What if you could get more-targeted feedback, by asking students to review the syllabus after they’ve done the work? I spoke to a couple of faculty members who use that strategy. And judging from responses to this Twitter thread, in which a professor advocated such an approach, many people seem intrigued by the idea.
Sarah Woulfin has tried end-of-semester syllabus reviews in a couple of her graduate-level classes. An associate professor in the department of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas at Austin, she teaches a mix of master’s and doctoral students.
At the end of the semester, Woulfin shared a Google doc with a list of the weekly readings. Then she asked her students to mark it up with comments, wanting to know what resonated or proved particularly relevant to them. She carved out time in the classroom for the exercise, she says, and explained that their feedback could help her improve the syllabus for future classes.
I asked Woulfin if she felt her students were candid about the readings. She noted that because it’s a shared document and her classes are small, students might pull their punches a bit. (They can comment anonymously if they prefer.) So she looks for other clues: If nobody says anything about a particular reading, that suggests to her that it wasn’t as useful as others.
Her students’ reactions have shaped her teaching. They might say they wished a topic was discussed earlier or later in the semester, or that they wanted to spend more time on a particular issue. So she has adjusted accordingly.
Woulfin has found the exercise more helpful than traditional evaluations, she says, because it’s frankly hard to remember everything that happened otherwise. “By the end of the term, folks have their eyes on the prize and realize the end of the semester is coming,” she says. This approach says, “let’s take a moment and pause as a group and go back to, What the heck did we cover the first few weeks of the semester?”
Woulfin has heard of other intriguing forms of syllabus review. She recalls reading about one example in which an instructor created a series of posters, each representing one week of the syllabus, then taped them up on the walls, asking students to write comments on them after each class. What did they learn, notice, like, or dislike each week?
If she were doing this exercise with undergraduates, particularly in a large class, Woulfin said, she’d want to think carefully about how to set up the exercise and whether it should be a shared document or an individual review of the syllabus. But overall, she thinks the collaborative element of syllabus review is a great idea. “It breaks down some of the ‘sage on the stage’ stuff and models that we’re learning together, and I’m listening to you and thinking about things for future iterations.”
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Lindsey Meeks, an associate professor in the department of communication at the University of Oklahoma, takes a slightly different approach to syllabus review. Every week at the end of her graduate course on media and civic life, she asks students what they thought of the readings. Because her course is topical she updates as many as two-thirds of the readings each semester. So she wants to know: Did any of the readings feel tired, or tell students things they already knew? Did some readings help them realize things they hadn’t thought of before? What spurred new or deeper thoughts?
“I won’t remove something because it’s not ‘of the moment,’” she said. “But I want to get a sense from students of what to really hold on to, whether it’s a piece from 30 years ago or just came out last year, and why I should hold onto it.”
She has a range of students in her class, from first-year master’s candidates to those earning their doctorates. She says it may take a while for some of the younger students to feel comfortable expressing an authoritative opinion. But as they gain their footing and start to see themselves as scholars, she finds that they begin to weigh in more.
Informally, she does something like that in an undergraduate class where students share, in a group discussion, which readings they thought resonated the most and which seemed dated.
These experiences have me wondering whether many other instructors have tried this strategy, particularly at the undergraduate level. Have you conducted an end-of-semester syllabus review? If so, how did you structure it to get the most valuable insights from your students? Write to me at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com, and your story may appear in a future newsletter.
Teaching amid threats to diversity, equity, and inclusion
In 2021, I wrote about how legislation banning the teaching of “divisive concepts” was affecting professors’ approach to teaching about race. Now, as lawmakers in 20 states consider and pass legislation that would restrict colleges’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, we’re wondering: How have those bills affected your pedagogy? Do you discuss them with your students, and what’s that like?
Our colleague Megan Zahneis is doing some reporting on this, and she’d love to hear from you. Fill out this quick form to share your experience. We won’t quote you by name without your permission.
Summer reading — and reporting
Last week, Beckie asked you to share some of your favorite books about teaching. If you haven’t had a chance to weigh in, please do so through this Google form.
This week I’m asking about a different kind of reading. What do you want us to write about this spring and summer? Are you struggling with an ongoing teaching challenge? Are you taking on new or different teaching responsibilities in the fall and want some guidance? Are you facing the new academic year with concern, wondering how you can create a better classroom environment? Or perhaps you successfully tried a new strategy in your teaching this year and want to share it with the world.
Whatever it is, let us know what you’d like us to write about. You can fill out this form, or just drop me a line at beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com.
Thanks for reading Teaching. If you have suggestions or ideas, please feel free to email us at beckie.supiano@chronicle.com or beth.mcmurtrie@chronicle.com.
— Beth
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