I am honestly a little scared to create a syllabus for my own class. It seems like such a daunting, complex document to write. But, like any other genre of writing, its structure and features can be analyzed so that they can be imitated until they can be made one's own.
Below is my analysis of the various features of the Spring 2018 ENGL 21001 syllabus.
Tech Center Use
Below is my analysis of the various features of the Spring 2018 ENGL 21001 syllabus.
The City College Logo
Description: The very first piece of the syllabus that students read is the City College logo.
Response: I like that the first thing students see is visual, professional looking and a reminder of their academic goals.
Ideas/Next Steps: It seems like there are likely conventions for the formatting of syllabi at City College. I am curious what they are so I can ensure that my syllabi look professional and reflect the culture of City College well.
Tech Center Use
Description: Professor Gleason scheduled some class periods where the class would be held in the tech center, so that all students would have computer access.
Response: I think this is a brilliant idea. Even in 2018 students still struggle with getting technology access and that can be a big barrier to their academic success. It is also important to give students the opportunity to practice using different academic technologies like content management systems such as Blackboard. Literacy in academic technologies are frequently not explicitly taught and lack of this kind of knowledge can impede their success in college courses.
Ideas/Next Steps: I think that teaching digital literacy is a secondary objective of college composition instruction. I think I would like to create a resource for students on how to access technology and get technology support on campus. Though this might seem to be information students could access independently, they might not and this might be a simple way to help ensure they are facing fewer obstacles to academic success during the semester.
Response: I think this is a brilliant idea. Even in 2018 students still struggle with getting technology access and that can be a big barrier to their academic success. It is also important to give students the opportunity to practice using different academic technologies like content management systems such as Blackboard. Literacy in academic technologies are frequently not explicitly taught and lack of this kind of knowledge can impede their success in college courses.
Ideas/Next Steps: I think that teaching digital literacy is a secondary objective of college composition instruction. I think I would like to create a resource for students on how to access technology and get technology support on campus. Though this might seem to be information students could access independently, they might not and this might be a simple way to help ensure they are facing fewer obstacles to academic success during the semester.
Use of Personal Email
Description: Professor Gleason chooses to allow students to contact her through her CCNY or Gmail accounts.
Response: I personally find Outlook to be a little frustrating to use and I think it lacks many intuitive features that Gmail has. I do like having a separate email for work though, especially if students are submitting drafts to me via email.
Ideas/Next Steps: I would like to talk to technology services on campus to get a better sense of the features of Outlook to make the system work better for me. I am going to debate setting up a teaching Gmail account as well if I really find that Outlook poses too many obstacles.
Office Hours
Description: Professor Gleason offers office hours in certain time blocks and by appointment.
Response: I like the idea of having a flexible block of time that serves as potentially extra office hours, but only by appointment.
Ideas/Next Steps: I would like to learn more about how to use office hours effectively and how to encourage students to actually come during them.
Images of Book & Movie Covers
Description: Professor Gleason included four images of the texts we would be using during the course. The images visually break up the text of the page.
Response: I really like the use of these images of the texts for several reasons. The first is that it breaks up a very text-heavy document that can easily be intimidating to students. Second it can serve to pique students' interest in the texts that will be discussed in the course. Third, it helps students find the correct texts and serves a very concrete and functional purpose in that way.
Ideas/Next Steps: I would like to think about ways I can incorporate a variety of images into my syllabi. I think a syllabus that is entirely text can scare students and make them access the information in a syllabus less effectively.
Course Description
Description: Professor Gleason describes the objectives of the course and how they will be met in a concise way, including the ways that the texts will be incorporated into the course.
Response: My favorite part of the course description was the beginning sentence: "We will form
a community of writers who encourage and support one another by responding to writing
and learning collaboratively." I liked this because it kind of pitches the course to the students. It makes the course seem engaging intellectually and emotionally. It also gives students a subjective sense of the course. This part of the syllabus is actually a little bit persuasive.
Ideas/Next Steps: It didn't occur to me to include how the texts will be used in a syllabus, but after seeing Professor Gleason's syllabus I realized I want to do this. It is one opportunity to convince students to actually invest in buying the texts and also read them.
Writing Projects Due Dates Table
Description: Professor Gleason included a table with each writing project, the first draft due date, peer review date, and second draft due date.
Response: I have not seen a table like this in many of my class syllabi in my academic career. I really like it. I think it makes it crystal clear which dates are important to the students. I also like that it keeps things organized for the instructor.
Ideas/Next Steps: I am definitely going to include a chart like this in my future syllabi. I think it would be a good idea to fill in a chart like this before fleshing out my entire syllabus, so that I have an overview of how I'm breaking the semester into different phases. I also think I might recommend to my students that they put these dates in their calendars in their phones or set reminders. I might even make this homework or give them class time to do this.
In-Class Writing Dates Table
Description: Professor Gleason outlined different types of in-class writing students would do: responses to different pages, small group work, rough draft writing, response to film, and self-assessment/reflective writing.
Response: This table reminded me how important it is to have students write in class. It is important to have opportunities to actually see them in the process of composing; they need coaching on this skill as well. I also think that this helps motivate students who do not consider themselves strong writers. They realize they will be assessed on low stakes writing as well as high stakes writing and that they will be given credit for their effort and process rather than just the quality and end product of their work.
Ideas/Next Steps: I also think that I will plan to come up with in-class writing dates before I develop my whole syllabus. This will help me ensure that low stakes writing that helps students develop ideas before they draft independently will be incorporated into each unit.
CCNY Resources for Student Writers
Description: Professor Gleason describes resources from the Writing Center, AccessAbility Center, Libraries, Computer Labs, free Microsoft Word, and free access to The New York Times.
Response: I love this guide! I just love it! I also did not know that I had free access to these great resources in Word and The New York Times. I think this is an important first step in getting students to actually use these resources.
Ideas/Next Steps: I definitely want to include all of these resources in my future syllabi. I especially like knowing that I can give assignments that require students to use Word or The New York Times. I think I prefer giving comments through the Comments feature on Word. Though I love the Google suite, students do not do a good job sharing the right privileges with me so that I can easily add comments. I like knowing that I can encourage students to at least have Word to access my comments on assignments.
Physical & Digital Submissions of Assignments
Description: Professor Gleason makes it clear to her students that she prefers to have both digital and physical copies of their work.
Response: After seeing the challenging logistics of collecting student work, I like the idea of having both hard and soft copies of papers. Nothing is worse than not having all of the students' work because of either misplaced papers or technological issues.
Ideas/Next Steps: I definitely want to do comments on Microsoft Word, so I want students to submit digital copies to me. I think one of the most important ways I can develop good writing lessons is by analyzing by commentary on student writing. I also would like to have a library of model student work that I can use in future classes with student permission.
Documentation Style Used for All ENGL 21001 Writing Assignments
Description: Professor Gleason included several online and print resources students can use to cite sources appropriately.
Response: Proper citation is an important objective of all composition courses and it is something that takes repeated practice and frequent independent practice for students to master. Having a variety of resources for citation at their disposal in the syllabus is very helpful. I also read somewhere that most instances of plagiarism were actually unintentional and were a result of students being ignorant about proper citation conventions. Including these resources before the notes about plagiarism empowers the students to be academically responsible and honest rather than assuming the worst.
Next Steps/Ideas: I always collect resources for students to use to become better writers at home. I would like to study these resources not only to see how they can help my students independently, but also to see how I can teach the various points made in these resources in mini lessons in class.
The actual class sessions will be explored more thoroughly in blog posts on the individual classes.
Response: Proper citation is an important objective of all composition courses and it is something that takes repeated practice and frequent independent practice for students to master. Having a variety of resources for citation at their disposal in the syllabus is very helpful. I also read somewhere that most instances of plagiarism were actually unintentional and were a result of students being ignorant about proper citation conventions. Including these resources before the notes about plagiarism empowers the students to be academically responsible and honest rather than assuming the worst.
Next Steps/Ideas: I always collect resources for students to use to become better writers at home. I would like to study these resources not only to see how they can help my students independently, but also to see how I can teach the various points made in these resources in mini lessons in class.
The actual class sessions will be explored more thoroughly in blog posts on the individual classes.
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