Syllabus week has many different conceptions throughout campus. Some people think it is a waste of time and an excuse to have fun, while others think of it as a solid foundation to build their semester.
We have all dealt with syllabus week, where the professor reads to you directly from the syllabus. You see people on their phones or scrolling Amazon, clearly not engaged.
The documents have already been posted on Canvas for everyone to read, and the people who care about it have probably already read it. So, it seems to be a pointless endeavor for the professor to cover it again.
It seems like a waste of time from the student’s perspective. Especially in fast paced classes where a lot of lecture content is given at once, students would rather have another lecture with the material. For these students they may feel that they are starting already behind.
The idea of syllabus week being a week students can blow off is popular on campus. It causes them to skip classes and think it’s a week to let loose and have fun. Is this the academic environment that we want to be fostered?
On the other hand, many argue for the importance of being introduced to the syllabus. It sets the foundation for the entire semester, outlining course objectives, the assignment schedule, how the professor grades and the all-important attendance policy.
Maybe more importantly it gives students the ability to feel whether the class interests them and the professor’s teaching policy. The syllabus also gives a glimpse into the course’s workload and time commitment.
This gives students the ability to change their schedule to better handle their workload or avoid a class where they might not like how a professor teaches, or the classroom environment. This prevents students from getting stuck in an unfavorable situation.
The solution is perhaps in the middle ground. Instead of reading the whole syllabus and burning a whole lecture, professors might just cover the key points before getting started on content, while referring students to the digital syllabus. They could also utilize this time in other ways like starting the first class with a discussion or some sort of icebreaker.
The usefulness of a syllabus week completely depends on how it’s utilized and presented. It can either build a strong foundation for a successful semester or turn off students’ engagement, going as far as to make students feel as if they’re wasting time or already behind in a class.
Christopher Sprague can be reached at [email protected].