Title: Visually Mapping Course Design for Students: The Graphic Syllabus*
1Visually Mapping Course Design for Students
The Graphic Syllabus
- Jackie Cason, Ph.D.
- Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence
- New Faculty Orientation
- Fall 2006
- Adapted from a pre-conference workshop by Linda
B. Nilson, - Clemson University, Writing Across the Curriculum
Conference, May 2006, and from the UAF Center for
Distance Education and Distance Learning Systems
based on the work of Grant Wiggins Jay McTighe,
1998, Understanding by Design.
2Reflecting on Current Practice
- What planning process do
- you currently use when
- developing a course and
- preparing your syllabus?
- Take a moment to generate a response.
- You can jot notes, create a diagram or flowchart,
or write a descriptive paragraph. - Just capture your current process!
-
3Identifying Course Goals
- Traditional Process
- Curriculum Content Guides http//www.curric.uaa.al
aska.edu/curric/courses/ - Previous Syllabi
- Backward Design
- Enduring Understandings
- Essential Questions
- Unit Questions and Activities
4Traditional Process
- Teach, Test, Hope for the Best
5Backward Design
- Stages of the Backward Design Process
6Why Backward?
- The stages are logical but
- they go against habits!
- Were used to jumping to lesson and activity
ideas first before clarifying our performance
goals for students. - By thinking through the assessments up front, we
ensure greater alignment of our goals and means,
and ensure that our teaching is focused on
desired results.
7Curricular Priorities
- Types of Understanding/Bodies of Knowledge
8Levels of Knowledge
- Its worth being familiar with if it
-
- ? is really interesting and adds value to
lifelong learning. - ? can be a hook to a big idea or theme.
- helps in making links to other ideas or
disciplines. - It is important to know and do if it
- ? is key to understanding the subject.
- ? is something one might need to know and do
throughout life. - ? links to enduring understandings.
- It is an enduring understanding if it
-
- ? is at the heart of the discipline.
- ? has value beyond the classroom.
- ? is that aspect of learning that will remain for
a lifetime
9Uncoverage
- Instead of Covering Material, Uncover It
- Find ways to have students do the material, not
just learn it. - Focus on integrated performance, not isolated
lessons. - Enduring understandings are subtle and unobvious.
- Uncover what is vital and revealing.
- What is uncovered is a shorthand for results of
inquiries, problems, and arguments, not
self-evident fact. - Breadth
- Unearth, Analyze, Question, Prove, Generalize
- Not the same as coverage
- Depth
- Connect, Picture, Extend
10Some Enduring Understandings
- American History
- Individuals and their varied backgrounds
contribute to the diversity of American culture
and society. - Tensions are inherent in the principles, values,
and ideals of American society.
11Some Enduring Understandings
- Composition Studies
- Communication is contextual and occurs at the
intersection of writer, audience, and publication
forum. - Genres evolve, and are always evolving, as a
matter of practice therefore, the rules of
good writing are descriptive rather than
prescriptive. - Citation practices in academic writing are the
means of joining an ongoing intellectual
conversation and a way of contributing new
knowledge to that conversation. - Writing styles arise out of a communitys
particular ways of knowing and being.
12ActivityEnduring Understandings
13Understanding ? Questions
Understanding Leads to Essential Questions
- From Enduring Understandings
- Physics the nature of gravitational force
- History the subjective aspect of the historical
record - Literature the roles of morals, heroes, and
villains in fiction - Communication the characteristics of sarcasm,
irony, and spin - Create Essential Questions
- What is gravity?
- Is history objective? Is it a history of
progress? - Must fiction involve morality?
- Do we always mean what we say and say what we
mean? - The Essential Questions Endure
- Recur throughout the course (and beyond)
- Cant be answered simply or sometimes at all
14Essential Questions
- Essential Questions--Organizational Framework for
Units of Instruction - Go to the heart of the disciplineaddress the
philosophical or conceptual foundations of the
discipline - Have no obvious right answer
- Recur naturally throughout ones learning and in
the history of the field/discipline - Raise other important questions, often across
disciplinary boundaries - Lead readily to asking research or inquiry
questions - Are framed to provoke and sustain student
interest
15ActivityEssential Questions
16Essential ? Unit Questions
Essential Questions Lead to Unit Questions
- Unit questions inform class activities
- Uncover facets of essential understandings
- Still not self-evidently true uncovered
- Provoke/sustain student interest
- Samples of Unit Questions
- Physics How is gravity related to mass? Explain
the basic inverse square proportion (Newtons
Law) - History How have perceptions of Columbus (and
our celebration of Columbus Day) changed? Why? - Literature Who are the moral centers of Huck
Finn? - Communication Is the Alanis Morrissette song
Ironic actually ironic? How does it differ in
this respect from Mark Antonys Brutus is an
honorable man?
17First Impressions Course Design and the Graphic
Syllabus
- Now that you have taken the time to design your
course with enduring understandings, essential
questions, and authentic activities and
assessments, how do you communicate that to
students?
18Traditional Definition of a Syllabus
- The Oxford English Dictionary defines syllabus as
a statement of the subjects covered by a course
of instruction or by an examination, in a school,
college, etc. a programme of study 1889. -
19How Some Students See Your Syllabus and Course
Design
- Organization of Course, BLAH 300 Something I
Gotta Take to Graduate - Week 1 Overview of Orienteering through
Obstacles - Week 2 From Compasses to GPS Technology
- Week 3 Hiking Boots and Knot Tying
- Week 4 ContUntying Knots
- Week 5 Encountering Wildlife I Bears and
Beavers - Week 6 Encountering Wildlife II Moose and
Waterfowl - Week 7 Fur Rendezvous
- Week 8 How to Cure a Hangover and Prevent
Pregnancy - Week 9 Cabin Fever and S.A.D.
20 Four Functions of a Syllabus
- A contract
- A communication device
- A plan of action
- A cognitive map
21A Contract
- The syllabus is an important legal document that
represents an agreement between you and your
students. - Consider seriously the policies you want to
enforce.
22At UAA, a syllabus is a student right
- Students have the right to be informed at the
beginning of each term of the nature of the
course, course expectations, evaluation
standards, and the grading system. (Ch. 5, p.
44)
23A Contract
- The syllabus is an important quasi-legal document
that represents an agreement between you and your
students (and UAA) - It must reflect the purpose of the course as
stated in the Catalog. - It must state your course policies explicitly to
be enforceable. - By remaining in your class, a student consents to
be governed by the syllabus.
24Instructor Contact Information
- Please remember
- Faculty are required to hold office hours
- Students need at least two ways to contact you
- Say which way is best to contact you
25Exercise 1 Enforceability
- Papers must submitted in class on the day they
are due no late papers will be accepted.
26Note Academic Freedom
- Be aware of the rights and responsibilities of
academic freedom - It is your right to use any material, even if it
is controversial, if you deem it germane to the
subject being studied. - It is your responsibility to warn students about
controversial material at the beginning, so that
they can make an informed choice as to whether to
stay in the course. - The syllabus should alert students to material
that might be offensive. - For example
27Sample Disclaimers
- The texts studied in this course are intended
for adults and may include some disturbing
language or situations. - The writings of the past are filled with ideas,
images, and words that contemporary readers may
find offensive.
28A Communication Device
- The syllabus provides the opportunity to
anticipate and respond to student questions and
to establish a tone for the course.
29Note Clarify boundaries policies
- Make your boundaries as a faculty member clear.
Don't try to be all things to all students! - List student services that are available for
non-academic needs, such as - Disability Support Services
- Information Technology Call Center
- Enrollment Services
- Make your plan crystal clear by avoiding
misleading language.
30Exercise 2 Clarity
- Attendance Grading Scale
- A in the class 1-3 absences
- B in the class 4-6 absences
- C in the class 7-9 absences
- D in the class 10-12 absences
- F in the class more than 12 absences
- Paper 1 500 points
- Paper 2 500 points
- Total points possible 1000
31 A Plan of Action
- The syllabus should represent the overall plan
of action for the semester - Course mission http//curric.uaa.alaska.edu/curric
/courses/ - Educational philosophy
- Course strategy
- Course goals
32Note Make sure your syllabus is flexible enough
- Assignments and policies should be realistic.
- Policies should be worth the trouble to enforce.
- Policies and grading should give room for
(fairly) exercising your discretion in unexpected
situations.
33Exercise 3 Flexibility
- If you are 15-29 minutes late, you will receive
half of the attendance grade for the day. If you
are more than 30 minutes late, you will receive
no credit for attendance for the day.
34A Reference Guide
- The syllabus is a reference for you
- The syllabus is a reference for your colleagues
35Note Keep a copy of every syllabus for your
records
- Hard or electronic copy
- For Annual Activity Reports
- For Review Files
- For reference when you teach the course again
- Course designation easy identification
36Rolling with the Punches
- Expect to make mistakesthe perfect syllabus is
an ideal to strive for. - When students misread your syllabus, give them
the benefit of the doubt. - Choose your battles, always keeping your overall
goals in mind.
- If you have to make a major change in
mid-semester, go about it in the appropriate way. - Be aware of the process and timeline for student
grievances.
37Handouts CAS Template Checklist Syllabus
Checklist
38 A Cognitive Map
- Because students need to engage actively in
creating their own cognitive maps, you can
facilitate active learning by modeling the
mapping process.
39What is a Graphic Syllabus?
- Definition
- A flow chart, diagram, or topical organization of
the course that complements the printed syllabus.
40Benefits of a Graphic Syllabus
- Appeals to nonverbal learning styles
- Models a learning tool by encouraging students to
map course concepts - Reinforces memory
- Offers the big picture without being over-laden
with language - Forces us to tighten our own course organization
and to clarify the enduring understandings and
essential questions as well as the relationships
among various units of instruction - Releases faculty creativity in course design
41Examples
- See handouts with examples of graphic syllabi
- Social Stratification
- Conservation Biology
- Public Science Writing
42Variations in Graphic Syllabi
- Shape, Shading, and Color of key enclosures,
activities, assignments, etc. - Shape, Shading, and Color of Connecting lines
- Type size, face, features (bold, italics)
- Graphic metaphors or symbols
43Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
44Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
45Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
46Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
47Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
48Verbal Visual Variations
- Verbal
- When properly implemented, the case method,
problem-based learning, (PBL), service-learning
(SL), and simulations all teach students how to
apply course material. - Visual
49ActivityExercise in Thinking Graphically
50Final ActivityDesigning A Graphic Syllabus for
your Course