Developing a Syllabus

and Writing Learning

Outcomes
 Objectives for this Session
• Explain the nature and purposes of
syllabi

• Prepare better syllabi with clear

course objectives and learning
outcomes
 Learning Outcomes for this
Session
• Compare and contrast different kinds of syllabi.
• Evaluate syllabi on the basis of how they support
learning.
• Describe the characteristics of quality
instructional objectives and learning objectives.
• Compare and contrast instructional objectives
and learning outcomes.
• Write quality instructional objectives and learning
objectives.
• Explain how well-written objectives support
student learning.
 What is a syllabus?
A basic document developed by teachers to
reflect their planning for a course. It is a fairly
reliable indicator of the quality of teaching and
learning that will take place in a course.
 What is a syllabus?
Two fundamental criteria:

1. It should include all the

information that students need to
have at the beginning of the course.

2. It should include all the

information that students need to
have in writing.
 What is a syllabus?
• A syllabus is a legally-binding
contract between the instructor and
the student.
 BASIC PURPOSES
 Describe the course, its goals, and its
objectives.

 Describe the structure of the course and its

significance within the general program of study

 Discuss what mutual obligations students

and instructors share.

 Provide critical logistical and procedural

information --what will happen, when, and
where.
Required Elements of a Course
Syllabus
• Course Information • Assessment Policy and
• Faculty Information Tools
• Course Description • Learning Activities and
• Course Objectives Tasks
• Student Learning • Regulations
Outcomes • References and
• Content Outline Additional Resources
• Delivery Methods • Appendices
• Learning Resources • - Course
and Media Requirements
• - Evaluation Criteria
(Rubrics)
 Kinds of Syllabi

• Content-based  What the instructor will

teach
• Process-based  How the instructor will
teach
• Outcomes-base  What the student will
learn
Example: Process (PBL)
Course Information

• Day and Time Class Meets

• Will longer meeting times be
needed?
• Time to accommodate out-of-class
research?
• “Custom” schedule vs. standard
meeting times?
• Place Class Meets

Watson, G. (2001
 Instructor Information
• Phone Numbers, E-mail
• Class and/or group phone numbers
• Newsgroup, class mailing lists, chat
rooms

• Educational Philosophy/Teaching-
Learning Framework
• What you value and why

Watson, G. (2001
 Educational Philosophy/Teaching –
Learning Framework (Example)

NDMU as a higher institution of learning

adheres to the teaching-learning
philosophy that is student-centered,
transformative, outcomes-based, relevant
and responsive, and Marist Pedagogy-
Oriented.

Watson, G. (2001
 Text, Readings, Materials

• Textbook(s)
• Is one needed? Daily use? Reference?
Choices?
• User-friendly for independent study?
• Does text address all learning issues?
• Supplementary Readings
• Electronic sources
• Web sites

Watson, G. (2001
 Course Calendar/Schedule
• Dates for Exams, Quizzes
• Group components?
• Time constraints: in-class, out-of-class, or
take-home?
• (Out-of-class exams slots require advance
planning for room scheduling, i.e., listing
exams in course registration booklet)

Watson, G. (2001
 Course Policies

• Attendance, Lateness
• Effect on group progress and
dynamics
• Participation
• Clear expectations for individual,
group
• Grading
• Balance in individual vs. group
accountability
• Process skills: how much are they
valued?

Watson, G. (2001)
 Available Support Services
• Library
• Research skills, available data bases
• Library tours
• Computers and Electronic Resources
• Using e-mail, Internet and access to
same
• Using specialized software: spreadsheets,
statistics
• Program/platform compatibility for
sharing work

Watson, G. (2001)
 WHAT IS AN OBE-BASED
SYLLABUS?

A reflective exercise that addresses the

question: What do students need to know
in order to derive maximum benefit from
this educational experience?

 A change in focus that affects the

students’ role, requiring them to be
responsible for their own learning
BASIC GOALS OF AN OBE BASED
SYLLABUS

Answers the questions:

• What do students need to learn (goals and

objectives)?

 What assignments, classroom activities, and

pedagogical approaches will help students reach
these goals?

 How will you determine that students have

accomplished what you set out to teach them?
 Course Descriptions
• Explaining, briefly, what your course
is all about

• The “big picture”

 Interrogatory Course Description

Interrogatory:
Political Sciences 340
Individual Responsibility in Organizations
This course examines research on
responsibility and relates it to how we run
our business, government, educational and
other institutions. What do we do that
sabotages responsibility? How can you design
organizations so that people feel responsible?
Is there a relationship between responsibility
and efficiency? If so, why is it a secret?

Method: collaborative inquiry.

 Declarative Course Description

History 212
Renaissance Europe
This course will examine the cultural and
intellectual movement known as the Renaissance,
from its origins in fourteenth-century Italy to its
diffusion into the rest of Europe in the sixteenth
century. We will trace the great changes in the
world of learning and letters, the visual arts, and
music, along with those taking place in politics,
economics, and social organization. We will be
reading primary sources as well as modern works.
Discussions on issues and group presentations will
be the main focus of our work.
 Course Description: Tips
• You may want to use statements such as:
– The students will explore ……
– [List the topics covered in brief descriptive
phrases] will be examined in relation to…..
– There will be emphasis on ….

• If the first line of a description does no more

than repeat the course title, omit it and go
on to the next line.

• If a term such as "laboratory", "seminar" or

"workshop" is used in the title, you don’t
need to repeat it in the description.
 Course Description: Tips

• If the course number or title adequately

indicates the relative sophistication of the
course, it is unnecessary to use "introduction
to" or "advanced study of" in the course
description.

• In general, the course description should

cover the course aims, structure
(methodology) and assessment.

• Use action words, active voice, convey a

user-friendly tone, and use tasteful humor if
you deem appropriate.
 Course Description: Tips

• Limit the description to about 35 words

• Proof read!!
Review your own course
description.
 References

• http://universitysenate.syr.edu/curri
cula/writing.html
• http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/en/wtt
s/description.htm
• http://precollege.case.edu/syl/Creati
veWritingEquinox07.pdf
• http://www.ctl.sas.upenn.edu/tips/in
dex.html
• http://www.usm.maine.edu/olli/natio
nal/pdf/USM-PR_Tips.pdf
 Instructional/Course Objectives

•Broad statements reflecting what

students should learn as a result of
taking the course.

•Express the general focus of the course

and help students understand the
direction the course will take.
 Examples
• “Students will develop a basic
speaking knowledge of the French
language that will enable them to
carry on a simple conversation with a
native French speaker.”

• “Students will be able to apply basic

economic concepts to current
economic situations.”
 Instructional Objectives

• Use general terms such as: students

will acquire, know, understand,
appreciate, grasp the significance of,
believe, internalize, experience,
recognize, identify etc.

• Ask: In what ways will students be

“different” when they finish the
course?
 Instructional Objectives

Objectives are:

• stated in abstract terms. It is non

observable /non measurable. It
describes what we think students
should know and know how to do, and
what attitudes they should have by the
end of the course.  knowledge, skills,
attitude.
 Instructional/Course Objectives

Course Objectives are:

• concerned with students, not faculty,

and will guide students in their studies.

• provide a basis for setting curriculum

priorities to focus on the most
meaningful content throughout the
course.
Examples of Objectives

• Students will be able to differentiate between

hard woods and soft woods.

• Students will comprehend principles of ethics

in the work place.

• Students should demonstrate a critical

understanding of the historical and
contemporary methods of experimental
psychology.

• Students should be able to apply basic

principles of human metabolism.
Examples of Objectives

• Students will develop an understanding of

important concepts and methods in the field
of literary criticism.

• Students will learn how to use basic chemical

concepts in a
laboratory experiment.

• Upon completion of this course, students will

recognize how cardiac abnormalities manifest
clinically as disease processes .
 Program Goals

General Instructional Objectives

Course Learning Outcomes

 Developing Objectives
1. Brainstorming what ideal students at the
end of your course and based on your
instruction should know, learn, be able to
do, etc.

2. Keep in mind how your course fits with

other courses in the program.

3. Discuss your responses.

 Learning Outcomes

•Written statements of what students are

expected to learn and perform in a course

•State what we want students to know and

be able to do as a result of their learning
experiences in a course

•Clarify to students our expectations

 Purposes

• Increase students’ awareness of and

reflection on their own learning;

• Help students understand where they are

supposed to be headed or what they are
aiming for as learners;

• Help establish a common language among

faculty, students and other stakeholders
for describing and assessing course
content;
 Purposes

• Provide advisors with a useful tool for

helping advisees make decisions about
course registration;

• Help faculty self-assess/reflect on practice;

• Define potential evidence bases for course

revision and design; and

• May satisfy important accreditation

requirements by external evaluators.
 Writing Learning Outcomes
Bloom (1956) defined three different domains of
knowledge:

• Cognitive domain (thinking, knowledge):

student cognitive behavior is categorized into six
levels ranging from simple (knowledge) to more
complex behaviors (evaluation)

• Affective domain (feeling, attitudes): this

domain ranges from receiving going up to
internalizing.

• Psychomotor domain (doing, skills): this

taxonomy ranges from the simple act of perception
to the highest level of behavior, organization.
Examine the following statements: Which in your
judgment are acceptable Learning Outcomes?
Why?

•“By the end of the course, I will be able to

demonstrate to students how to set up lab
equipment.”

•“By the end of the course, students will be able

to set up laboratory equipment based on
specified tasks and purposes”

Student focused versus Teacher focused

•By the end of the semester, the
course will instill an understanding of
the scientific method.”

By the end of the semester, students

will be able to analyze what
constitutes valid and invalid
conclusions

Focused on the process versus focused on

the Outcomes.
• Students will write a lesson plan at the
end of each chapter.

• Students will design different lesson

plans in relation to a variety of
instructional models such as inquiry
model, cooperative learning, lecturing
etc.

Activity based versus outcomes based

How many learning outcomes
in a course should we develop?

• You may want to develop as many

outcomes as needed in order to clearly
indicate to the students what they will gain
from the course.

• Each major topic in the course should

have one to three learning outcomes.

• Each 45-hour or three-credit course

should have between five and 12 learning
outcomes.
 Learning Outcomes -- More Tips

• Check whether your students’ intended

performance is observable.

• Check whether you can assess/measure

your students’ observable performance.

• Align course learning outcomes with the

mission and goals of your program.

• Indicate the type and level of

knowledge, attitude and skills which are
expected of students upon completion of
the course.
 Learning Outcomes -- More Tips

• Make sure each statement has one action

verb. Do not include more than one
expectation in one statement because the
required assessment methods may differ.

• Focus on the learning result (i.e. product

or performance) that the student will
exhibit and not the learning process or
your instruction.

• Write learning outcomes which can be

measured by more than one assessment
method.
 Developing Learning
Outcomes
Effective learning outcomes must:

•Have an action word that describes

what the student will do differently as
a result of your course

•Describe meaningful learning

 Developing Learning
Outcomes
Effective learning outcomes must:

• Be measured/verified i.e., you

can measure students’ ability to
achieve them
• Represent high levels of thinking,
rather than trivial tasks
• Be written in plain language
students can understand
 Examples
1.Bio 100/101

General Instructional Objective/Goal:

• Students will be able to understand how the
biological sciences explain the natural world.
Specific Learning Outcome:
Students will:
1. Design an experiment, based on a reasonable
scientific hypothesis, to demonstrate how an
environmental factor affects a living organism

2. Choose 2 biological concepts from the following

list and explain how they are related: ecology,
cell function, evolution, genetics.
 Examples
2. English 110

General Instructional Objective/Goal:

• Students will understand how major works of
literature explore the human condition and
examine human values.

Specific Learning Outcome:

Students will be able to:
• Identify the characteristics inherent in
literature, such as emotional, intellectual and
aesthetic design, on problems of the human
condition.

• Relate the characteristics of literature to larger

cultural and human values.
 Examples
2. Course Learning Outcomes (Educ. 125)
You should be able to:
• describe the cognitive, social,
physical, emotional and language
development of students in the
elementary school;
• demonstrate (in writing and
actual teaching) how to
implement effectively major
instructional methods,
approaches and techniques in
teaching the language arts in the
elementary school;
 Examples
2. Course Learning Outcomes (Educ. 124)
You should be able to:
• plan lessons based on the language
arts components under student-
centered classes in the elementary
school;
• Reflect on your teaching practices;
• assess your peers’ micro teaching
practices;
• develop your philosophy of teaching
the language arts in the elementary
school, supported with evidence.
 Writing Learning Outcomes

Write learning outcomes for the

following objective:

•“Understands the nature of

matter”
 Summary
A syllabus is a contract. Write it
carefully.

Begin with the big picture (course

description)

…add the idealized final product

(instructional objectives)

…provide specific, observable,

measurable learning outcomes
 Summary
Then, and only then, are you ready to
plan your content and activities.
 End of Presentation
Do you questions on writing the
syllabus?