You’ve just agreed to teach a semester-long course at a University—something you’ve never done before—and the Dean expects to see your syllabus next week. Syllabus?
If it’s been a while since you were in a classroom, you may find the whole syllabus thing a little overwhelming. Today’s syllabi are much more than a course outline. They typically include objectives (“in this course, you will learn…”), a grading plan and scale (“quizzes, 10 points”), and university-prescribed boilerplate on plagiarism and accommodations for students with disabilities. Plus, you’ll need to provide contact information and office hours.
Putting together an outline for a 13-week course can seem daunting. As a former producer told me recently, “I’m used to finding experts for a minute and a half TV story. How do I plan an entire course?”
My advice is to think of it like a documentary. It needs a narrative arc—beginning, middle and end. Plan the course by thinking of what students need to know first, and what they should already know so that what comes next makes sense, just as you would in a long-form story. Break complicated material into multiple classes so you can go deeper and make sure students really get it. For example, if you’re teaching TV production you may want to start with audio. Once students master that, they can move on to video.
Plan your classroom and homework assignments for the semester, including readings, in the knowledge that things will change. Figure out how to use the school’s learning management platform (something like Blackboard or Moodle) and make sure your syllabus notes that students must consult it regularly. That’s where you’ll post updates throughout the course.
The good news about syllabi is that your fellow journalism educators are more than willing to share. Look on the school’s website for syllabi from previous semesters. Search the web more broadly for syllabi on the topics you’re likely to teach. And consult these online resources to develop your own course outline without reinventing the wheel.
AEJMC Teaching Help
https://www.aejmc.org/home/resources/teaching-help/
Course plans, assignments, rubrics and resources
Investigative Journalism Education Consortium
https://ijec.org/car-and-data-syllabi/
Data reporting, coding and analysis course plans
IRE Educators Center
https://www.ire.org/resource-center/educators-center
Syllabi and practice data sets (members only)
Journalist’s Resource
https://journalistsresource.org/syllabi/
Data journalism, ethics, political reporting and other syllabi.
Journalism + Design Resources
https://resources.journalismdesign.com/syllabi
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