Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education

 

Date of this Version

2002

Document Type

Article

Citation

To Improve the Academy: A Journal of Educational Development (2002) 20; doi: 10.3998/tia.17063888.0020.018

Comments

License: CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

Students rarely understand how a course is organized from the week-by-week topical listing in traditional syllabi. This chapter explains a teaching tool called a graphic syllabus, which elucidates (and may improve) course design/organization and increases student retention of the material. It may resemble a flow chart or diagram or be designed around a graphic metaphor with another object. Included here are materials, experiences, and graphic syllabi from a workshop conducted several times on how to compose one (involving about 115 faculty and faculty developers). Graphic representations of text-based material appeal to the visual learning preferences of today’s students and complement distance and computer-assisted learning as well as traditional classroom instruction.

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