Syllabi are one of the most effective tools for communicating information about your courses, from assignments and readings to policies and procedures. A clear and well-constructed syllabus is invaluable to student success. Equally important to what you communicate to students, however, is how you communicate in the syllabus. From reading a syllabus, students can infer… Read more »
Mentoring Senior Thesis Writers
The IU2030 Strategic Plan’s emphasis on “meaningful and mentored research and creative experiences” for undergraduates is an opportunity to think about how we support our seniors’ writing thesis and capstone projects. Thesis writing can be overwhelming: often a student’s first foray into long-term research projects feels like a completely different experience to classes and coursework…. Read more »
Unspoken Expectations and Student Success: Revealing the Hidden Curriculum
What is the hidden curriculum? The “hidden curriculum” or “invisible curriculum” refers to the unstated norms, policies, and expectations that students need to know to succeed in higher education but are often not taught explicitly. Your students might not know how to do things that seem quite rote and standard to someone more experienced, like… Read more »
Write a Syllabus that Supports Student and Instructor Mental Health
According to one national survey of 31,048 students conducted in 2020 by the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU), “35% of undergraduates screened positive for major depressive disorder and 39% screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder” (Soria, Horgu, and Luu, 2020). The profound effects of Covid-19 on student mental health will likely continue during… Read more »