Motivating students to read and use the syllabus

A course syllabus, placed on the web or handed out on the first day of class, gives students an immediate sense of what the course will be about, what they will learn, and how their academic progress will be evaluated.

Davis (2009) identifies some ways for lecturers to motivate students to read and use the course syllabus:

• Highlight information of most interest to students

  Students pay more to information about exams and assignments, the reading list and the course schedule and activities.

• Place the syllabus in the coursepack or reader

  Besides distributing an online or print version, consider placing a hard-copy of the syllabus in the coursepack so that students won’t lose it and can refer to it easily during the term.

• Ask students to tape the calendar portion of the syllabus to their textbook

  One faculty member takes the schedule of readings and dates for exams and assignments to class with a roll tape. He passes out both and asks students to tape the abbreviated syllabus to the inside of the textbook. (Source: Smith, 1993)

• Consider giving students a short quiz or assignment on the syllabus

  Some faculty test students on the information in the syllabus, giving extra credit to students who score above a certain threshold or weighting the quiz the same as problem sets.

• Go over important information orally in class

  Highlight for students the most critical information in the syllabus. Let them know how to use the syllabus effectively.

Source: Tools for Teaching, Davis, BG, 2009