Getting Students to Read Your Syllabus

You don’t have to be teaching for very long to realize students don’t read. In particular, despite all the energy and effort you may put into your syllabus for your course, we know students don’t read those either.

A colleague recently sent me a link to an article that really drove this point home. A professor at the University of Tennessee attempted a novel approach to get his students to read the course syllabus. This professor did what most of us do on the first day of class and stressed reading through the syllabus. However, buried within the context of the syllabus, he planted a clue. That clue let the students know the location and combination of a locker that contained a $50 bill. It was there for the first student who found it, to claim it.

The professor did not check the locker until the end of the semester. Care to venture what he found?

The $50 bill was still there.

One of the most important documents we create is our course syllabus. This document has the potential to improve student’s outcomes and course satisfaction (Bart, 2015; Diamond, 2008; Grunert O’Brien, Millis, & Cohen, 2008; Harnish and Bridges, 2011; Ishiyama and Hartlaub, 2002; Palmer, Wheeler, and Aneece, 2015, 2016; Richmond, Slattery, Morgan, Mitchell, and Becknell, 2016).

Over the years, it seems the purpose of a course syllabus has gotten lost despite the growing emphasis toward a learning-centered approach to teaching and learning. Research shows that students rate a learner-centered syllabus higher than a content-focused one (Harnish and Bridges, 2011; Ishiyama and Hartlaub, 2002; Palmer, Wheeler, and Aneece, 2015, 2016; Richmond, Slattery, Morgan, Mitchell, and Becknell, 2016). Students also appreciate and rate courses that use a learner-centered syllabus higher than those that don’t (Palmer et al., 2015, 2016). However,  I find that institutions want to include and require university-level policies, procedures, and statements that must be included in all syllabi. The problem is many of these have nothing to do with the course.  In addition, these university-level policies and procedures are located in other, more appropriate locations, such as the institution, college, or department-level handbooks and on the university’s webpages. However, we are required to include them.

Students are not taught why a syllabus is essential or how to use one effectively. They are just told they need to read it. If we want them to read it, we need to foster that behavior. Since they entered higher education, consider that they receive one for each course because they have to, but we as educators need to share why these documents are important to and for their learning.

Here are some tips and ideas to consider as you prepare your spring course syllabi to encourage students to read them:

1. If we want our students to read and use the syllabus, then we must write it in a way that encourages them to read it. Consider switching from the third-person perspective to the second person. Instead of saying “the student,” use “you.” This change makes it more personal and readable.
2. Organize it so that all of the essential information about the course is first. For example, if you must include university policies, move those to the end of the syllabus if you can.
3. Consider an engaging activity involving the syllabus on the first day of class. A colleague and I did this a few years back with the student handbook. We used to go through the handbook with the students, highlighting and discussing essential policies. It was dry, and most students zoned out pretty quickly. Just like syllabi, students don’t read program student handbooks either. So we decided to turn it into an active learning dynamic. We created a set of questions, divided the students into groups, and gave them a defined period of time to answer the questions, using a copy of the handbook. Then we went around the room and reviewed and expanded on the answers. We found the students remembered the important policies much better, and it was interacting and engaging.
4. You could also do something similar to number 3 using a polling app like Kahoot or Google forms to review the answers.
5. You can also try the experiment the professor in Tennessee did or something similar.

As you work on your syllabus for the spring, consider ways to encourage students to read it.

A thank you to Dr. Maggie Randazzo at TJU East Falls/New Jersey PA program 

Photo courtesy Professor Kenyon Wilson.

References

Bart, M. (2015). A learner-centered syllabus helps set the tone for learning. Faculty Focus. Retrieved from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-classroom-management/a-learner-centered-syllabus-helps-set-the-tone-for-learning/

Diamond, R. M. (2008). Designing and assessing courses and curricula: A practical guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Grunert O’Brien, J., Millis, B.J., & Cohen, M. W. (2008). The Course Syllabus. A learning-centered approach (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Harnish, R. J., & Bridges, K. R. (2011). Effect of syllabus tone: students’ perceptions of instructor and course. Social Psychology of Education, 14, 319–330.

Ishiyama, J. T., & Hartlaub, S. (2002). Does the wording of syllabi affect student course assessment in introductory political science classes? Political Science & Politics, 35, 567–570.

Palmer, M. S., Wheeler, L. B., & Aneece, I. (2015). Not your Granddaddy’s syllabus: Investigating student perceptions of course syllabi. Retrieved from: http://podnetwork.org/content    /uploads/Not_Your_Grandaddys_Syllabus_Palmer.pdf

Palmer, M.S., Wheeler, L. B., & Aneece, I. (2016). Does the document matter? The evolving role of syllabi in higher education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 48, 36-47.

Richmond, A. S., Slattery, J., Morgan, R., Mitchell, N., & Becknell, J. (2016). Can a learner-centered syllabus change students’ perceptions of student-professor rapport and master teacher behaviors? Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology, 2, 159-168.

Smart, S. (2021). A professor hid a cash prize on campus. All students had to do was read the syllabus. Retrieved from   https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/18/us/tennessee-professor-syllabus-money-trnd/index.html