Designing A Motivational Syllabus

A thoughtfully constructed syllabus can be transformative for your students' learning, communicating the path they can take to succeed. This book demonstrates how, rather than being a mundane document to convey policies, you can construct your syllabus to be a motivating resource that conveys a clear sense of your course's learning goals, how students can achieve those goals, and makes evident your teaching philosophy and why you have adopted the teaching strategies you will use, such as discussion or group activities. Developing or revising a syllabus also presents you with a perfect opportunity to review the learning possibilities for the semester. Well-designed, it can help you stay focused on achieving the learning outcomes, as well as determine if the class is on track and whether adjustments to the schedule are needed. The authors show how, by adopting a welcoming tone and clearly stating learning outcomes, your syllabus can engage students by explaining the relevance of your course to their studies, create an all-important positive first impression of you as an instructor, and guide students through the resources you will be using, the assignments ahead, as well as clear guidance on how they will be assessed. Referred to frequently as the course progresses, an effective syllabus will keep students engaged and on task. Christine Harrington and Melissa Thomas lead you through all the elements of a syllabus to help you identify how to present key messages and information about your course, think through the impressions you want to create, and, equally importantly, suggest how you can use layout and elements such as images and charts to make your syllabus visually appealing and easy to navigate.

A thoughtfully constructed syllabus can be transformative for your students’ learning, communicating the path they can take to succeed. This book demonstrates how, rather than being a mundane document to convey policies, you can construct your syllabus to be a motivating resource that conveys a clear sense of your course’s learning goals, how students can achieve those goals, and makes evident your teaching philosophy and why you have adopted the teaching strategies you will use, such as discussion or group activities. Developing or revising a syllabus also presents you with a perfect opportunity to review the learning possibilities for the semester. Well-designed, it can help you stay focused on achieving the learning outcomes, as well as determine if the class is on track and whether adjustments to the schedule are needed. The authors show how, by adopting a welcoming tone and clearly stating learning outcomes, your syllabus can engage students by explaining the relevance of your course to their studies, create an all-important positive first impression of you as an instructor, and guide students through the resources you will be using, the assignments ahead, as well as clear guidance on how they will be assessed. Referred to frequently as the course progresses, an effective syllabus will keep students engaged and on task.Christine Harrington and Melissa Thomas lead you through all the elements of a syllabus to help you identify how to present key messages and information about your course, think through the impressions you want to create, and, equally importantly, suggest how you can use layout and elements such as images and charts to make your syllabus visually appealing and easy to navigate.

In the complex field of academic scholarship, educators and scholars often encounter the challenge of designing effective learning scenarios that align with various educational objectives. The process involves meticulous planning, consideration of diverse pedagogical approaches, and adapting strategies to different circumstances and situations. The need for innovative solutions in pedagogy has never been more pressing, with topics ranging from instructional design to emerging techno pedagogical practices demanding attention. Academic scholars are yearning for a comprehensive guide that not only dissects the intricacies of these challenges but also offers transformative solutions to navigate the evolving landscape of education. Innovative Instructional Design Methods and Tools for Improved Teaching is a groundbreaking book meticulously crafted to address the pressing issues faced by academic scholars today. This book transcends the conventional boundaries of educational discourse, offering a roadmap for designing learning activities beyond routine exercises. It unveils a comprehensive approach, integrating pedagogical strategies and innovative teaching practices, providing educators with the tools they need to revolutionize their approach to instruction. This book is a solution to the challenges educators face in the contemporary academic landscape, providing a transformative guide for those seeking to excel in the dynamic field of pedagogy.

This user-friendly workbook equips faculty and administrators with best practices, activities, tools, templates, and deadlines to guide them through the process of revising traditional location-based courses into a blended format. Providing a step-by-step course design system that emphasizes active learning and student engagement, this book walks readers through the development of course goals and learning objectives, assignments, assessments, and student support mechanisms with an eye toward technology integration. New to this edition are the most up-to-date research on blended courses, fresh templates, tips on the latest pedagogical trends related to artificial intelligence, and two additional chapters on facilitation strategies and group work and collaboration. The authors engage in equity-minded approaches to supporting student success throughout and address the needs of specific groups, such as students with disabilities, working students, and students who are parents or caregivers. Offering detailed instructions for each stage of course design, this book is a must-have for college instructors looking for a blended course design blueprint.

Course Syllabi in Faculties of Education problematizes one of the least researched phenomena in teacher education, the design of course syllabi, using critical and decolonial approaches. This book looks at the struggles that scholars, policy makers, and educators from a diverse range of countries including Australia, Canada, India, Iran, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the USA, and Zambia face as they design course syllabi in higher education settings. The chapter authors argue that course syllabi are political constructions, representing intense sites of struggles over visions of teacher education and visions of society. As such, they are deeply immersed in what Walter Mignolo calls the “geopolitics of knowledge”. Authors also show how syllabi have become akin to contractual documents that define relations between instructors and students Based on a set of empirically grounded studies that are compared and contrasted, the chapters offer a clearer picture of how course syllabi function within distinct socio-political, economic, and historical contexts of practice and teacher education.

Designing courses to deliver effective teaching and significant learning is the best way to set students up for success, and this book guides readers through the process. The authors have worked with faculty world-wide, and share the stories of how faculty have transformed courses from theory to practice. They start with Dee Fink’s foundation of integrating course design. Then they provide additional design concepts to expand the course blueprint to implement plans for communication, accessibility, technology integration, as well as the assessment of course design as it fits into the assessment of programs and institutions, and how faculty can use what they learn to meet their professional goals.

The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education presents a cutting-edge collection of 50 essays that explores the rapidly evolving landscape of online teaching and learning in higher education. Assembled and contributed by a team of leading experts, the Handbook adopts a uniquely holistic approach to examining the needs of online education. Chapters bring together voices from diverse and international backgrounds to provide insights applicable to a broad range of contexts, and present practical strategies for planning, delivering quality online higher education. The handbook covers a wide range of topics, including online pedagogy, instructional design, student engagement, technological innovation, assessment, leadership, and the developing role of online education in the context of broader societal and cultural shifts. The SAGE Handbook of Online Higher Education is an essential resource for educators, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners who seek to understand and shape the future of higher education in the digital age. Section 1: Fundamentals of Online Education Section 2: Online Education Around the World Section 3: Online Instructional Design Section 4: Online Instructional Delivery Section 5: Instructional Technology for Online Education Section 6: Online Education Administration and Management Section 7: Student Support Services