An academic syllabus serves as a pivotal gateway for students embarking on their college journey, offering not only a roadmap for the course but also their initial introduction to the faculty member or teaching staff. The course syllabus can emerge as a cornerstone, molding students' impressions of instructor expertise, expectations, and workload. The current chapter underscores the syllabus's potential impact, transcending its conventional role as a contractual tool and/or cognitive guide. It aims to illustrate the syllabus as a mental map, rich with resources to help navigate course progression and cultivate a sense of belonging to a broader world that exists outside the confines of a (virtual) classroom, prioritizing students' mental health. Drawing on established best practices, the chapter offers insights for both novice and experienced educators, showcasing the transformational potential of syllabus design in nurturing lifelong learning for professional and personal growth.
TopAim: Proposing A Holistic Syllabus
It is a time-honored tradition: In the weeks before each term begins, instructors across the globe scramble to put syllabi together. This may involve creating a syllabus for a new course, modifying an existing syllabus, or recycling a syllabus that has been used for years. Assembling a syllabus and posting it on the Institution’s Learning Management System (LMS) may have become so routine, that most instructors no longer give detailed thought to the function a syllabus might play in student learning. Minimal consideration about the syllabus’ role can also be reinforced by the fact that many institutions require that faculty or educators use a university-approved syllabus template. These templates often have spaces provided for faculty to insert the course description, the required text, due dates for assignments and exams, etc. Such a format does not inspire thoughts about how a course syllabus can be a creative, living document that inspires personal growth, life-long learning, professional development, and community connection.
This paper aims to modify the traditional approach to constructing syllabi by proposing a new syllabus paradigm—the holistic syllabus. The holistic approach in course design transcends the traditional confines of course content, aiming to immerse students in a richer, interconnected world. It serves as an empathetic, student-centered guide, nurturing a deep sense of belonging to the global community. Unlike conventional syllabi, it not only embodies best practices in syllabus construction but also integrates resources that tether students to the wider world while prioritizing their mental health and interpersonal well-being. In essence, a holistic syllabus can be succinctly defined as an all-encompassing framework that cultivates self-directed learning, functioning as both a learner-centric compass and a gateway to a broader world beyond the classroom's boundaries.
The current chapter proceeds with a chronological review of traditional, contractual, and learner-centered syllabi before delving into the nuts and bolts of creating a holistic syllabus. It also provides syllabi samples and student testimonies about the advantages of a holistic syllabus, as well as addressing the benefits and potential pitfalls of this new approach. Finally, the chapter discusses how to overcome the challenges of designing a holistic syllabus.