My First Course

1. Course Description
It is always important to give the students a brief idea of what the course
is all about. This is also the section that informs the students on what
subjects they will be taking should they enroll. Some syllabuses also
provide a small description  of the subjects to give further detail on what
they can expect for that subject.

2. Course Goals
As you begin encoding the syllabus, it is important to ask these questions:
What are the big ideas that you are going to cover in your course? What
are the essential understandings that students will take away with them
after the course has finished? It is imperative to define these
course professional goals , as they will help you determine what you
expect from your students, and what your students can expect from the
course. In some cases, it helps if you indicate what careers can they be
pursuing to provide motivation for them to do better in their academics.

3. Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes

At the end of the day, it is pointless to have your students taken the
course if they have not learned a single thing. Which means formulating a
syllabus is easier said than done since you also have to start designing
outcomes that the students might achieve during their time in the
university, and it is a valuable element to have in your syllabus. The
outcomes are usually statement samples  that are verb oriented and
directed at the students. For example: “Students will be able to identify key
geomorphological formations on a Southern Alberta map.” This example
uses the verb identify, which is a lower level thinking skill. A higher order
thinking skill is incorporated in the next example: “Students will be able to
read and analyze population maps interpreting any trends the data may
show.”

4. Assessment Overview
The assessment overview is a grading guide that allows students to see
what weightings can apply to the different assessment elements of a
course.  An example of an assessment overview  is below.

Quizzes: 50%
Participation: 5%
Journal Assignments: 20%
Team Assignment: 10%
Final Exam: 15%

As well as including the overview of grading, a grading scale should be

identified for the students, so they understand at what level they are
performing. Grade scales can range between faculties and departments. It
is best that you check with your department and faculty and use the scale
they wish you to use. You may also like program outline examples .

5. Assessment Plan
These assessment plans are built in line with student learning objectives
as these indicate what the students will learn. While your assessment plan
states how you, as an instructor, will gather evidence for achievement of
the objectives. This will detail the type of assessments that will occur
within the course structure, how they will be marked, and how they provide
evidence of student learning. Your assessment plan will more than likely
consist of multiple assessments ranging from online examinations to
essays and group projects. Different assessments can and should be used
to find evidence for multiple outcomes. You may also see risk assessment
examples .

6. Instructional Method
Though it is not always required, indicating on how the course is going be
taught from here on is not really such a bad idea whether they would be
lectures, seminars, video presentations, etc. But along the way, it is
important to be evaluated by the very students you teach before the end of
the semester as it also helps you grow as a teacher to see how your
students feel on how you teach. You may also see speech outline
examples .

7. Required Course Materials

Provide specific information about required readings, including title,
author(s), edition number and availability (from where they can be
purchased or borrowed). It is helpful to the students to indicate how each
reading relates to a particular topic in the course. You may also
like outline an essay .

It is never a bad idea to go to the library as it provides access to course

materials, both print and online, in its Course Reserves system. The
library puts course reserve materials on a short-term loan at the branch
libraries, while also linking to online materials (both e-books and e-journal
articles).

Any other required materials should be listed.

8. Schedule of Activities
This portion of the outline should be built once the plan has been made.
Once you understand how you want to assess your students, you can
create activities that help facilitate the learning that needs to be done to
help students achieve the objectives. Course activities should work in
parallel with the assessment plan. If students need to provide evidence of
learning by completing a multiple choice exam, then the activities in the
schedule should prepare them for this assessment. Lectures, readings,
small group and whole group discussions can all be activities that help the
student meet their learning objectives. You may also see the rough
outline.

9. Plagiarism Announcement
Students have the tendency to be lazy and due to that, they might end up
copy-pasting someone else’s work and making it their own. With that
said, you have to inform your students that a plagiarism detection service
such as Turnitin will be used to ensure original quality work from the
students. But should they request an alternative method of plagiarism
detection because of privacy concerns, an alternate option must be
provided for them. You may also see thesis outline examples .

10. Reading List

This section will serve as a guide for the students on the textbooks and
other educational materials during the entirety of the course.

Listed below is an example of a course outline.

Course Code: ENGL 105

Course Title: The Dynamic World of Neil Gaiman

Course Description:
Neil Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books and
graphic novels. His notable works include the dynamic comic book series
The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The
Graveyard Book. You may also see book outline examples .
This course will examine Gaiman’s diverse and most popular works. We
will pay close attention to how Gaiman weaves fantasy into his narratives
and builds characters fused with mythology. Why are some stories sad,
others tragic? Are our emotional responses contingent on storylines, on
characters, on the choice of words? This course facilitates a deeper
understanding of Neil Gaiman’s works through readings of his poetry,
prose fiction, and literary criticism.
We begin with the dark manifesto of The Sandman and move to new
forms, to the heroism of Coraline and the American ironies of American
Gods. You may also see write a speech outline .
Required Readings:
‐ The Sandman: Absolute Volume 1‐5
‐ Stardust
‐ American Gods
‐ Coraline
‐ The Graveyard Book

Topics Covered / Weekly Lecture Schedule:

Week 1 ‐ September 7 ‐ The Sandman: Absolute Volume 1
Week 2 ‐ September 14 ‐ The Sandman: Absolute Volume 2‐3
Week 3 ‐ September 21 ‐ The Sandman: Absolute Volume 4
Week 4 ‐ September 28 ‐ The Sandman: Absolute Volume 5
Week 5 ‐ October 5 ‐ American Gods
Week 6 ‐ October 12 ‐ American Gods
Week 7 ‐ October 19 ‐ The Graveyard Book
Week 8 ‐ October 26 ‐ The Graveyard Book
Week 9 ‐ November 2 – The Graveyard Book / Stardust
‐ Essay #1 due
Week 10 ‐ November 9 ‐ Stardust
Week 11 ‐ November 16 ‐ Stardust
Week 12 ‐ November 23 ‐ Coraline
Week 12 ‐ November 30 ‐ Coraline
Week 13 ‐ December 7 – Final exam review
‐ Essay #2 due
Final Exam ‐ December 14