Creating a Syllabus

August 01, 2024 / Bill Reynolds

As the fall semester approaches you may be tweaking syllabuses for upcoming courses and creating new ones for courses you’re teaching for the first time. In this post we share some resources that 1) offer guidance about components you may want to include in your syllabus and 2) provide fresh ideas about syllabus creation. Staff at the Lucas Center are available to discuss these approaches and provide feedback on your syllabus any time before the semester begins.

In a Chronicle of Higher Education article Kevin Gannon provides a thorough guide to syllabus creation-- https://www.chronicle.com/article/how-to-create-a-syllabus/. This article touches all the bases regarding components of a traditional syllabus, and Gannon offers helpful suggestions about getting students to read the syllabus and use it on an ongoing basis.

If you’re feeling more adventuresome, you might consider creating a “liquid syllabus.” In text and a brief video Michelle Pacansky-Brock explains the liquid syllabus and provides a rationale for creating one. In addition, she offers open access to the liquid syllabus for a photography course she teaches. Liquid syllabuses are often associated with online teaching, but students find them beneficial for in-person classes as well. Lucas Center staff and Digital Learning instructional designers are happy to consult with faculty who are interested in creating a liquid syllabus.

There’s no one correct way to write a syllabus, but no matter what your preferred approach a goal is always to produce a syllabus that students will find meaningful, accessible, and useful.