When: August 22, 2024, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Presenter(s): Deepsikha Chatterjee (Theatre), Jack Kenigsberg (English / RWC)
The syllabus represents our opportunity to make a first impression on our students. So many of us make our syllabi available before our first class, which means that students who so much as glance at the syllabus will have formed an impression of us before they even meet us. Unfortunately, many syllabi are legalistic in form and in tone, which means that we risk coming across, however inadvertently, as judges and as judgmental. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. We can present the exact same information as we always do, and as we’re required to do, while framing ourselves as helpful guides who are here to answer our students’ questions, simply by structuring the syllabus as a FAQ.
In this workshop, we will also explore strategies for enhancing student engagement and learning by fostering a participatory classroom environment, starting from the syllabus, including: (1) student-centered syllabus development, which empowers students to contribute to course design, (2) incorporating student choice and autonomy through student-selected readings, group projects, AI brainstorming, and (3) implementing alternative assessment methods, such as ungrading and feedback-focused evaluation. **This workshop will offer some time for syllabus writing, so please bring your syllabi!**
