Inclusive Teaching | Teaching Strategies |
Syllabus Review Checklist
Syllabi are often the first introduction students have to us as instructors, our departments, and our disciplines. Whether they are first-year students taking courses in their major for the first time or more experienced learners enrolled in an elective, the syllabus’s first impression is an important factor in whether or not students stay in a course and sets the tone for student-faculty relationships.
We often think of syllabi as contracts that lay out explicit responsibilities of both students and instructors—what we will teach and what students will do to earn a good grade—or as an organizational document that outlines the course requirements, including due dates, readings, and exam schedules. Yet it is possible to regard the syllabus both as a learning tool and as a student-serving document—as “invitations into rich, meaningful, and supportive learning experiences” that improve student motivation, enhance equity, and build inclusive communities in which all students belong (Palmer et al., 2016). Intentionally designing an inclusive syllabus invites students to see themselves represented in the course and to envision belonging both in the classroom community and the discipline.
Regularly reviewing your syllabus promotes inquiry into not only the syllabus itself, but prompts reflection on teaching strategies more broadly. We have developed a checklist for evaluating your syllabus. While Notre Dame does not have a syllabus template, it is a good practice to include information such as your office hours and location, your email address, and features of the course (e.g., meeting pattern and location).
The checklist was developed with an inclusive and equity-oriented lens, highlighting dimensions such as flexible course policies, accessible design, and cues for student success. Depending on your teaching context and style, not everything in the checklist will make sense for every syllabus. Rather, think of the checklist as a tool for gauging how you conceive of your syllabus and as a prompt for reflection on how to create more human, student-centered syllabi.
When using the checklist, ask yourself whether the various elements align with your beliefs and commitments to teaching and learning. If you want to revise your syllabus to be more student-centered, we recommend starting with:
- Learning objectives: Schedule a consultation to discuss your goals for the course.
- Policies: Consult this appendix of suggested language of course policies.
- Assessment: Check out our resources on assessing learning.
Consider ways to get feedback on any changes you make to your syllabus; you can, for instance, sign up for a syllabus review through the short-term Inclusive Pedagogy Partnership to get feedback from a student.