my notes on a pad; three pages was usually just about right for a 50-minute session. \u00a0Small classes meant I learned names quickly and thought I knew who was struggling, but I\u2019m afraid I only interacted with those who raised hands in class or came to office hours. \u00a0My job was to present information clearly; their job was to absorb, and the syllabus contained the map through the textbook.<\/p>\n

Now the syllabus lays out what I find most important: \u00a0the learning goals, which concern both content and practice; \u00a0a framework for meeting those goals; and the principles, based on what I know about learning, connecting the goals with the framework. \u00a0The syllabus is only the beginning, and I try to reinforce and elaborate on the goals and principles repeatedly in class and on the website. \u00a0I now see my job as providing a structure in which students can practice mathematics on the content of the course, and responding to their efforts appropriately along the way.<\/p>\n

<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Priscilla Bremser, Contributing Editor I had what seemed the perfect first full-time teaching position, in that much of the planning for Calculus had already been done when I arrived. \u00a0The department chair handed me the textbook and the syllabus, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,29],"tags":[204,203],"class_list":["post-1131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classroom-practices","category-communication","tag-learning-goals","tag-syllabus"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6C2AC-if","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/75"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1131"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ams.org\/matheducation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}