Course Design and Syllabus
Why do I study calculus? What can I get at the end of the semester? How does calculus relate to my life and career? These questions were asked in class by my students when I was a TA of a calculus course in 2009. My mind was blank and didn't know how to give them a sound answer at that moment. However, these questions trigged my thought over teaching, course design, and syllabus design. The questions students asked, to some extent, revealed that the students took the course without knowing the learning objectives, and just because the course was required to get a degree.
As a teacher, the only purpose of teaching is to facilitate learning, so the course should be learning-centered and designed by objectives, the course syllabus should not be just a list of topics will be covered over the semester, but also explain why the knowledge and skill offered matter, what students will know and be able to do as a result of taking the course, what teaching approaches will be used,etc. A good teaching syllabus should be able to attract and motivate student's desire of learning. With this in mind, the syllabus I designed focuses on the learning objectives and the connection between theories and application in practical application in life.
Please click the link below to view a sample learning-centered syllabus:
Sample Syllabus:MATH 202 Introduction to Statistical Methods II
Assessment tools
One of the most important parts in the teaching and learning process is to assess how well the students have met the learning objectives and the instructor's expectations, and how effectively the instructor has been teaching, how could instructor adjust his/her teaching strategies to promote learning outcomes. Assignments and exams are commonly used approaches. Consequently, the use of rubrics is inevitable. The role of rubric in the learning process could not be underestimated. Not only does rubrics help students understand the instructor's expectations and clarify learning goals, but also help the instructor to determine what matters in an assignment and keep the grading consistently. In addition, rubrics also can help improve students' performance if they can see or know about them before they complete the assignments.
Please click the link below to view a sample rubrics:
Sample Rubrics: Project assignment and rubrics for Math 202 --Multiple Regression