Superior Syllabus Hacks for Daring Teachers

by Guy E. White on 5 February, 2015

Reduce stress and rule your classroom universe.

The Magna Carta is one of the grandest achievements of mankind and frankly, so is my syllabus. At least, my syllabus is the grand invention of my teaching practice that saves me from headaches, creates absolute order, and automates my grading.

The Magna Carta is one of the grandest achievements of mankind and frankly, so is my syllabus. At least, my syllabus is the grand invention of my teaching practice that saves me from headaches, creates absolute order, and automates my grading.

My first syllabus read like a boring short story. It was ten pages long, single-spaced in 12-point font. It was magic: it had the power to make students roll their eyes and fall asleep simultaneously.

Conflict after conflict arose throughout my first year as a teacher with my students. I was always baffled by the apparent lack of syllabus reading, made obvious by the lack of knowledge regarding my 20+ classroom policies. Thank God I wised up.

 

Here are some ways in which I came to my senses:

Hack #1: List All Assignments With Assignment Numbers

If your situation allows for it, create a list of all assignments you plan to assign during the semester. University classes do it; can’t you?

For each assignment, assign a number. That way, you don’t have to reference an assignment with confusing spans of page numbers.

Also, don’t forget to assign a point value. Here’s a useful hint: consider making your whole class out of 100 points so students know how much something is truly “worth.”

Hack #2: Create Cutoff Dates for Make-Up Work

If you allow make-up work, it can be a huge headache (and quite disruptive) to receive 500 assignments right before grades are due. Instead, assign a date that provides you with ample time to grade long before the final grades are due. State this date on your syllabus. In my case, I provide three cutoffs for my students per semester, each a week before grades are due.

On that note, consider making it clear that incomplete work is never accepted, as this way there is far less chance of receiving something that will not benefit the student.

Hack #3: Make Your “Classroom Policies” Document Separate from Your Syllabus

There is a difference between your “syllabus”, which provides information about the course, and your “policies”, which discusses your personal peeves and rules for operating in your course.

Consider splitting these documents apart from one another.

If a student signs your policies document during the first semester, there is no need (typically) to have them sign it again during the second semester. Your syllabus, on the other hand, most definitely will change at the semester.

On that note, also consider limiting your policies to the most important ones – as students often cannot hold more than a handful of policies in their minds at any given time.

How do you create your ultimate syllabus? What are its sections? Let us know in the comment field below. We’d love to know how you make things work great for you and your students.

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