Teaching Tip: Build a better syllabus
April 14, 2015
As you prepare your syllabus for summer or fall semesters, why not give it a thorough,
critical look-through to make sure it looks great, functions well, meets all UAF requirements
and, for eLearning-supported courses, has all of the components helpful for online
students? These are included in the syllabus template your instructional designer
provides.- Check that all UAF Faculty Senate requirements are present.
- Write good learning outcomes and objectives based on measurable evidence. It helps to review good and bad examples.
- Make sure your course schedule fully represents the topics, activities and assessments for each lesson. It is not enough to say "lab" or "quiz." Describe each item in your schedule with contextual titles so students can use the schedule to navigate the material and assignments. Especially in an asynchronous course, this type of lesson outline can help students stay on track. A fully formed calendar is also mandatory during any Faculty Senate review process.
- Verify that the information you provide under student support services and disability services is current.
If you are teaching an eLearning-supported course, the syllabus template you receive from your instructional designer will also contain a section for how to contact UAF eLearning Student Services for things like technical help, proctoring and advising.
Read the full Teaching Tip on iTeachU for more syllabus tips that can help your students succeed.
— Teaching Tip by Jennifer Moss, UAF eLearning instructional designer
Join Madara Mason, of eLearning, and Chris Beks, of the Office of Information Technology, for their syllabus-building session on April 16, from noon–1 p.m. in Bunnell 319B. RSVP to gabender@alaska.edu. This session is part of the Third Thursdays series hosted by UAF eLearning and OIT.