Designing a Motivational Syllabus

Reviews / Votes

"Harrington and Thomas insightfully apply principles from the motivation research literature to demonstrate how course syllabi can be powerful tools for stimulating students' enthusiasm and motivation to actively engage in course activities. While the book is an invaluable resource for designing a syllabus that maps out a path for student success, it also provides information on course design, assessment, and teaching approaches. It is a must-read for all faculty who want to construct a syllabus that is sure to increase student engagement and learning!"

Saundra McGuire, Ph.D., (Ret) Assistant Vice Chancellor & Professor of Chemistry, Director Emerita, Center for Academic Success

Louisiana State University

"Designing a syllabus is a task that faculty often give little thought to. However, in this engaging and thoughtful book, the authors have crafted a guide that is both helpful and a teaching tool. The authors weave student learning throughout the book and have developed a resource that will help both new and seasoned faculty. And, because the book is so well written, it is accessible to all, regardless of discipline."

Chris Hakala, Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning and Scholarship

Springfield College

From the Foreword:

"This book is a tremendous resource for all faculty, whether you are teaching freshmen introductory courses or advance graduate courses. It does not matter if you are a novice or an expert professor; this book is a beneficial and useful guide for improving an existing syllabus or designing a new one. Harrington and Thomas demonstrate how a syllabus is much more than an informative document-they show us how it can be a valuable tool to motivate students and assist them in their learning."

Kathleen F. Gabriel, School of Education

California State University, Chico

"In Designing a Motivational Syllabus, Harrington and Thomas provide compelling rationale and evidence for why an instructor would want to reimagine their syllabus, while offering practical advice for how to create a document that accurately articulates their vision, motivates students, and fosters learning. Subtle in their approach, they quite cleverly shift the focus from syllabus creation to course design, and in doing so, signal the importance and seriousness of such work. Instructors, whether wishing to make small changes to their syllabi or to totally rethink the why and hows of their courses, will find this book an invaluable resource."

Michael Palmer, Director, Center for Teaching Excellence

University of Virginia

"Designing a Motivational Syllabus provides practical guidance, but it is much more than a how-to: it presents new ways of thinking about the role of the syllabus. Drawing from current research on best practices, Harrington and Thomas provide thorough context and make a strong case for an effective course syllabus as a foundational tool to shape student learning. This book will undoubtedly be valuable to new and experienced teachers as well as faculty development professionals."

Billie Bennett Franchini, Ph.D., Interim Director, Institute for Teaching, Learning and Academic Leadership

University at Albany-SUNY

"This book helps teachers think through the many functions and possibilities of the course

syllabus, particularly as seen through the eyes of students. The authors advise thinking of the syllabus as a motivational tool rather than a punishing list of policies or a repository for contractual language; moreover, they suggest embedding more visual tools and images as well as more explicit rationales for assignments, even down to the individual class level. All of what they propose seems simple and reasonable, even for busy faculty. The authors clearly aim to help faculty see the excitement of creating "a course design tool that maps out the learning path for students" (19), and their suggestions will prove most useful to those beginning teaching who want to break out of the graduate school reading list mode and to those further on in careers, particularly those who might have changed (or want to change) their teaching strategies.

Harrington and Thomas write in an accessible and encouraging style throughout. After a brief consideration of the history and purpose of the syllabus in Chapter 1, they address the

following issues in turn: applying course design principles with an emphasis on backward design; key components of any syllabus; policies and other boilerplate; issues of design; techniques for getting feedback and evaluating the syllabus; and ways of using the syllabus beyond its traditional roles. They helpfully include a sample syllabus as well as a syllabus checklist and sample grading rubrics. They lay out the main types of syllabi (coverage-based and activity-based) and argue for the superiority of a backward design that works from goals for students rather than from content or activities."

Reflective Teaching

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