Week #9: Syllabus

To have an idea about what a syllabus is, I found an article that says that “a syllabus is a "learning contract" between you (the instructor) and the students. It sets the ground rules for all the classroom goals, objectives, activities, assessment tools, policies and exceptions. In normal use, the syllabus will serve as a planning tool for both instructor and students. In extreme cases, the syllabus can be used to resolve disputes between students and faculty, for example on the number and weight of various assignments.  As such, the syllabus should contain all the elements students will need to know at the very beginning of the class”. (University of Alaska Anchorage)

So, I think that create a syllabus for a course is very important, since it is like a summary. It contains the main points of the all course, and is the best way to communicate to the student the organization of the course. In a syllabus, the teacher explains the way the student will be evaluated. Also, explains the organization of each topic and how is going to be applied. So, I can say that this is a good tool of communication between the student and the teacher. On the other hand, it is important to take into account that a good syllabus transmits the enthusiasm and interest of the course, and give the students a sense of how this course will change them and why they might want to take it. So, create a syllabus is a great responsibility since is an agreement that the teacher has with the student.