BLENDED LEARNING 2

IN PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING 2

WRITE THE SYLLABUS
Syllabi serve several important purposes, the most basic of which is
to communicate the instructors course design (e.g., goals,
organization, policies, expectations, requirements) to students.
Other functions commonly served by a syllabus include:
To convey our enthusiasm for the topic and our expectations
for the course
To show how this course fits into a broader context ("the big
picture")
To establish a contract with students by publicly stating
policies, requirements, and procedures for the course
To set the tone for the course, and convey how we perceive our
role as the teacher and their role as students
To help students assess their readiness for the course by
identifying prerequisite areas of knowledge
To help students manage their learning by identifying outside
resources and/or providing advice
To communicate our course goals and content to colleagues
Whats in a syllabus?
A syllabus usually includes the following components:
COMPONENT
(Labels link to components of
real syllabi.)
DESCRIPTION
(See also samples of whole
syllabi.)
Title page
Course number and title,
semester and year, number of
units, meeting times and
location, instructor and TA
information (e.g., name,


office, office hours, contact
information)
Course description
A brief introduction to the
course: scope, purpose and
relevance of the material.
Course objectives
Skills and knowledge you
want students to gain.
Course organization
Explanation of the topical
organization of the course
Materials
Required (and/or optional)
books (with authors and
editions), reserve readings,
course readers, software,
and supplies with information
about where they can be
obtained
Prerequisites and co-requisites
Courses students need to
have taken before yours (or at
the same time); prerequisite
skill sets (e.g., programming
languages, familiarity with
software). Provide advice on
what students should do if
they lack these skills (e.g.,
drop the course; get outside
help; study supplementary
material you will provide)
Course requirements
What students will have to do
in the course: assignments,
exams, projects,


performances, attendance,
participation, etc. Describe
the nature and format of
assignments and the
expected length of written
work. Provide due dates for
assignments and dates for
exams.
Evaluation and grading policy
What will the final grade be
based on? Provide a
breakdown of components
and an explanation of your
grading policies (e.g.,
weighting of grades, curves,
extra-credit options, the
possibility of dropping the
lowest grade)
Course policies and expectations
Policies concerning
attendance, participation,
tardiness, academic integrity,
missing homework, missed
exams, recording classroom
activities, food in class,
laptop use, etc. Describe your
expectations for student
behavior (e.g., respectful
consideration of one
anothers perspectives, open-
mindedness, creative risk-
taking). Let students know
what they can expect from
you (e.g., your availability for
meetings or e-mail


communication).
Course calendar
A day-to-day breakdown of
topics and assignments
(readings, homework, project
due-dates)
Advice
How to use the syllabus; how
to study for the course (how
to read efficiently and
effectively, whether readings
are to be done before or after
the class they pertain to,
when to start assignments,
approved forms of
collaboration, etc.); how to
seek help.

When should you write your syllabus?
Writing your syllabus should come late in the process of course
design, after the course is essentially planned, but well before
the first day of class. Youll notice that of Finks 12 questions to
ask oneself when designing a course (below), the question
pertaining to the syllabus comes in #11! (Fink, 2003)
o Where are you? (situational constraints)
o Where do you want to go? (learning objectives)
o How will you know if students get there? (assessments)
o How are you going to get there? (learning activities)
o Who and what can help? (resources)
o What are the major topics in this course? (organization)
o What will the students need to do? (specific learning
activities)
o What is the overall scheme of learning activities
(integrating instructional strategy with course structure)


o How are you going to grade?
o What could go wrong? (debugging design)
o How will you let students know what you are planning?
(syllabus)
o How will you know how the course is going, and how it
went? (planning feedback)
General advice on writing a syllabus:
o If you are new to teaching, or to a department, look at the
syllabus of a colleague preferably someone known to be
an excellent instructor -- as a rough model of format and
style. Syllabi vary according to disciplinary and
departmental conventions, and while there is plenty of
room for individual variation and creativity in syllabus
design, its a good idea to see what the norm is before you
begin.
o Anticipate student questions and concerns and try to
address them in your syllabus. Research indicates that
the pressing concerns for students when beginning a
course are:
Will I be able to do the work?
Will I like the professor?
Will the subject matter interest me? Is it relevant to
what I want to do?
Do I have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to
succeed?
Can I handle the workload?
Is it possible for me to get a good grade?
What sorts of policies does this instructor have
regarding attendance, late work, participation, etc.?
(loosely adapted from Davis, 1993)
Addressing student concerns will help them to align their
expectations with yours, give them a sense of your
teaching styles and priorities, and allow them to make
more informed decisions about whether or not to take the
course.


o Distribute the syllabus on the first day of class and go over
key points with students. Make it clear to them that they
are responsible for everything in the syllabus, and
reference the syllabus in class periodically to remind them
of its content. To encourage students to read the syllabus
carefully, some instructors actually give students a short
quiz via an on-line course management system on course
policies, instructor expectations, requirements, etc.
o Maintain some flexibility in your syllabus: As the semester
progresses, you may find that your course design was
over-ambitious and that you have to scale back, or that
you have to rearrange the calendar to accommodate
unanticipated events. Leave yourself room to maneuver
by indicating on your syllabus that it is subject to revision
or by building in a few overflow days to catch up if you
fall behind.
o If you alter your syllabus, be fair to students: Be sure to
give them sufficient advance warning so they can plan
accordingly. Also, do not increase the course
requirements in any significant way once the semester
begins: students view the syllabus as a contract and make
their add/drop decisions on the basis of what the syllabus
indicates. Substantial changes once the semester begins
are likely to perceived as an unfair bait and switch.
Creative syllabi:
Syllabi do not have to be simple, typed documents, but can
incorporate graphics (photos, comics, designs) and other
creative elements. Some instructors design creative syllabi to
embody course goals; for instance, the syllabus for a
typography class might itself reflect design elements that are
part of the course content. Some instructors develop graphic
syllabi, which represent the organization of the course in
graphic rather than text form. As long as your syllabus serves
the functions you intend, have some fun with it!
References


Fink, L. D. (2003)
Creating Significant Learning Experiences. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Davis, B. G. (1993)
Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
SAMPLE FORMAT OF SYLLABUS
Reminder: This is only a recommended format of syllabus but it can
be changed based upon the prescribed school format.
COURSE TITLE: _______________
Mission, Vision, and College Goals
A. Preliminaries
Course Code : _____________
Course Title : _____________
Credit : _____________
Time Duration : _____________
Pre-requisite : _____________
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Paragraph description of the course (from the latest approved
curriculum action)

B. COURSE OBJECTIVES (five or six objectives; general but
comprehensive)
Objective 1 (statement)
Objective 2 (statement)
Objective 3 (statement)
Objective 4 (statement)
Objective 5 (statement)
Objective 6 (statement)


C. COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING CRITERIA


Clarify whether you will use a letter grade system or a point
system. If you will use a point system, explain final point and letter
grade equivalents.
Either, explain the weighting of course components:
a. Component 1 (e.g., exercises), weight (% or points)
b. Component 2 (e.g., quizzes), weight
c. Component 3 (e.g., interim exams), weight
d. Component 4 (e.g., participation), weight
e. Component 5 (e.g., attendance), weight
f. Component 6 (e.g., final exam), weight
Or, in competency-based courses, explain the level at which each
compretency must be mastered in order to complete the course.
Explain how difficult-to-quantify things such as effort,
improvement, and participation will be graded, if graded.

D. COURSE TOPICS/UNITS AND DATES/COURSE CONTENTS
It includes the specific objectives, topic, teaching
methods, instructional materials, and time allotment.
(please refer on the given example)
E. TEXTBOOK(S) AND REQUIRED TOOLS OR SUPPLIES
1. Textbook (required): TITLE and author
2. Textbook (recommended): TITLE and author
3. Supplies and/or tools:
Prepared by:
Teachers Name -
Email -
Class website -


Approved:
_____________
Head/Dean
ACTIVITY 1
Its time to write your own syllabus.
Subject: Principles of Teaching 1
(prepare your syllabus according to the sample
format which is given above and use your
Principles of Teaching 1 textbook in selecting
the course contents)
ACTIVITY 2
Make another Detailed Lesson Plan(DLP)
Date of Submission:
August 1, 2014
Late outputs will not be accepted/ entertained.
(This is true)
God bless you my dear students
Hope you will enjoy doing it
- Sir JM