{"id":1424,"date":"2025-08-06T10:20:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T14:20:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/?p=1424"},"modified":"2025-08-07T10:50:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T14:50:56","slug":"how-to-create-a-syllabus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/teaching\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Syllabus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Advice Guide by Kevin Gannon, Chronicle of Higher Education<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/\">Link to full article<\/a>. Excerpts below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230; The course syllabus is, in most cases, the first contact that students will have with both us and the course. As the clich\u00e9 goes, we don\u2019t get a second chance to make a first impression. The syllabus sets the tone for the course. Rather than emphasize what they can\u2019t do, an effective syllabus is a promise that, as a result of our course, students will be able to do a number of things either for the first time or at least better than they could before. As you create a syllabus, then, the question you ought to keep at the center of the process is:\u00a0<em>What am I saying to my students?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sections:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#essentials\">Syllabus Essentials (and Two to Avoid)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#components\">Syllabus Components<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#course\">Course Information<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#instructor\">Instructor Information<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#goals\">Course Goals<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#requirements\">Course Materials and Requirements<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#policies\">Course Policies<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#attendance\">Attendance<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#latework\">Late or Missed Work<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#honesty\">Academic Honesty<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#ai\">Use of Artificial Intelligence<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#technology\">Technology<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#inclusion\">Accessibility and Inclusion<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#grading\">Grading and Assessment<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#schedule\">Course Schedule and Calendar<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#alltogether\">Putting It All Together<\/a>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#readit\">Getting Them to Read It<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/how-to-create-a-syllabus\/#revising\">Assessing and Revising Your Syllabus<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting Them to Read It<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a cottage industry of \u201cIt\u2019s in the Syllabus!\u201d gear \u2014 T-shirts, coffee mugs \u2014 that joke about the seemingly universal student trait of not knowing what\u2019s in the document you\u2019ve spent so much time and energy preparing. But is it really true that students ignore the syllabus? Only if you\u2019ve given them reason to ignore it. Here are some strategies to make sure they don\u2019t:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Keep mentioning your syllabus in class.<\/strong>\u00a0If you dump the document on students and rarely (or never) refer to it again, you\u2019re telling them it doesn\u2019t contain any information vital to their success. If you don\u2019t treat your syllabus as important, why should they?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t read the syllabus aloud on the first day of class.<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s one thing to take class time to highlight the important areas of the syllabus. But to spend a class period reading it to students \u2014 or going over it so closely as to have the same effect \u2014 is overkill. Do that and your students may decide they\u2019ve heard everything they need to hear about the syllabus, and put it out of mind. Like your syllabus, the first day of class is an important opportunity to set a particular tone. Try to avoid turning that class session into\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chroniclevitae.com\/news\/1498-the-absolute-worst-way-to-start-the-semester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">merely a \u201csyllabus day.\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Let students know where they can find a backup copy.<\/strong>\u00a0One of the prime culprits behind \u201cthey don\u2019t read the syllabus\u201d is students who lose their copy and don\u2019t know (or are too embarrassed to ask) how to get a new one. If you use a learning-management system or some other digital platform for your course, be sure to have a PDF of your syllabus prominently featured on the landing page. Some instructors choose (or are forced by budget cuts) to make their syllabi available only in an online format. In that case, be sure to communicate where to access it, and follow up to ask if they have.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Give a syllabus quiz or other low-stakes assignment.<\/strong>\u00a0Sometimes students are motivated by grades more than other factors. However much you wish that wasn\u2019t so, use it to your advantage by giving a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/The-3-Essential-Functions-of\/228909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">short syllabus quiz<\/a>\u00a0in the first week of the term. It\u2019s a good way to see who\u2019s engaging with the course right away, and who might need extra encouragement. It\u2019s also an easy way for students to be successful on their first assignment and perhaps lessen their anxiety over grades (particularly true in subjects that are anxiety-producing or viewed as intimidatingly difficult).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hide an \u201cEaster egg\u201d on your syllabus.<\/strong>\u00a0My father likes to tell a story from his undergraduate days when he discovered, about halfway through the semester, a line on the syllabus where his instructor had written something to the effect of \u201cif you read this, let me know by the second week\u2019s class meeting and I\u2019ll owe you a beer.\u201d Of course, no one in the class collected on the offer.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/Is-Anybody-Reading-the\/237641\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Examples abound<\/a>\u00a0of instructors who hide \u201cEaster eggs\u201d on their syllabi. In addition to letting students catch a glimpse of your whimsy and humor (like the instructor who asked his students to send him an image of the \u201980s sitcom character Alf), this is a way to gauge how many students have actually read your syllabus. It\u2019s likely most haven\u2019t, at least not at first; but it\u2019s better to know early rather than assume everyone is familiar with your syllabus and charge ahead with the material.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Make the syllabus matter throughout the semester.<\/strong>\u00a0Be explicit about why your syllabus is as important in the final week of class as it was at the beginning of the term. Students often skim over the course goals and dismiss their importance compared with the \u201creal information\u201d like the course schedule and grading scale. But your goals are a vital part of both the syllabus and the course itself, and should be front of mind for students as well. Use questions on a syllabus quiz in the first week of class to place your learning goals\/outcomes on center stage. Linda B. Nilson, in her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wiley.com\/WileyCDA\/WileyTitle\/productCd-1119096324,miniSiteCd-JBHIGHERED,navId-812120.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2016 book<\/a>,\u00a0<em>Teaching at Its Best<\/em>, suggests questions like \u201cWhich of the learning objectives for this course are most important to you personally, and why?\u201d That encourages students to see course goals as something relevant to them personally, rather than just static decrees. Then, throughout the semester, keep referring to the course goals in assignments. Explain how an assignment aligns with those goals. For example:\u00a0<em>\u201cThis essay is meant to help you practice the research-and-analysis skills that are important parts of this course. Recall that one of our course goals is that you will \u2018develop the critical-thinking skills necessary to meaningfully analyze historical material and arguments\u2019 [HIST 112 Syllabus, pg. 1]. This assignment is your first chance to show the results of your work in those areas.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Another strategy: Link a reading assignment to a particular course goal. That\u2019s the key here: You want students to see the alignment between the coursework and the course goals. We\u2019ve internalized that understanding. Our students have not, and they need more explicit signposting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advice Guide by Kevin Gannon, Chronicle of Higher Education Link to full article. Excerpts below. &#8230; The course syllabus is, in most cases, the first contact that students will have with both us and the course. As the clich\u00e9 goes, we don\u2019t get a second chance to make a first impression. The syllabus sets the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-teaching"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Kathryn Byrnes","author_link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/author\/kbyrnes\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/baldwin-clt-teaching-times\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}