Tag Archives: syllabus

Fill them out: Teacher and Course Evaluations

In the next couple of weeks I’ll be handing out evaluation forms to my 400+ students. These forms are used to evaluate the course itself as well as the instructor (me). In addition to raw numerical data there is also the opportunity to provide a certain amount of feedback about the course, instructor, or something else in a handwritten portion. Sadly, a large portion of my class will choose not to fill out those forms. Today I’m going to try to convince you that failing to take the small amount of time it would take to fill out those forms … Continue reading →

End of Semester Woes 2

Earlier this week I posted part 1 of “End of Semester Woes” and I continue that here. If you haven’t read the first part it might be helpful to read that here. At any rate, these are my feelings at the close of the semester as an instructor and an student. Today I’ll be focusing on screwing up as a student, seeking forgiveness (maybe too late), and what to hope for. It’s a peculiar fact of life (it doesn’t have to be a fact but it seems to be) that students, no matter how much they are warned, don’t do … Continue reading →

Digital Copies – Digital Syllabus

Sometimes my students just don’t know how lucky they are. The reason for their luck came as a surprise to me because it was one of those functional things that I simply overlooked while actually planning my own course. It makes sense, from a distribution standpoint, that in a class with over four hundred people you would distribute course materials in a digital format. It’s faster, harder to lose, and wastes significantly fewer trees in the process. What’s not to like? Apparently there is a lot not to like and I’m quite certain that I’ve experienced this dilemma with some … Continue reading →

Ignoring the Syllabus – Personal Peril

Remember how important the syllabus is? Remember my frustration as an instructor with students who don’t follow the syllabus? Before you start thinking I’m going to yell at you I’d like to make an admission: I ignore the syllabus too. I don’t mean to, but I do. It happened this week. I showed up to class having read a great deal of material and having a freshly printed response paper to the readings in hand. Then I saw it: other students with other papers. “What’s due today?” I asked. The response stopped my heart. “A two to three page review … Continue reading →