10 Learning-centered syllabus and ICON

We encourage you to view the syllabus and ICON as course guides and an educational promise to your students that provides them with learning opportunities and plans. The concept of a promising syllabus is based on the notion that learning should be grounded in “trust, rejection of power, and setting standards that [represent] authentic goals rather than schoolwork” (Bain, 2004, p. 74).

The promising syllabus is based on mutual accountability between instructors and students, giving students a powerful sense of control over their learning, making it learning centered. Instructors with a learning-centered syllabus are also perceived by students to be more approachable and welcoming (Palmer, Wheeler, Aneece, 2016).

💡 Please take a moment to reflect on the course you are planning to teach:

If you are designing your syllabus, please review the key elements of a learning-centered and promising syllabus:

• Share Instructor information: the instructor’s name, title, office address, office hours, preferred contact information (e.g., phone number, email address). If the instructor is a teaching assistant, they should include the course supervisor’s name, office address, office hours. Also include the name and office of the departmental executive officer (DEO).
• You can include additional information about how you would like to be addressed, including the phonetic pronunciation of your name.
• Encourage your students to reach out to you with questions and explain the purpose of office hours (many areas on campus refer to these as “student hours” or “drop-in hours”).
• Post a short video with a self-introduction or a welcoming statement on your ICON site to generate enthusiasm for your course and make this information more accessible.
• Share course information and engaging, question-driven course descriptions. For example, some instructors find it helpful to add sections like “Why take this course?” and “What will you learn?”
• Share long-ranging, multi-faceted learning goals that require high levels of thinking and learning as well as clear, measurable, and actionable learning objectives. Periodically refer to these as you teach, as you develop assessments, and as you engage with students. Learning objectives can be a helpful tool for students who want to better understand their progress in the course, including their grades.
• Add robust and transparent assessment and activity descriptions with estimated time commitment. The workload estimator can provide some general estimates.
• ICON is a great place to share detailed course schedules, although the syllabus generally includes due dates for drafts and major assignments and dates for tests, exams, and special events. Some instructors include a disclaimer in the syllabus to the effect that the schedule should be viewed as a tentative outline subject to reasonable adjustment. This reminds students that the learning process is flexible and may be altered according to their learning needs and the instructor’s teaching expertise.
• List course materials. You can also include information about whether any course materials may be available via the library’s course reserve system, which can be helpful for students with limited funds to purchase materials.
• Use an inviting, approachable, and motivating tone that supports students’ learning endeavors. An authoritarian or scolding tone does not welcome or encourage student collaboration in the learning process. You could think of renaming the course policies section to “Expectations of students” or “How to succeed in this course.”
• Give explanations for jargon, technical terms, and acronyms. Are these terms students will understand at the beginning of the semester, or are they things they will learn throughout the course?
• Post all syllabus statements required by the institution or your college, such as one on the availability of accommodations for students with disabilities.
• Provide resources for obtaining additional help, such as tutors or learning assistants and various centers and offices on campus that support the learners in your class.

The tips above are not meant to be the last word on developing a practical and learning-centered syllabus and ICON site. It can be helpful to obtain copies of syllabi and ICON sites from previously taught courses to make sure you have not missed anything important and invite a supervising faculty member, mentor, or experienced colleague to review your syllabus before printing.

We also encourage you to review your syllabus from students’ perspectives, considering the strategies that we have discussed in the chapter Who are your students?  For leveraging your syllabus in your professional development, consider strategies from our newsletter article Your syllabus: A tool for reflective teaching.

The Center for Teaching also provides consultations on syllabus development and content within ICON sites.

💡 Please reflect:

Some instructors facilitate group work activities, short reflective papers, or syllabi quizzes to ensure their students understand their syllabus and ICON site. How are you planning to encourage your students to read your syllabus and ICON site?