You may have heard of creative techniques that faculty have used to get students to read the syllabus. Some professors bury an Easter egg in their syllabi —examples include asking students to email the professor a photo of Alf (an alien from a 1980s sitcom), a cartoon of a dinosaur, or a unique keyword such as “brown M&Ms4.” Easter eggs are a lighthearted and clever way to determine whether students have read the syllabus without being too invasive or punitive. Approaches like this tend to have a limited shelf life and don’t let you know if students have honed in on important deadlines and policies.
Another strategy employed by some faculty to get students to read the course syllabus is to create a syllabus that looks and functions like the FAQ (frequently asked questions) page. (See: Eric Loepp, How to Turn Your Syllabus into an FAQ, and Why You Should, CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION (Oct. 2, 2019), https://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Turn-Your-Syllabus-into/247248 ). A digital FAQ format allows you to offer brief responses to predictable student inquiries and address many matters that would be cumbersome to address in a traditional paper-based syllabus.
One group of faculty hired Snoop Dogg to ask students to read the syllabus: https://youtu.be/aOIvB2YtAhY.
The interactive syllabus website https://www.interactivesyllabus.com/ argues – the syllabus is a Byzantine document the eschews any sense of design, audience, or engagement for the sake of delivering the bureaucratic minutia of a class and university. Syllabi are boring to write, boring to read, and recede into the periphery of a course once content exploration begins in earnest.
There’s also the need to engage students more actively in working with the information presented in a syllabus.
The Interactive Syllabus provides a customizable Qualtrics template that allows you to engage with your students and learn what questions they have before class starts. See an example here: https://stmarys.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6ytrpG7V0CsKPEF
In a different example of creating engagement within a syllabus from Amanda Van Horne, Univ. of Delaware, she provides an explanation of what each weekly task is, as well as a helpful step-by-step map that corresponds to the text explanation. This is especially helpful for first- and second-year students who are learning the metacognitive and study skills needed at the university level as well as within their discipline.
It also affirms students’ beliefs that instructors expect them to succeed (From The Syllabus: A tool that shapes students’ academic experiences – https://www.fitnyc.edu/documents/cet/cue-syllabi-review.pdf).
Please reply to this email if you would like to discuss strategies for engagement in your syllabus.
For related resources also see:
Upcoming Conferences Proposal Deadlines:
From IU Online –
You now have until Monday, July 18, to submit your presentation proposal to the 2022 IU Online Conference.
We invite IU faculty, administrators, advisors, success coaches, and staff to send in proposals for our conference. Presentations that fit this year’s theme, Recharge and Go, are especially welcome. This is your chance to join in and make an impact; your participation will contribute to an even more student-centric online education experience at IU. We look forward to reading your ideas!
The conference this year will take place virtually October 26–28. Contact us with any questions at iuoevent@iu.edu.
From: Kim Filer, PhD – Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and
Director, The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at Virginia Tech
The 15th Annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy is now accepting proposals.
The conference showcases the best pedagogical practice and research in higher education today. Sessions address disciplinary and interdisciplinary instructional strategies, outcomes, and research. Each year we welcome approximately 500 faculty and instructors in Higher Education dedicated to teaching excellence.
The Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy accepts proposals for research, practice, and poster sessions. Proposals should focus on an aspect of teaching and learning at the university/college level.
Proposals for the 2023 Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy due by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, September 30, 2022.
Please contact teaching@vt.edu with any questions.
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