WARNING: hostile rant against syllabus – read no further if syllabus is sacred to you.
My current attitudes toward “the” syllabus have been shaped by,
1. “a” syllabus for a recent course that was confusing, contradictory, and fragmented, and
2. by a much-quoted 2007 article “Death to the Syllabus” where Mano Singham decries “the rule-infested, punitive, controlling syllabus that is handed out to students on the first day of class.”
In Greek mythology, Procrustes was notorious for making all his captives fit his iron bed, racking them if they were too short, or amputating if they were too tall. My encounters with syllabi as a student have felt somewhat like being strapped to that bed. I feel that Procustes’ method is more suitably applied to the syllabus than to the student or to the course. I will allow that dismembering (adapting) the syllabus may be more reasonable than killing it outright. I originally wanted to make this the title of my post:
DEATH DISMEMBERMENT TO THE SYLLABUS!
but couldn’t insert HTML <strike> tags into the WordPress title.
I do appreciate Ko & Rossen’s† summary of the syllabus as a map and a schedule. I prefer to see those details woven into appropriate places in the course rather than in a separate document though. Pilar has given a good example in her screencast of putting the details where the student will be needing them.
Something fundamental inside me absolutely rebels, however, against the idea of “the contract“. Why start with that of all things? It smells so much like authoritarian, “they-owe-me” arrogance. I know. I know. That’s a distortion; but before you flame me, count the lines. What portion of “the contract” is my promise to serve up quality to the students, and how much is devoted to grounds for dismissal, disqualification, and docking points? Does the syllabus treat students as learners? Does it arouse the excitement of learning? Or does it reflect an assumption that students are not really interested in learning, will exploit every possible loophole, and cheat to get credit for doing as little as possible? Maybe we are treating students like customers, but why treat them like used-car buyers or discount-life-insurance clients who receive pages and pages of fine print circumscribing their options?
I’m going to try crafting an un-syllabus for my upcoming online language classes.
Short.
No threats.
Flexible schedule.
Collaboratively created course content and assessment criteria.
Instead of calling it a syllabus, it will be an “Introduction” or a “Welcome” section. The rest of the information I will build into the interactive course outline – made available and updated as it becomes relevant.
Who knows, in 3 months I may have cause to adjust my attitude toward legalistic syllabi.
Agreed. And shhhh…don’t tell…I don’t really have one. Part of my effort to get into the “interactive syllabus” is that it isn’t one – it isn’t static, and basically the main page of my class in Moodle IS the syllabus (in fact, I’ve edited the language pack on my own installation so it says “Syllabus” in big letters at the top of the course. If a student needs it later for a department they’re transferring to, I either take a screenshot of the main page or copy and paste it into a document. I eschew the contract, and celebrate flexibility, but in a subversive way.
Channeling Scott are you? I’m with you. Every time I would get a department syllabus, my first step in adaptation would be to build in flexibility loopholes and try to figure out what I could do without (or get away with chopping).
schedule at a glance is good ~ I’d do a this week at a glance post too, what’s around the corner
PS Chris, hawaii.edu has always been a super resource for handouts and ideas
Thanks, Vanessa. I’ll check out Hawaii.edu. One of my teen book club members is studying there and it will be fun to see what she says about the syllabi.
Yep, I do week-at-a glance with heads-up posted to weekly course blog and preview at end of live class. And still there is confusion about what’s to be accomplished by when.
Interesting insight gained during midterm conferences was that many get more out of course blog in conversational tone than project specs with bullets/lists.
Guess the blog is more engaging.
When you get right down to it, we do syllabi because we have to. On the other hand, the alternative of using department syllabi is worse… and canned course content usually not far behind. I don’t miss syllabi but do find myself wondering how one would write a syllabus for an open access (no registration, just drop in whenever) self-paced online study group.
I guess we’ll call you the Freddy Krueger of Syllabi, Jim 😉
Hey, I’m with you.
I’m always hated the contract metaphor as I’ve always hated the “dead” syllabus that doesn’t live/grow/evolve with the students and me over the course of the course. I’d like for the syllabi to be a living document, flexible as you say with lots of choices for students to choose assignments and create their own.
This year, encouraged by POTcert, I created an interactive syllabus that I call the “working syllabus” that does live and breathe while I have the unabridged syllabus with all of the legalese.
I also created a “schedule – at – a glance” with the due dates for projects and that seems to help.
I’m designing a new course and considering using a form much like this where I will post the syllabus with explanatory notes along the side to humanize it and may even place in a Google Docs so students can add notes/questions to contribute to a FAQ — http://www2.honolulu.hawaii.edu/facdev/guidebk/teachtip/syllab-4.htm
Lots of ideas this morning. Your hacking got me going. Thanks so much!
btw please do let us know how the Freddy syllabus works out.