Syllabus Rubric

On the final day of our Course Design Studio, we share example syllabi and participants create a syllabus using Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Active Learning Approaches. Therefore, I thought that sharing a recent article on "Measuring the Promise: A Valid and Reliable Syllabus Rubric Guide to Assessing the Focus of Syllabi” would be timely. I will share the full citation below along with the abstract for your consideration.

Abstract:

"This rubric was designed to help quantitatively and qualitatively assess the degree to which a syllabus achieves a learning-centered orientation. The development of the rubric was guided by the literature on learning-focused course design (Fink, 2013; Hansen, 2011; Wiggins & McTighe, 2005; Wulff & Jacobson, 2005), teaching (Ambrose, Bridges, DiPietro, Lovett, & Norman, 2010; Biggs & Tang, 2007; Blumberg, 2008; Nilson, 2010), and student motivation (Schunk, et al., 2007; Svinicki, 2004). The rubric design was also influenced by existing literature on syllabus construction and syllabus components (Baecker, 1998; Becker & Calhoon, 1999; Canada, 2013; Doolittle & Siudzinski, 2010; Eberly, Newton, & Wiggins, 2001; Garavalia, Hummel, Wiley, & Huitt, 1999; Habanek, 2005; Harnish & Bridges, 2011; Matejka & Kurke, 1994; O’Brien, Millis, & Cohen, 2008; Parkes, Fix, & Harris, 2003; Parkes & Harris, 2002; Singham, 2007; Slattery & Carlson, 2005; Smith & Razzouk, 1993). It accounts for nuances in syllabi while also maintaining widespread relevance to courses in a diverse range of disciplines, levels, and institutions.”

Palmer, M. S., Bach, D. J., & Streifer, A. C. (2014). Measuring the promise: A learning-focused syllabus rubric. To improve the academy: A journal of educational development, 33 (1), 14-36.