The Catch-Up Day

The best syllabus hack I know is really, really simple, but sometimes hard to commit to.

In the schedule of readings/topics, clear at least one day of all readings, assignments, discussions, etc., and label it a “catch-up day.” And don’t wait until the last week of the term — that’s a wrap-up day, which is not at all the same thing. Stick your catch-up day somewhere around midterm. Or immediately following the Big Difficult Book you’re planning on teaching.

But, you say, I can’t possibly fit in a catch-up day, as I have too many readings to cover as it is. Well, that probably means you of all people really need the catch up day. Go ahead, trim something from your reading list. Because stuff happens, to the best planned syllabi: your brilliant students take the discussion in an interesting direction you want to respond to; the novel you’d never taught before turns out to be really dense in the middle section; or floods, hurricanes, snowstorms, or other natural disasters cancel a class day. I’ve had all of those things happen (but thankfully not in the same semester).

If it turns out that you don’t actually need that class hour to catch up on lecture topics or discussions that you had thought you’d have already completed, you can use it for other things: film clips, field trip, peer review writing session, student-selected additional reading, etc, etc.

The catch-up day: a little cushion for your semester. Your future self will thank you.

What’s your favorite “syllabus hack”? Let us know in the comments.

(Image by flickr user roberto_ferrari. CC-licensed.)