Designing a syllabus for a general education class

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that I’d write out a good syllabus for general education courses. I’ve thought about this mostly because of all the  whiny people who wanted to know why they should take a general education class on the Middle east when their major is Business something or the other.  Apparently it didn’t strike them that a knowledge of the Middle-east might be useful if they were to work for a multinational company, for example. Nonetheless, they’d whine about the papers and the lectures and the presentations. Is there a way to engage such people?  I think there is.

Every syllabus includes a section wherein the professor describes the course objectives. But I’ve had few professors who have actually TALKED about it. Face it, most students don’t read the whole syllabus. I know I was pretty diligent about it, but I mostly read the section on grading and assignments. I didn’t exactly memorize the course objectives. So, although a good syllabus includes the course objectives, a good professor would discuss them, not merely tell students to read about it on the syllabus.

When designing a syllabus for a gen ed class, the purpose shouldn’t merely be to help students develope a basic understanding of that subject. For example, a professor could say  “I know most of you aren’t history majors and won’t be spending the rest of your life excavating ruins in Ancient Egypt. But I think this course will benefit you, because it will  help you become a better writer and speaker. This is something you can use regardless of what field you intend to pursue.” Boom. Thusly, the kids who actually care about ancient Egypt (uh, I would be one such geek) will geek out. The rest of the kids will at least feel as if they have something to gain.

The course should be almost evenly divided between memorization, written essays and speaking. This enables students to develop different but complementary skills.

Here’s how I’d break down the course:

Two presentations: 10 and 15 percent precise, lengthy directions. I say this because most professors seem to just wave us away and then accept mediocre presentations. I think presentation skills are among the most useful things you can learn in college, especially in classes that aren’t really in your area of interest/ speciality/ major. Specific requirements for a presentation could include reducing someone’s grade if s/he merely reads off the powerpoint slides, for example.

Two papers– 15 and 15 percent 4-5 pages each.

One exam: 20 percent final. Exams force students to, y’know.. read. And remember stuff. I think it’s worth forcing some amount of memorization because it makes students really pay attention while reading or taking notes.

Pop quizzes: 15 percent;  again, totally worth it. Forces students to do the reading. Give one  two weeks. Easy to grade. Easy to see who’s done the reading.

Participation and attendance: 10 percent. Significant enough that it’ll make students talk in class or at least show up.

So it comes down to:

35 percent of grade for memorization and absorbing the material (exam, quizzes)

25 percent for presentation skills, i.e. formal speaking.

10 percent for informal speaking and oral participation

30 percent of grade for writing formal papers

In the end, the grade is almost evenly divided between speaking formally, informally (aka in-class participation), writing and memorization. Perhaps a couple of reaction papers can be folded into the participation grade. Regardless, I think this is a good syllabus design, provided the prof explains the purpose clearly early on. This way s/he can go full-speed ahead immersing students in material they may not be interested in, but that they will feel compelled to pay attention to.

I also favor extra credit for people who print paper double sided. Yes, that’s awful hippy of me, but it’s something I believe in very strongly. Double sided saves a lot of paper, ink and money.  It’s also a small, relatively easy thing to do too. Little drops go to make an ocean, and all that.