Syllabus: The Remarkable, Unremarkable
Document That Changes Everything
William Germano & Kit Nicholls
Written with professors in mind as its readers, Syllabus challenges instructors to “think about
how you think about teaching,” focusing on the syllabus as the gateway to this task. The syllabus,
Germano and Kit Nichols contend, should not only outline a course’s subject matter and
structure, but in doing so double as the very means to exemplify how teaching and learning will
occur. Because the design and content of most syllabi are taken for granted by both professors
and students alike, its power to enrich educational experiences is usually vastly underutilized.
With this book, Germano and Nicholls dissect this overlooked opportunity and offer a plethora
of suggestions on how to craft the syllabus as the primary agent for turning coursework into true
communities of learning.
The main point: A great syllabus creates the work-space in which students willingly give-andreceive from each other and their professor in the exploration of new relationships (with peers,
professor, and ideas), tackling of hard questions, and learning to better observe, ask, think, and
write.
Key insights: A great syllabus should create an increased desire to learn more about the field
of study addressed in a course. In turn, a course should increase the desire to embrace valuable
habits of mind and action which will extend far beyond the classroom. Indeed, the classroom
itself is not the main place people learn, but it provides an opportunity to learn to learn in an
environment set apart from everyday concerns. To this end, it is important to note:
 Consider first what students don’t understand about the syllabus: When introducing a
course’s syllabus, take ample time to flush out what students don’t understand about what
they’ve read.
 The role of reading lists: Assigned readings in which the professor obviously and excitedly
takes pride can encourage students to be better and more avid readers. Be sure to
communicate the need for an “active commitment” to reading.
 Differentiate readings: Distinguish between required readings (what must be read) and
recommended readings (what could or should be read).
 Attach actions to readings: Every required reading should have an active, powerful activity to
follow based on the reading.
 Strive to create community: Consider what the syllabus should say, and even how it should
look on the page, in order to foster a willingness to trust everyone (students and professor) to
do their fair share of workto read the readings, prepare for class, show up, participate, and
give feedback.
 Don’t be transactional: Especially concerning grades and grading, speak to what grades mean
and don’t mean‒beyond the typical orientation toward performance.
 Introduce the unfamiliar: include content and activities with which no one may be familiar, in
effect creating a sense of classes being “away games for everyone” (a nice phrase the authors
use in lieu of “level-playing field”).
 Consider two types of time: Don’t restrict the syllabus to the chronological time (chronos
time) of scheduling, but identify and design moments (kairos time) for memorable activities
and events to happen.
 Forget “coverage”: Don’t feel obligated to “cover” everything about the course’s subject; trying
to include everything important just bloats the syllabus to the point of stifling any interest
altogether.
 Include two due dates: Don’t just assign due dates for students, include due dates for when the
review and grading of assignments will be completed. This action will help foster a learningteaching dialogue beyond the assignments themselves.
 Keep moving forward: Structure the syllabus so that it is constantly pushing discussion
forward; this can be aided by including a story or narrative (spine!) about the course.
 Start at the end: Design the syllabus with consideration of what you’d like students to be able
to do at the conclusion of the course.
 Replace presentations with other exercises: Consider alternative ways to have students share
learning. For example, stage “mock” academic conferences or trade show exhibits.
Key quotes: Much like a good course, Syllabus offers a number of insightful thoughts on
teaching and learning. For example:
“Teaching is the thing that happens when students are learning” and “nothing is harder than
real teaching.” It follows of course that crafting a food syllabus is hard work. “Teachers
teach…from the unfinished business of their own curiosity.” In this sense, teachers are modeling
learning. At the same time, “good teachers know how much students teach them.”
“Moments of unsuccessful teaching are crucial to learning as a teacher… to learn what
education isn’t and what doesn’t work.” So experiment, over time keeping what works and
discarding what does not.
The syllabus is about “figuring out just how somebody who doesn’t yet understand what good
work looks like in your discipline would build curiosity, technique, habits, and understanding
necessary to do that work.” Syllabus design then is really making decisions. Indeed, as the
authors point out “the most effective syllabus makes choicesmany kinds of choicesin order
to make best use of coursetime.”
The elements of a course, as
The authors also advance as Rule Number
communicated in the
One: “If you put it in the syllabus, use it in class.”
and do so soon after the readings are done. In
syllabus, must introduce and
crafting assignments to accompany the syllabus,
explore new ways to get
or mentioned in the syllabus, “your syllabus is
students to do more work,
your best opportunity to improve the odds that
your assignments will succeed.” In this regard,
for what students do is the
two additional quotes stand out: “The best
real content of any course.
questions are those that arise naturally, from
students who have spent time reflecting on the assigned readings and used those reflections
when they tackle the assignment you craft.” And: “We are inviting our students to perform. They
almost certainly are not ready to write their own syllabus, but they may learn enough over the
course of the semester to understand why you wrote it the way you did.”
Germano and Nicholls emphasize that students learn by doing. Therefore, the elements of a
course, as communicated in the syllabus, must introduce and explore new ways to get students
to do more work, for what students do is the real content of any course.
They also spend the better part of one chapter discussing “the trouble with grades” and how
feedback and honesty on assignments play a role in mitigating concern by students about grades
above all else. They discuss how students often overestimate the importance employers may
place on grades, and underappreciate how “softer skills,” gained through meaningful
interactions with peers and professors, can factor heavily in how one is viewed in the
marketplace. Key to success, Germano and Nicholls say, is getting students to attend office
hours early in (and throughout) the semester. One element often overlooked in a syllabus is
explaining exactly what office hours are for and how students benefit from taking advantage of
this time outside the classroom.