Course and Syllabus Design

2. Course and Syllabus Design Dr. Marie Norman Teaching Consultant and Research Associate Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence http://www.cmu.edu/teaching

3. Objectives • When you leave today, you should be able to: • Describe audience/purpose/components of a syllabus. • Identify issues to consider when designing a course. • Discuss the course design triangle. • Delineate features of effective learning objectives.

4. Show of hands • Who has... • TAed? • Taught a class? • Designed a course from scratch?

5. What’s in a syllabus? • Audience: Who the syllabus for? • Purpose: When and how is it used? • Components: What are the parts of a typical syllabus?

6. Audience • Students • Colleagues • Department • Your future self

7. Purpose • To provide basic course info. • To generate motivation/curiosity about the subject. • To convey your expectations. • To delineate your own and students’ roles. • To serve as a contract between you and students. • To set the tone for the course. • To help students assess their readiness for the course. • To provide resources and advice for students.

8. Course name/number Room number Class times Office hours Instructor contact info Course description Course objectives Prerequisites Textbooks and readings Course requirements Breakdown of grades Grading policies Course policies Resources for help/support Advice Course calendar Others? Contents: a checklist

9. Syllabus analysis • What aspects of these syllabi help to facilitate student learning and motivation? • Ability to generate curiosity/establish relevance • Clear expectations • A logical organizational structure • Approachable, supportive tone

10. When do you write your syllabus? • At the end of a long process of thoughtful course design! Select content Consider your students Determine situational factors Create basic components Organize and sequence Write your syllabus

11. #1 Determine situational factors • Class size • Length/units • Up/downstream courses • ??

12. #2 Consider your students • Majors • Goals • Prior knowledge • ??

13. #3 Create the 3 basic components

14. The Course Design Triangle Where do you want students to get? How will you know if they get there? How will you help them get there?

15. The Course Design Triangle (cont’d) What students should know or be able to do by the end of the course. Assignments, problem sets, exams (high and low stakes) Lectures, discussions, readings, in-class practice opportunities

16. To ensure alignment: backward design • Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, Understanding By Design (2005) objectives instruction assessment Identify desired results Design learning experiences Determine acceptable evidence

17. Everything hinges on course objectives • Effective course objectives are... • Student-centered • Active • Measurable • Why is B preferable to A?

18. Exercise What’s wrong with these learning objectives, and how could they be improved? • Give students a firm foundation in linear algebra. • Understand random vectors. Understanding is invisible. What should students be able to do that would demonstrate understanding?

19. #4 Select content • Topics • Themes • Units • Texts

20. #5 Organize and sequence • How can you organize the material most logically? • How can assignments build from simple to complex? • What scheduling issues must you consider?

21. #6 Write your syllabus!

22. Conclusions: When designing a course... • Determine situational factors • Consider your students • Create the three basic components: • Select content • Organize and sequence • Write your syllabus

23. We can help! The Eberly Center offers: • Graduate teaching seminars • One-on-one consultations • Web resources: www.cmu.edu/teaching

24. Solve a Teaching Problem tool helps you find appropriate strategies for common teaching problems. Check out our website Design and Teach Your Courseis loaded with useful information and examples

25. Download this handy set of teaching resources