Planning the syllabus
It can be difficult when utilizing a syllabus that is in place already for a particular course of study. By this I mean it is not tailored to your specific teaching style. For instance, some instructors have more "Real world" experience to apply to their courses, and do not rely soley on power point presentations, and textbook quotations. This being said, the instructor who has more experience can tailor class discussion topics, and projects to more relevant material that is currently occuring in society.
I agree and that is important to stick within the parameters of the syllabus. However I only teach in a clinical site and do not have the benefit of the classroom lessons and I feel that I am sometimes out of the loop in reinforcing what they have learned.
I am also one of the real world teachers and because of that I feel my course of actions in interpretng the syllabus are more applicable to the real world clinical experience.
It is difficult to make sure each of my 10 students gets the skills that are part of the course requirements if the situation does not arise for them to practice that skill in the clinical environment. I find that there is much less control in the lab than in the classroom. However on the other hand I get more 1:1 time with each student and feel that is the greatest benefit. Since the syllabus is already planned, I just use it as a general checklist for planning learning experiences for my students.
I agree with that thought. Moreover, a new instructor can use both concepts. they can use the syllabus as a guide and incorporate their individual teaching style to enhance the course.
Include, opinions from your colleagues. Input is a great tool when developing a syllabus. Some professionals have been out of the classroom for many years, so faculty interaction can be a plus
as mentioned ,a syllabus is a guide to what is needed;when,where,how etc., and only used as a item to show students and CAN be changed as needed for any reason, i.e. weather,class participation, questions etc.
My syllabus is more of a class schedule. Since the classes I teach are only three weeks a schedule shows what we are doing on each day in class or lab, when the tests are, and what subject we will be covering on a given day.
I'm not real sure how well a syllabus will go over with my other 2 instructors teaching the same class.
I'll discuss it with my other instructors....
