Characteristics of a Good Syllabus
EXAMPLES:
http://www.math.grin.edu/~rebelsky/Courses/223/97F/syllabus.html
http://parallel.park.uga.edu/~mcarney/1101/f98/pol.html
http://fcae.nova.edu/~ashleyj/cae502/syllabus.html
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Course Name, Teacher, Credits, PEIMS # |
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Break Course up into Six Weeks Syllabi |
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Ex:
In English, students will learn to:
- write papers in and out of class using processes that include discovering ideas and evidence, organizing that material, and revising, editing, and polishing the finished paper;
- think critically so that they can recognize the difference between opinion and evidence and so that they can support an intelligent, challenging thesis;
- read non-fiction critically and write analytically about it;
- address papers to a range of audiences;
- develop a sense of voice appropriate to the subject, the writer's purpose, the context, and the reader's expectations;
- compose unified, coherent paragraphs that develop topic sentences with detailed support;
- shape effective sentences;
- write correctly following the conventions of standard edited English;
- and document essays using textual evidence.
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Remember Goals & Objectives should be bulleted & begin with ACTION verb |
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Give Resources: Text, Online hotlinks, Spelling or Critical Concepts |
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Give Class Expectations |
EX.
In class, I
expect each student to contribute to discussion. This means you must do more
than clarify points about a particular reading in response to my questions or
the questions of your group leader; this means you must try your
interpretations out on a live audience of your peers, who will hopefully
challenge you and make you develop your points more thoroughly. The best way to
illustrate that you are an active, engaged, and interested reader is by
contributing regularly to class discussion and by paying close, respectful
attention to what everyone else has to say, by participating in group work,
with good time management skills. Because of the nature of this course, I will
not lecture; I want you to participate actively in creating a learning
environment in the class by constantly challenging each other. Those who consistently
and positively contribute to class will benefit most.
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Assignment Format: |
If you require a certain format (no pen, pencil only, date upper right hand corner, daily assignment turned in within first 5 minutes of class, or whatever) this needs to be spelled out and concretely written in the Assignment Format section.
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Major Concepts: What are the major concepts in the content area for this period of time? Be specific, bullet these and make them clear enough for parents to understand and to even help at home with these concepts. Just stating the word TAAS does not relate a major concept. List the concept and describe it briefly. |
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Activities: |
How will you convey the major concepts of the content to your class? This is where PDAS requires you to use Learner-Centered (Constructivist) eclectic approaches for multiple intelligences and multimodal learners. You must document reteach, enrichment, centers, multiple choices for students to participate in different types of activities to be a learner-centered classroom.
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Give Assignment Criteria including amount of time. Make Handouts & Power Point Lecture Materials available digitally. Develop Online Resources (hotlinks & Web Pages) |
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Discuss class Expectations for homework & attendance. |
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Use at least 1 project a semester to develop higher order thinking skills. Make sure to take incremental & multiple grades during project plan, development, implementation, and presentation. |
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Identify major projects, grading practices, and criteria |
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Identify major tests & include all objectives for that test |
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Give Students reflective guidelines for preparing for major exams |
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Refer to grading policies, Class Expectations, Academic Integrity, Character Education in your SCANs section |
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Give hours & times you are available for conferences or tutorials. |
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Ask for a parental signature & date |