by Jeff Rients
One of the most important tools available to instructors, especially at the start of the semester, is the syllabus. A typical syllabus is jam-packed with useful information about the course, such as the meeting time and location, instructor contact information, required materials, assignment descriptions, grading breakdowns, and various policies. All of this information is extremely useful for succeeding in the course, which is why we tend to become grumpy when students don’t read the syllabus as thoroughly or refer to it as often as we would like.
However, the syllabus isn’t purely informational in nature; it is are also rhetorical. That is to say, your syllabus sets the tone for the course. Students’ emotional relationship with the course and the instructor impacts their learning. And with just a little revising, we can make our syllabi an instrument for establishing a positive bond between students and our courses/ourselves. The five key moves we can make are cultivating a growth mindset, instilling a sense of belonging, demonstrating care, valuing diversity, and normalizing challenges.
It is important that students understand that your course is not designed to winnow the natural talents from the undeserving. Rather you want to communicate that your course is a journey that can be completed by any student who is willing both to put in the work and take instructor feedback seriously. Places in your syllabus where you can emphasize this growth mindset in your syllabus include:
- If the course lists any prerequisite courses, add some information on where students can go to refresh themselves on key concepts from the previous course.
- Where you list office hours and/or other academic support (such as the Student Success Center), explain that taking advantage of these opportunities is a normal and expected part of the learning process.
- In your grading or assessment section, describe how the feedback you provide is designed to help students succeed at the course. Encourage them to read all feedback carefully and contact you if they do not understand any of it.
For more on incorporating a growth mindset in your classroom practice, see this prior EDvice Exchange post.
Sense of Belonging
Although all the actions described in this blog post will contribute to students’ sense of belonging and consequently improve their chances of success in your course, you can start to build a sense of belonging directly in your syllabus with just a few simple moves. Consider the following:
- Explicitly welcome the students to the course. Imagine the first page of the syllabus as an invitation to the learning party you are throwing for them.
- Include an instructor bio where you share your own trepidations or struggles with the course subject as well as your love for the material.
- Include a section such as Tip for Success in which you tell students directly that feeling like they don’t belong in the class is a common reaction to encountering difficulty in the course. Assure them that although these feelings are normal, that putting in the work needed and seeking out help can help overcome both the difficulties and the alienating emotions.
Students are more likely to persevere through difficulties if they know that their instructor is their ally, not their antagonist. We can demonstrate an attitude of care towards our students with the following moves:
- Where you list your contact information, add a note explicitly inviting students to reach out to you whenever they have a question about the course.
- Create a general purpose discussion board on Canvas for students, inviting them to crowdsource answers to any queries posted there.
- If you have a TA, make sure to include their name, contact information, and a note explaining their role in helping the students succeed in the course.
Students from minoritized groups are often at highest risk of feeling like they don’t belong in our classrooms. We need all our students to feel welcome in our courses, not just those who are most like us in terms of demographics and life experiences. To signal that you value diversity in your classroom, try these moves:
- Include your pronouns, and those of your TAs, if any.
- Invite students who have names or pronouns that have not been updated in the record to share them with you. (For more on pronouns, see this EDvice Exchange post.)
- If you include a section on classroom discourse rule and course climate, specifically note that you value differing opinions and the input of people with different backgrounds and experiences. Or better yet, spend some class time working with the students on the rules for productive exchanges of ideas and opinions.
- Acknowledge that more and more students have caregiving responsibilities in your attendance policy.
Students’ sense of belonging can be threatened when they encounter difficulties in your course. What should be considered an opportunity for learning and growth at best and a temporary setback at worst can be over-interpreted as a sign that they have signed up for the wrong class, that they are in the wrong major, or even that they are not cut out for college at all. These students don’t yet understand that struggle is a part of the learning process. You can normalize the challenges of your course in your syllabus in the following ways:
- Rebrand office hours as Student Drop-In Hours and explain that coming to the instructor for support is a normal activity for successful students.
- Emphasize in the section on assignments and/or grading that feedback is meant to inform students how to improve their learning and invite them to come discuss any feedback they do not understand.
- In the section listing the textbook and/or course readings, add a note explaining that struggling with the course readings is a common student experience and invite students to reach out to you or the TAs for help.
At the CAT we recommend reviewing your current syllabi with these five concepts in mind. Are you already doing some of this work? Great! But consider how you might incorporate the others. We need our students to read the syllabus and understand that they are embarking on a great learning journey, but also that they have friends and allies who will be with them along the way.
Jeff Rients, Ph.D., is Associate Director of Teaching and Learning Innovation at Temple University’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching.