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Monday Morning Mentor:  How Can I Create an Engaging, Student-Focused Syllabus?

The syllabus is a roadmap for students and a planning guide for teachers. Most instructors are familiar in general terms with the idea of a syllabus and know that it provides an overview of a course. They may not realize how significant the syllabus is in setting course expectations and they may not know how or why to create a living syllabus that includes more visual elements and that can be updated as a course progresses.

This 20-Minute Mentor gives ideas to make your syllabus more engaging, more student-centered, and more creative without a lot of extra effort. You’ll be able to turn a typically dry document into a living, engaging, and interactive student resource that can include multimedia, a series of slides, or a connected group of visuals—all created without any special technical know-how. Additionally, you’ll explore how to re-envision an existing syllabus so it will resonate with students.

Learning Goals

After viewing this Magna 20-Minute Mentor, participants will be able to:

  • Create more engaging syllabi
  • Implement frameworks for developing a new syllabus and for upgrading an existing syllabus
  • Discover new tools and techniques for creating engaging syllabi that will help engage students at the start of a course
  • Confidently assess a syllabus’s engagement potential
  • Introduce a syllabus in new ways to spark student interest early in a course

Topics Covered

  • The multiple purposes of a syllabus
  • Why syllabi are often ignored by students
  • A step-by-step process for developing a new syllabus
  • A framework for upgrading an existing syllabus
  • How to use visuals and other creative elements to make a syllabus more engaging
  • New tools for creating a living syllabus
  • A checklist for assessing the engagement potential of your syllabus
  • Creative ways to introduce your syllabus to students
Date:
Monday, October 24, 2022
Time (Central/Memphis):
All Day Event
Audience:
  Faculty  
Categories:
  Magna Monday Morning Mentor  

Event Organizer

Veronica Reliford-Thomas