"Syllabus: a brief statement of the main points of a course of study" -- American Heritage Dictionary
Dictionaries often use the phrase "brief statement" in defining syllabus. In reality, course syllabi (at least mine) tend to be multi-page documents. Syllabi are a gold mine of information about assignments, due dates and grading expectations.
A good description of syllabi at schools like SNU appeared in the Journal of Education for Business. In describing a syllabus, Greg Kearsley and William Lynch wrote:"The single most important instrument of structure in a course is the SYLLABUS, [a document] which outlines the goals and objectives of a course, prerequisites, the grading/evaluation scheme, materials to be used (textbooks, software), topics to be covered, a schedule, and a bibliography. Each of these components defines the nature of the learning experience:
- "Goals and objectives identify the expected outcomes and scope of the course as determined by the instructor or course designer, restricting the domain of knowledge for the learner.
- "Prerequisites limit the student population to those with certain kinds of learning experiences, usually other courses.
- "The grading or evaluation scheme tells students what kind of learning activities are to be valued (e.g., assignments, tests, papers, projects), that is, the currency of learning in this particular course.
- "Topics to be covered specify the content that the instructor feels is important.
- "The schedule provides a timetable for learning, usually with milestones in the form of due dates or tests."
1Greg Kearsley and William Lynch, Journal of Education for Business, March/April 1996.Syllabi on this web site
- Christian Thought
- Church Growth and Christian Missions
- Cultural Anthropology -- traditional students
- Cultural Anthropology -- Adult Studies Bridge
- Global evangelism
- Introduction to Biblical Literature
- Introduction to Christian Missions
- Ministry, Church and Society
- Mexican field studies: 1 hour for qualified high school students
- Mexican field studies: 2 and 3 hours credit
- Modern Missionary Movement
- Theology of Missions
- Traditional religions
- World's Living Religions (also known as World Religions)
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Howard Culbertson, Southern Nazarene University, 6729 NW 39th, Bethany, OK 73008 | Phone: 405-491-6693 - Fax: 405-491-6658
Copyright © 2002 - Last Updated: October 10, 2011 | URL: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/syllabus.htm
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