Tip #7: Reflect on your teaching with a Shadow Syllabus.

Source: Pixabay.com Photo from Pexels.com
CC0 License

My first Teaching & Learning Tip (see the August 8, 2017 email) was titled “What Should Be Included in Your Syllabus.” When the HLC visited campus in 2015 for our accreditation, they noted that several syllabi from their random sample were lacking key information. We created a sample syllabus to remind you of the essential information, which is about a page long. (In case you missed that message, the file is here: https://link.mnsu.edu/sample-syllabus) Everything else is optional. Lots of content is recommended, of course, but it’s also possible to archive information about assignments, rubrics, grading standards, etc., to other documents.

And then Facebook reminded me of an blog from 2014 that takes a different perspective on the syllabus. Sonya Huber’s “The Shadow Syllabus” (https://sonyahuber.com/2014/08/20/shadow-syllabus/) is a moving, sometimes funny, sometimes depressing reflection of thoughts many of us have. When I first read the list, I was coming off of a difficult semester and was struck by two items:

18. One of you will drive me to distraction and there’s nothing I can do about it.

19. Later I will examine the reason you drive me to distraction and be ashamed and then try to figure out my own limitations.

When I revisited the list to write this week’s email, I got stuck on item 22:

22. Students are surprised by this fact: I really really really want you to learn. Like, that’s my THING. Really really a lot.

You see, an hour ago I was writing my annual progress report on my professional development plan. One of my objectives for Criterion 1 is pretty simple: Demonstrate effective teaching. To prepare the response, I read through the course evaluations from last year. (I skimmed the quantitative data at the time, but I often feel too raw at the end of a semester to delve into student comments right away.) I learned that my students considered me an enthusiastic teacher who cared about their learning. That’s great, right? But what hurt was the surprise that was implied by the number of exclamation points and ALL CAPS, those visual displays of emotion in text. Why were they surprised? We all “really really really want you to learn.” Otherwise we would be off doing something that doesn’t involve weekends grading papers, right?

So that’s why I encouraged you to add a paragraph in your syllabus that helps students get to know you. What is your area of expertise? Why did you choose to study that? What do you enjoy about teaching? What are your preferred methods of teaching? What is your favorite part of the course and why? Students shouldn’t be surprised that we care about learning, but if we don’t tell them, how will they know?

What would be in your shadow syllabus? What would you want students to know about you, your course, being a student at this university, or being a member of this community? Offer your suggestions in the online poll and I will share the list with the campus in a future CETL Weekly Update.