Whether you're a new faculty member or an experienced one preparing a new course, take a few moments to review these important fundamentals.
1. Your Syllabus
Make sure your syllabus contains all the required components outlined in UPS 300.004 and is accessible. Consider using these aids:
-
Accessible Syllabus Template
(meets accessibility and online/hybrid requirements) -
Syllabus Checklist
-
Academic Calendar-
University Policy requires that faculty inform students regarding important student policies. The accessible syllabus template includes a link to these policies.
The syllabus template aligns with
UPS 300.004
and the other UPS that govern general education (411.200
,
411.201
,
411.202
,
411.203
), online (411.104
), and hybrid classes. Download the template and modify the sample text to reflect your expectations and those of your department. You can also verify that your syllabus has all the elements required by UPS by using the checklist above
Next steps when you have more time:
- Learn about
library resources
you can incorporate in your class.
Check how well your learning objectives
reflect various levels of Bloom's taxonomy. - Include a graphic syllabus to show students relationships between your course topics.
- Explore some Creative Approaches to the Syllabus
2. The First Day
Review
your official roster.
3. Your Students
4. Formative Assessment
Plan to use a few of these brief, low-stakes assessment strategies to see what your students do and don't yet understand and to engage them in reflecting on their own learning. Get a concise
introduction to formative assessment
or review examples of a few popular
Classroom Assessment Techniques
(CATs) to get started. Then plan how you'll share what you learned through the CATs with your students.
5. Early Student Feedback
Get
student feedback
early in the semester to understand your students' needs and adjust your approach to teaching if needed.
Have a teaching problem?
Contact the FDC at fdc@fullerton.edu or use this interactive online problem solver.
