Course and Syllabus Development
Presented by
Claire Major
Assistant Professor,
Higher Education Administration
Using a theoretical framework
What are some of the most recent
conceptions of teaching?
“Scholarship of teaching”
 We should expand our notion of scholarship
to include four areas: discovery, application,
teaching, and integration (Boyer, 1990)
Scholarship Assessed
 Clear goals
 Adequate preparation
 Appropriate methods
 Significant results
 Effective presentation
 Reflective critique
 (Glassick, Huber, Maeroff, 1997)
Doing your homework
What’s already out there that can help
you develop your course?
Gather materials and syllabi from as
many sources as possible:
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Your department and other professors,
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Your peers (GTA’s with more experience),
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Books about teaching and curriculum design,
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Websites for similar courses.
Deciding what students
need to learn
How do you develop your ideas?
Think about what you want to
accomplish
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Check out Teaching Goals Inventory Online:
http://www.uiowa.edu/~centeach/tgi/
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For your specific course, obtain a copy of the
teaching goals from your department.
Write goals and objectives
Objectives (or competencies) are
statements that describe the specific
measurable and observable behaviors that
the student is expected to exhibit after
completion of an instructional activity. A
series of objectives will help the students
become competent in key concepts,
definitions, skills that they should know
after completing the course.
Goals and objectives help
instructors
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Focus on main points, and keep to the point,
Determine what students should already know,
Evaluate effectiveness of teaching methods,
Construct tests and give feedback to students.
Goals and objectives help
students
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Break course into manageable sections.
Evaluate their own progress in course.
Develop guidelines for studying.
Feel less threatened during an evaluation because
criteria are specified.
Written objectives should
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Contain a statement of what the student will be
able to do using action verbs
Form a framework for instructional programs
Help to organize and sequence subject matter
Indicate type and extent of teaching and learning
activities
Provide a basis for evaluation of students
Work toward higher order
thinking skills

Bloom’s Taxonomy
Evaluation
 Synthesis
 Analysis
 Application
 Comprehension
 Knowledge

Deciding how your students will
learn it
What will your educational materials
and methods be?
Choose your course materials
Your choice of course materials implies your
expectations of your students.
 Choose reading materials that are appropriate to the
reading ability-level of your students.
 Assign the amount of reading appropriate to your
students’ course load and departmental
expectations.
 Consider the cost and availability of materials.
Choose your course materials,
cont.
 Use multimedia to appeal to the whole student and
to accommodate different learning styles.
 Use the web to point to supplementary materials
and to post outlines, notes, or assignments.
 Contact representatives of educational publishers
for catalogues and desk copies of new books.
 Prepare your handout packets for the bookstore and
become aware of copyright issues.
Use traditional
teaching methods
 Lecture
 Discussion
Use alternative methods
 Collaborative learning
 Technology-based learning
 Problem-based learning
 Service Learning
Knowing when they know it
How will you evaluate your students?
Think about assessment
 Informal methods used to gather information
about how well your students are doing
Classroom Assessment
Techniques
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Minute Paper
Muddiest Point
Application Cards
Focused Listing
RSQC2 (Recall, Summarize, Question, Connect,
and Comment)
 Angelo & Cross (1994)
Consider how you will grade
 Norm-referenced grading
 Criterion-referenced grading
Products
 Traditional
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Multiple choice
True False
Word Completion
 Alternative
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Essays/Formal Papers
Portfolios
Concept Maps
Journals
Creating Your Syllabus
How do you put it all on paper
Keep syllabus functions in
mind
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Establishes an early point of contact and
connection between student and instructor
Helps set the tone for your course
Describes your beliefs about educational purposes
Sets the course in a broader context for learning
Provides a conceptual framework
Describes instructional methods
Keep syllabus functions in
mind, cont.
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Describes available learning resources
Can expand to provide difficult-to-obtain reading
materials
Can include material that supports learning outside
the classroom
Contains collected handouts
Communicates the role of technology in the course
Keep syllabus functions in
mind, cont.
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Can improve the effectiveness of student note-taking
Can serve as a learning contract
Acquaints students with the logistics and policies of the
course
Defines student responsibilities for successful course
work
Helps students to assess their readiness for your course
Start with the basics
 Go back to your list of course objectives and decide
on the number and types of tests, projects,
assignments, and activities that need to be assessed
in order to demonstrate mastery of learning.
 Consider the thematic structure of your course.
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Chronological theme
Topical theme
Theoretical theme
Methodological theme
Start with the basics, cont.
 Working backwards from the final exam, insert the
due dates for your major tests and projects,
scheduling enough time to present and synthesize
material.
 Construct a calendar for the term with all of your
scheduled teaching days, the scheduled holidays
and breaks, the date and time of the final exam, and
any relevant administrative deadlines.
 Construct your policies and procedures pages.
Introducing the Course and
Syllabus
How do you get started?
First day of class suggestions
 Introduce your course and yourself
 Introduce students and break the ice
 Set tone and expectations
 “Syllabus Review”
 Go over most important parts of the syllabus
 Get started on content