Revisiting Syllabi Creation:

Empowering
Educators to
Design
Effective
Syllabi
 Lesson
Objectives
By the end of the session,
the participants are
expected to:
1 2 3 4
to determine the identify and describe to redevelop skills in To create a clear,
importance of well the essential creating a comprehensive and
components of a comprehensive and effective syllabus.
structured lesson
syllabus.; clear syllabus;
plan;
 Introduction
Welcome to our seminar on empowering
educators for Syllabus Development.
Today, we will explore strategies to create
syllabi that outline course content and
actively engage and inspire our students.
In an ever-evolving educational landscape,
it is essential to move beyond traditional
syllabus frameworks and adopt practices
that foster a deeper connection between
educators and learners.
 The Mighty Syllabus:
Unleashed!
Why Focus on Syllabus Development?
• First Impressions Matter: The syllabus is often the first
point of contact between you and your students. It sets
the tone for the entire course.

• Clear Expectations: A well-developed syllabus provides

a clear course roadmap, helping students understand
what is expected of them and how to succeed.

• Engagement and Motivation: An engaging syllabus can

spark students' curiosity and enthusiasm for the
subject, encouraging them to actively participate in
their learning journey.
The Modern Syllabus:
An Overview
Purpose and
Evolution:
Historically
.

Syllabi served as simple outlines of course content

and policies. Modern syllabi are multifaceted tools
that communicate expectations, establish a course
culture, and engage students.
 SIZZLING QUESTIONS
Here's a peek of the frequently asked
questions
• What constitutes a good syllabus?
• What are the basic elements of a syllabus?
• What criteria can we use to evaluate the
quality of syllabi?
 Two Fundamental
Criteria:
It should include all the information
students need at the beginning of the
course.

It should include all the information

that students need to have in writing.
 WHAT IS AN
OBJECTIVE BASED
SYLLABUS?
(Also known as “Learning-
centered” Syllabus)
A reflective exercise A systematic sharing A change in focus that
that addresses the of knowledge affects the students’ role:
question: What do (learning content) and accepting responsibility
students need to know an understanding of for their learning (this
in order to derive
how knowledge can can be difficult for
maximum benefit from
be comprehended students who have been
this educational
experience? and shared in educated as passive
 BASIC GOALS OF AN
OBJECTIVE-BASED
SYLLABUS
It provides a clear statement of course’s intended learning outcomes
and student learning outcomes.

It answers questions such as:

What do you want your students to learn? (what are the

learning
outcomes that you expect from the course?)

What assignments, classroom activities, and pedagogical approaches

will help your students master the identified knowledge, skills, or
attitude changes?

How will you determine that students have accomplished what

you
set out to teach them? (How will you evaluate their
achievements?)
THE MINDSET OF
TODAY’S
STUDENTS
Computers are not just “technology”
The Internet is better than TV
Reality is no longer “real”
Doing is more important than knowing
Learning resembles Nintendo more than logic
Multitasking is a way of life
Typing is preferred to handwriting
Staying connected is essential
There is zero tolerance for delays
Consumer and creator lines are blurring
IMPLICATIONS OFSUCH
SYLLABUS
These will differ depending on whether the text you are discussing is literary or
informational.

• Requires substantial reflection and analysis in the planning

stage
• It includes goals on content, process, and product.
• It allows the instructor to engage in a scholarly approach
to the knowledge and research relating to the course.
IMPLICATIONS OFSUCH
SYLLABUS
• It engages students in the discovery of knowledge.
* Because it is a “learning tool” it reinforces the intentions,
roles, attitudes and strategies of the instructor.
• It is a “learning contract” .
 It encourages you to
reflect thoughtfully, asking
• What is my teaching philosophy?
yourself..
• What does it mean to be an educated
person in my discipline or field?
• How does my course relate to disciplinary and
interdisciplinary programs of study?
• What are my intentions and purposes for producing
and assessing learning?
• What is my preferred teaching style?
• What choices shall I make about teaching strategies
and forms of assessment?
• What are the students’ diverse needs, interests, and
purposes?
 BASIC PURPOSES OF A
• Describe the course, its goals, and its objectives.
SYLLABUS
• Describe the structure of the course and its
significance within the general program of study
(particularly any nontraditional aspects of it that
may not be known to the students).
 BASIC PURPOSES OF A
SYLLABUS
• Provide critical, logistical, and procedural information about what will
happen, when, and where.

• Discuss what mutual obligations of students and instructors share.

 HOW DO I
Before you beginBEGIN?
writing your syllabus
PLAN!
PLAN!
PLAN!
PLAN

!
 PLANNING YOUR SYLLABUS

1. Develop a well-grounded rationale for your course

2. Define and delimit course content
3. Decide on desired learning outcomes and
assessment measures
 PLANNING YOUR SYLLABUS

4. Structure involvement in learning

5. Identify and assemble resources
required for active learning.
 Questions to ask before setting course
• Where does yourgoals
course lead
intellectually and practically?
• What should students know by the end
of the course?
• How will students be expected to
demonstrate what they have learned?
 Examples of
goals:problem-solving
• To improve students’
abilities
• To allow them to translate knowledge
from one context to another
• To improve their communication skills
 Objectives
Each goal contains several objectives: they make goals more specific,
providing a basic plan for what is to be accomplished by students and
how they will be evaluated.
1.To improve students’ problem-solving abilities
2.Improved competence and confidence in problem
identification and in using technically sound, analytical
approaches to problem-solving.
3.Improved ability to exercise judgment and assess options.
4. use team approaches to problem-solving
and decision-making.
5. Improved ability to describe and defend problem
analyses and management decisions both orally and in
writing
6. Greater understanding of the wide array of
considerations and techniques used in problem-
solving.
 1. Develop a well-grounded rationale for your course

What are its core scholarly or scientific findings and

assumptions?

What are the main points of arguments? What are the key
bodies of evidence?

What is the course’s scope? (How does your course

begin? Where does it begin and where does it end?)
 cont.....well-grounded rationale for your
course

What do you and your students do as the course

unfold?
(What do you lecture about or lead discussions
around?)

What are the key assignments or student

evaluations?
2. Define and delimit course content
• Be clear about what is most worth knowing:
Content that students will be required to
know Content that you will make available to
support individual student inquiry or projects
content that might only be of interest to a
student who wants to specialize in this area
• Develop a conceptual framework (theory, theme,
controversial issue or movement) that will
support major ideas and topics.
• Choose the learning outcomes you value most
 3. Decide on desired learning outcomes and
assessment measures
• Access and use of resources effectively
• Work alone and collaborate with others
• Understand complex concepts or situations and
know how to resolve problems emerging from such
complexity
 Desired learning outcomes and assessment
measures
• Think and communicate effectively using
appropriate means such as writing, speaking,
listening, numbers, graphics, digital,
• multi-media, performance ….
• Clarify personal values, purposes, and goals
3: Decide on desired learning outcomes and
assessment measures
3.1. Example: Eight principles for designing a course that
supports critical thinking as a learning outcome:

i. Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned; instructors

and peers are resources in developing critical skills.with
support tailored to students’ developmental needs.
3: Decide on desired learning outcomes and
assessment measures
ii. Problems, questions, or issues are the main point of
entry into the subject and a source of motivation for
sustained inquiry.
iii. Successful courses balance the challenge to think
critically with support tailored to students’
developmental needs.
3.1…. critical thinking as a learning outcome (cont):
iv. Courses are assignment-centered rather than text-
and lecture-centered. Goals, methods, and evaluation
emphasize using content rather than simply acquiring
it.
v. Students are required to formulate their ideas in
writing or other appropriate means.
vi. Students collaborate to learn and to stretch their
thinking, for example, in pair problem-solving and small
group work.
vii. Courses that teach problem solving skills nurture
students’ metacognitive abilities.

viii. The developmental needs of students are

acknowledged and used as information in the design of
the course. Teachers in these courses make standards
explicit and then help students learn how to achieve
them.
Norms of an assessment philosophy
• The assessment process is connected to the
learner’s world, frames of reference, and
values.
• Demonstration of learning includes multiple
ways to represent knowledge and skills and
allows for attainment of outcomes at different
points in time.
• Self-assessment is essential to the overall
assessment process.
Examples of assessment :

• Products (essays, research reports, projects)

• Performance assessments (music, dance,
dramatic performance, science lab
demonstrations, debates, experiments)
• Process-focused assessment (journals,
learning logs, reflective statements, oral
presentations)
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning :
1.Decide what topics are appropriate to what
types of student activities and assignments
2. Will your course topics tend toward a content or
a process orientation?
3. Which activities and types of products can
involve students in sustained intensive work, both
independently and with one another?
What activities will help students to learn the tools
of the discipline or field?

How can you develop a challenging and supportive

course climate that builds student effectiveness,
specifically teaches interpersonal and
collaborative skills, and develops the capacity
for lifelong learning?
 4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
Decide on a mix of strategies to use to shape
basic skills and procedures, present information,
guide inquiry, monitor individual and group
activities, and support and challenge critical
reflection.
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
The strategies you choose must fit with the
outcomes you hope to achieve.

Examples of general instructional strategies:

Training and coaching
Lecturing and explaining Inquiry and discovery
Experience and reflection
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
• Decide what topics are appropriate to what types
of student activities and assignments
• Will your course topics tend toward a content or a
process orientation?
• Which activities and types of products can involve
students in sustained intensive work, both
independently and with one another?
 4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
* What activities will help students to learn the tools
of the discipline or field?
• How can you develop a challenging and supportive
course climate that builds student effectiveness,
specifically teaches interpersonal and collaborative
skills, and develops the capacity for lifelong
learning?
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning

Decide on a mix of strategies to use to shape

basic skills and procedures, present
information, guide inquiry, monitor individual
and group activities, and support and
challenge critical reflection.
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
• The strategies you choose must fit with the
outcomes you hope to achieve.

Examples of general instructional strategies:

Training and coaching
Lecturing and explaining Inquiry and discovery
Experience and reflection
4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
. Identify and assemble resources required for active
learning.
* Consider ways to include alternate and conflicting
perspectives through lectures and panel
presentations, demonstrations, books and readings.
• Consider films, videos, maps, libraries, museums,
theaters, studios, labs, data bases, sites on the
Internet (Request permission to use copyrighted
materials).
 4. Structure your students’ active involvement in
learning
Assign projects that will tap into students’ personal
interpretations by challenging them to search for
further information or new, even contradictory, points
of view that may be relevant to the issues.

Make arrangements with appropriate individuals,

communities, or
official bodies for service learning opportunities, if
Elements Used:
3: Decide on desired learning outcomes and
assessment measures
3.1. Example: Eight principles for designing a course that
supports critical thinking as a learning outcome:

• Critical thinking is a skill that can be learned;

instructors and peers are resources in developing
critical skills