Here is the link to the course syllabus that I’ve reworked and made (I hope! :-)) more engaging for my students — https://docs.google.com/document/d/179KAyp1PraiYDPse1BWUYfWAvQEJdm_o7OUz1ialfT4/edit?usp=sharing
Here is the link to the scavenger hunt — https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p0Z826_-LLquJMYBlaOnc9xpz3Qmis40C7ewRW1A6pM/edit?usp=sharing
November 30, 2021
Dear Fellow Seminar Participants,
I hope you have had a valuable seminar experience. Our seminar has caused me to think a lot about student engagement in my teaching. I’ve applied what I learned in our seminar and the synchronous webinars, “It’s on the syllabus” and “Social-Constructivist Learning (& Teaching), to revise the syllabus for a new course – Writing II – which I’ll be teaching in spring.
I began the process of revising my concept of designing the syllabus and making it more engaging by creating it as a shared document in Google Docs, so that students can interact with the document as we review it on the first day of class. An example of how students can interact with it is by adding a self-introduction in the space provided in the document. They are provided with a writing model (i.e. my self introduction – discussed in the next paragraph) and writing practice (always a goal in the course). By having a self-introduction on the syllabus gives students a voice and agency in participating in the construction of the course.
Another element of engagement that I included in my syllabus is my personal introduction. This is the first time I’ve ever thought about making the purpose of my syllabus something other than a means to inform my students about the expectations and policies of the course.
I have also added images and emojis along with questions as sub-headings throughout. This makes the document more visually appealing and consequently, engaging to the reader.
Finally, I’m in the process of designing a scavenger hunt for the students to complete while we review the syllabus on the first day of class. The purpose of this is for students to know where to find important information on the syllabus and to share this with the class after the hunt is completed but to also have this as a quick guide to finding answers to the most commonly asked questions in the course.
This is a work in progress, so I have a lot more to do to make this as engaging as possible for the students.
I look forward to reading about your seminar experiences and learning from you,
Cate Grundleger
The teaching artifact that I’m planning on revising is a course syllabus for ENG 2150T, the second part of a first-year writing course for English language learners at Baruch.
Writing II builds on the learning goals of Writing I, encouraging students to read, reflect on, write about, and synthesize ideas from a range of texts across a variety of genres. Students examine and learn how to employ different styles, various appropriate uses of evidence and counter-evidence, multiple methods of interpretations, and close readings of texts. Students further develop competency in the use and evaluation of multiple external sources as they research ideas related to the course theme, shape and express their ideas, and cast them into well organized, thoughtful, and persuasive argumentative essays. The goal is to prepare students not only for success in academic writing but also for effective participation in and critical understanding of composing in multiple discursive modes and media beyond the academic essay.
This course is required for all undergraduate degrees granted by Baruch College. It is required within the Baruch Common Core Curriculum (for students who entered Baruch prior to Fall 2013). For students who entered Baruch Fall 2013 or later under the PATHWAYS General Education requirements (or who “opt-in” to CUNY Pathways), ENG 2150 or ENG 2150T satisfies half of the “English Composition” requirement of the Required Core.
Spring 2022 will be my first time to teach this course, so I’m not exactly revising the course syllabus that I’ve already used, but revising it based on ways to make my syllabus more engaging for students in the course. This includes the following: 1. Include an introduction of myself in the syllabus. If you were to look at any of my course syllabuses now, you would see that the purpose of them is to communication information and policies about the courses to the students. There is nothing personal about myself for my students to engage or connect with. Since I will be teaching a hybrid course, I believe that it is extremely important to provide opportunities like this to be more connected and engaged in the online learning environment. 2. Include learning tools throughout the syllabus. These will include learning tips, study practices, and writing tips. Because this is a writing course, the incorporation of these learning tools in the syllabus works perfectly to increase student engagement. 3. Include statements throughout that explicitly offer help to students. These will be centered on writing, of course, but also other areas that students often need help with, for example, mental health. 4. Make the heading and sub-heading throughout the syllabus phrased as questions. The purpose of this is to stimulate interest and thinking about the information contained in the different sections.
I am thinking about using a Google Form as a way of students engaging with certain aspects of the content of the syllabus. The structure of this will be with a needs analysis in mind. I’m still working on what questions to include.
Because I am creating these from scratch, I don’t have an artifact developed yet. However, I have a model of the course syllabus and Google Form that I’m using to help with my designing of the artifact.
Identify sources of information and evidence credible to the students’ audience; incorporate multiple perspectives in students’ writing by summarizing, interpreting, critiquing, and synthesizing the arguments of others; and avoid plagiarism by ethically acknowledging the work of others when used in students’ own writing, using a citation style appropriate to students’ audience and purpose.