Here are three links that might be useful to those preparing a syllabus, now and in the future. The first is a piece I wrote for Inside Higher Ed on a student-centered way of having everyone contribute to meaningful, inspiring learning outcomes to substitute for or supplement the ones students often feel are mechanical. It also includes a link to a blog I wrote several years ago that details the Think-Pair-Share (TPS) technique we used Friday: https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2017/08/28/learning-outcomes-help-students-translate-classroom-learning-life-tools-essay
The second link is to a blog by Prof Sonya Huber, about the kinds of things we don’t say in our syllabus (but are thinking). One of my former students shared this with me. She talks about the “shadow syllabus,” all those anxieties and hopes and knowledge and fear that we don’t ever say in a syllabus but pervades them. I found this deeply moving and smart and it eases anxiety to know we share these kinds of insights (and anxieties!) I’d love to know what you think: https://sonyahuber.com/2014/08/20/shadow-syllabus/
Finally, I just now read (and am adding to this post) the brilliant blog by former Futures Initiative Fellow and Graduate PhD Candidate in English Danica Savonick on how she engages her students at Queens College in creating collaborative community guidelines. She uses the powerful poem Citizen by Claudia Rankine as her starting point. This is a careful, step-by-step blog that also explains the how and why. I cannot recommend it highly enough! https://www.hastac.org/blogs/danicasavonick/2017/08/28/community-guidelines-fostering-inclusive-discussions-difference
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