SETTING THE STAGE
FOR SUCCESS
WITH THE SYLLABUS
Christine Harrington Ph.D.
Middlesex County College
www.drchristineharrington.org
charrington@middlesexcc.edu
January 7, 2015
Agenda
Purpose
Research
Practical Applications
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE
OF A SYLLABUS?
Purpose of the Syllabus
Contract
Communication Device
• Legal document
• Course information and
expectations
• Prevent potential
misunderstandings
• Tone and personality of course
Plan
Cognitive Map
• Course outcomes or goals
• Strategies to accomplish goals
• Clear focus on what’s most
important
• Visual Organization
Matejka, & Kurke, 1994
Purpose of the Syllabus
Encourage and Guide
Students
Teaching Philosophy
Course Learning
Outcomes
Expectations
Support for Success
Policies,
Responsibilities
Grunert, O’Brien, Millis, & Cohen (2008)
Learning Outcomes
What do you want students to
know, think or do?
Learning Activities
How will students accomplish the
learning outcomes?
Need for Accountability:
Helping Students Master Content
Mastering Content:
Retrieval Practice is a Memory Tool!
Roediger & Karpicke (2006)
www.drchristineharrington.org
10
Re-thinking Assignments:
An Equity Issue
(Taras, 2006)
Feedback
Feedback
Challenging
Assignment
First Draft
or Attempt
Second
Draft or
Attempt
Final
Product
Assessment
How will you know if students
achieved the learning outcomes?
Processing Time…
• How do you hold
students accountable
for learning outside of
class?
• How can you increase
feedback opportunities
for students?
A Matrix Tool…
RESEARCH ON THE SYLLABUS
(AND PRACTICAL PPLICATIONS!)
WHAT’S IN A SYLLABUS?
Doolittle, P. E., & Siudzinski, R. A. (2010).
Recommended syllabus components: What
do higher education faculty include in their
syllabi?. Journal On Excellence In College
Teaching, 21(3), 29-61. Retrieved from
Academic Search Premiere.
What’s Important on a Syllabus?
Step 1
Step 2
Results
• Reviewed 15 College
Teaching Resources
• Discovered 81 suggested
components
• A total of 24 components
were identified by at least
50% of the resources
Doolittle & Siudzinski, 2010
Next Steps
Themes from 24 Components
Course
Information
Instructor
Information
Reviewed
1000 Syllabi
(Google)
Grading
Information
Policy
Information
Doolittle & Siudzinski, 2010
Prediction Time…
What percentage of faculty included:
• Late/Missed work policies
• Disability statements
• Information about supports available?
What do faculty include?
Percentage Included
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
97
91
84
23
20
7
Percentage Included
Doolittle & Siudzinski, 2010
REACHING OUT FOR SUPPORT
Perrine, R. M., Lisle, J., & Tucker, D. L. (1995). Effects of a
syllabus offer of help, student age, and class size on
college students' willingness to seek support from faculty.
Journal of Experimental Education, 64(1), 41-52.
The Study
Seek help from
instructor?
104 College
Students
Support Statement
on Syllabus
“Please come
and talk to me”
No Support
Statement on
Syllabus
Perrine, Lisle, & Tucker, 1995
Results- Willingness to Seek Help
Potential Problem
Supportive
Neutral
Trouble understanding textbook
4.7
3.7
Low grade on first exam
4.8
4.0
Hard to hear instructor's lectures
4.4
3.8
Study skills ineffective for course
4.7
3.6
Thinking about dropping course
4.9
3.8
Trouble understanding major topic
5.3
4.2
All significantly different!
Perrine, Lisle, & Tucker, 1995
Application
• Explicitly communicate
your interest and
willingness to work
with students outside
of class
• Provide specific
information about
supportive services
(counseling, tutoring,
etc.) on campus
How Long Should a Syllabus Be?
SYLLABUS DETAIL
Saville, B. K., Zinn, T. E., Brown, A. R., & Marchuk, K. A.
(2010). Syllabus detail and students' perceptions of
teacher effectiveness. Teaching Of Psychology, 37(3),
186-189. doi:10.1080/00986283.2010.488523
The Study
97 College
Students
Brief
Syllabus
Survey on
Teacher
Behaviors
Detailed
Syllabus
Saville, Zinn, Brown, & Marchuk, 2010
The Syllabus
Brief Version- 2 pages
• Instructor name/contact
•
•
•
•
•
•
information
Course objectives
Textbook
Brief Overview of
Assignments (ex. 6
exams)
Grading distribution
Brief overview of policies
Calendar with due dates
Detailed Version- 6 pages
• Same information with
more detail
• 6 exams consisting of
multiple choice and short
answer questions
• Calendar included chapters
that would be covered
Results!
Teacher Characteristic
Detailed
Brief
Approachable/personable
3.17
2.55
Creative/interesting
3.45
2.64
Effective communicator
3.05
2.47
Encouraging/cares for students
3.12
2.13
Enthusiastic
3.60
2.41
Flexible/open-minded
2.97
2.41
Knowledgeable
3.75
2.97
Prepared
3.38
2.81
Present current information
3.53
2.50
Promotes critical thinking
3.50
2.88
Realistic expectations/fair
3.06
2.16
All significantly different!
Saville, Zinn, Brown, & Marchuk, 2010
More Results
3.5
3
2.5
2
Brief
Detailed
1.5
1
0.5
0
Recommend Course?
Take another course?
Saville, Zinn, Brown, & Marchuk, 2010
Application
• Add specific information – especially
about course schedule and
assignments (i.e. rubrics)
• All essential information is in one
place
• Sends positive message about
instructor, setting a positive tone for
course
• Visual images, charts or tools- longer
syllabus but perhaps better!
Consider Adding Inviting Image
Add Photo of Textbook, Shading and Color
Use Graphs
Add Details about Assignments
Consider Adding Rationale
ON-LINE SYLLABUS
Grigorovici, D., Nam, S., & Russill, C. (2003). The Effects of
Online Syllabus Interactivity on Students' Perception of
the Course and Instructor. Internet And Higher Education,
6(1), 41-52. Retrieved from ERIC.
The Study
49 Undergraduate
Students
Low Interactivity1 page
Medium InteractivityMain Page with
3 links
Student Perception
of Instructor
High InteractivityMain Page with
3 links, Three Pages
with 3 more links
Grigorovici, Nam, & Russill, 2003
Results
High
Interactivity
More
negative
impression of
professor
Low or
Medium
Interactivity
More positive
impression of
professor
Grigorovici, Nam, & Russill, 2003
Application
• Slow down….
Use caution when
considering hyperlinks
• Easy access
• Visual organization
STUDENT USE AND RECALL
Smith, M. F., & Razzouk, N. Y. (1993). Improving
classroom communication: The case of the course
syllabus. Journal of Education for Business, 68(4),
215-222. Retrieved from Academic Search Premiere.
The Study
152 Upper
Level College
Students
72 Males
Completed
Questionnaire
On Syllabus
Content and
Use
80 Females
Surveyed at 3 weeks or 7 weeks
Smith & Razzouk, 1993
Prediction Time!
What percentage of students
report using their syllabus at
least once per week?
The Results!
Syllabus Usage
Frequency
Every day
20%
Once a week
57%
Smith & Razzouk, 1993
The Results!
Syllabus Recall
Course title, instructor
name, credits, textbook
Project purpose,
course code, number
of exams
Topic for day, instructor
office information,
textbook author
Percent Correct
95-100%
85-90%
8-48%
Smith & Razzouk, 1993
The Results!
Course Objectives
Percent Recalled
One objective
60%
Two objectives
8%
More than 2 objectives
3%
No objectives
Almost 30%
Smith & Razzouk, 1993
Applications of Research
First Day of Class
• Avoid Cognitive
Overload- No Need to
“Cover” Entire Syllabus
• How can you draw
attention to what’s most
important (i.e. learning
outcomes)?
An Example…
A Better Example…
Processing Time…
• Do you bring attention
to the course learning
outcomes?
• How might you bring
even more attention to
important parts of your
syllabus?
What’s the Syllabus Say About the
Professor and the Course?
SYLLABUS TONE
Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. (2011). Effect of Syllabus
Tone: Students' Perceptions of Instructor and Course.
Social Psychology Of Education: An International Journal,
14(3), 319-330. Retrieved from ERIC.
The Study
172
Students
Friendly
Syllabus
Unfriendly
Syllabus
Students thought they were evaluating an adjunct.
Harnish & Bridges, 2011
Examples from Syllabus
Unfriendly
Friendly
• If you need to contact me
outside of office hours,
you may e-mail me….
• Come prepared to actively
participate in this course.
This is the best way to
engage you in learning….
• I welcome you to contact
me outside of class and
student hours. You may
e-mail me….
• I hope you actively
participate in this course.
I say this because I found
it is the best way to
engage you in learning….
Directly quoted from Harnish and Bridges (2011)
The Results!
Topic
Friendly
Average
4.07
Unfriendly
Average
3.77
Faculty Level of
Motivation to Teach
3.6
3.07
Difficulty
3.34
3.72
Approachability
Harnish & Bridges, 2011
Application
• Syllabus is often first
impression- especially if given
out electronically before class
• Use Positive Language and
Tone
• Use “you” instead of
“students”
• Simple changes = powerful
attitudinal shifts
How Should Faculty
Address the Syllabus in Class?
Get Students Involved with Syllabus
• Syllabus Quiz
• Interact with syllabus every
class- student or faculty
reviews plan for the day
SYLLABUS QUIZ
Raymark, P. H., & Connor-Greene, P. A. (2002). The
Syllabus Quiz. Teaching Of Psychology, 29(4), 286-288.
The Study
200 Students Invited
to Participate;
125 Students did
Participate
7 question syllabus
quiz
21 Question
True/False Test
on Syllabus
Week 2
7 question quiz on
human nature
Average score 4.18
out of 7
Raymark & Connor-Greene, 2002
The Results!
Must take it
seriously- give credit
for correct answers
Does not replace
faculty-student
conversations
Performance
Raymark & Connor-Greene, 2002
Ongoing Interactions
with the Syllabus are Needed
Syllabus Checklist
• Are core components included?
• Course Information
• Name/Number, Description, Purpose, Learning Outcomes, Content
Areas, Location/Times/Days, Textbooks, Supplemental Readings,
Calendar, Due Dates
• Instructor and Campus Support Information
• Name, Office Location/Hours, Phone, E-mail Address, Welcome
Statement/Teaching Philosophy, Campus Resources Available
• Assignments and Grading Information
• Grading Policy, Scale, Assignment Names/Descriptions, Grading
Details/Rubrics, Course Outline with Due Dates and Learning Activities
• Policy Information
• Late/Missed Work Policy, Attendance Policy, Academic Conduct Policy,
Disability Policy
Syllabus Checklist Continued
Organization and Clarity of Information
• Is it well-organized and easy to follow?
• Were there enough details provided? Can you easily see
what is expected of you?
• Were visual tools such as charts used to organize the
information and clearly communicate information?
Syllabus Checklist Continued
Initial Reaction to Syllabus and Professor
• How would you describe this course to someone?
• How would you describe the professor based on this
syllabus?
• Would you be likely to register for this course or take this
professor?
• Would you be likely to suggest that a friend take this
course or take this professor?
• What did you like the most about the syllabus?
• What suggestions do you have to make the syllabus
better?
References
Doolittle, P. E., & Siudzinski, R. A. (2010). Recommended syllabus components: What do higher
education faculty include in their syllabi?. Journal on Excellence In College Teaching, 21(3), 29-61.
Retrieved from Academic Search Premiere.
Grunert O’Brien, J., Millis, B. J., & Cohen, M. W. (2008). The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered
Approach. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. (2011). Effect of Syllabus Tone: Students' Perceptions of Instructor and
Course. Social Psychology of Education: An International Journal, 14(3), 319-330.
Matejka, K., & Kurke, L. B. (1994). Designing a great syllabus. College Teaching, 42(3), 115.
Perrine, R. M., Lisle, J., & Tucker, D. L. (1995). Effects of a syllabus offer of help, student age, and
class size on college students' willingness to seek support from faculty. Journal of Experimental
Education, 64(1), 41-52.
Saville, B. K., Zinn, T. E., Brown, A. R., & Marchuk, K. A. (2010). Syllabus detail and students'
perceptions of teacher effectiveness. Teaching of Psychology, 37(3), 186-189.
doi:10.1080/00986283.2010.488523
Smith, M. F., & Razzouk, N. Y. (1993). Improving classroom communication: The case of the course
syllabus. Journal of Education for Business, 68(4), 215-222. Retrieved from Academic Search
Premiere.
THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES AS
YOU CREATE POWERFUL SYLLABI!
Questions? E-mail me at
charrington@middlesexcc.edu