What’s the Story Your Syllabus Tells?: Setting the Stage for Learning — from facultyfocus.com by Dr. Daniel Andrés Rivera Rosado
But as I was reading Everyday Christian Teaching by Dr. David Smith, in the chapter titled Speaking, Hearing, Hospitality, in just the first paragraph he writes: “Teachers do not simply list course content for learners. They sequence it in ways that imply a story about what fits together and where it is headed.” (2025, p.73). Automatically I asked myself, what is the story my syllabus is telling students? To be completely honest, is it even telling a story at all?
“Is your syllabus helping your students at all?”
From DSC:
To that last sentence, I might add the words engaging, raising curiosity or wonder, or is it interesting to your students at all? Is there a “hook” that gets them interested? It might be a central question or two — and/or use some beneficial and relevant graphics. I’ve heard faculty use digital/interactive syllabi as well to engage their students.