The document outlines strategies for effective course and classroom management. It discusses Fink's 12 steps for course design, which include identifying learning goals and outcomes, selecting teaching activities, and integrating feedback and assessment. It provides guidance on syllabus design, including recommended components. For classroom management, it recommends planning for the first day, making a strong impression, setting clear expectations, and dealing with difficult students or fears. The overall document provides guidance to educators on best practices for course and syllabus preparation as well as classroom management techniques.

1. Course and Syllabus Design
Course and Classroom Management
Tanya Schnieder
tps2121@cumc.columbia.edu
Rory Flinn
rf2531@cumc.columbia.edu
June 18th, 2015

2. Outline
 Lesson Learning Goals and Outcomes
 Course Design – Finks’ 12 Steps
 Syllabus Design
 Syllabus Examples
 Course and Classroom Management – Planning for Day 1 and Impressions
 Course and Classroom Management – Making It Personal on Day 1
 Course and Classroom Management – Setting Expectations on Day 1
 Course and Classroom Management – Dealing with Fear and Difficult Students

3. Today’s Learning Goals and Outcomes
Goals
 Comprehension of an effective approach for course design
 Understanding of best practices in syllabus preparation
 Familiarity with course and classroom management strategies
Outcomes
By the end of this class session you should be able to:
 Summarize Finks’ 12 steps to effective course design and utilize these steps when you design your
own courses
 Explain what components should be present in a well prepared syllabus and apply this knowledge to
the preparation of your own syllabi
 Discuss strategies for success in course and classroom management and use these strategies when
teaching your own courses

4. Iterative Alignment
Will the learning outcomes actually address the goals?
Will the assessment strategy allow for the learning outcomes to be assessed?
Will conducting the activities produce the learning outcomes?
What is it that you want your students to know, be able to do, or
understand?
What specific evidence of learning would be needed for students to demonstrate
achievement of these goals? What level of learning is required?
How will you assess the degree to which students are learning?
How will students assess to what degree they are learning and
progressing towards the learning goals?
How will you evaluate whether the learning outcomes are achieved,
and at what quality?
What are the teaching and learning activities that will be conducted to facilitate
reaching the goals
Scientific Teaching – Backwards Design
Learning Goals
Learning Outcomes
Assessment Strategy
Learning/Teaching Activities

5. Learning Goals
Teaching and
Learning
Activities
Feedback &
Assessment
Situational Factors
L. Dee Fink “A Self-Directed Guide to Designing Courses for Significant Learning” 2003
Model to Follow When Designing A Course/Lesson

6. The 12 steps of Integrated Course Design.
• INITIAL DESIGN PHASE: Build Strong Primary Components
• Step 1. Identify important situational factors
• Step 2. Identify important learning goals
• Step 3. Formulate appropriate feedback and assessment procedures
• Step 4. Select effective teaching/learning activities
• Step 5. Make sure the primary components are integrated
• INTERMEDIATE DESIGN PHASE: Assemble the Components into a Coherent Whole
• Step 6. Create a thematic structure for the course
• Step 7. Select or create an instructional strategy
• Step 8. Integrate the course structure and the instructional strategy to create an overall scheme of
learning activities
• FINAL DESIGN PHASE: Finish Important Remaining Tasks
• Step 9. Develop the grading system
• Step 10. De-Bug possible problems
• Step 11. Write the course syllabus
• Step 12. Plan an evaluation of the course and of your teaching
L.D.Fink. Creating Significant Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2003.
www.deefinkandassociates.com/​GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf

7. Step 1: Situational Factors to Consider
Specific Context of the Teaching/Learning Situation
How many students are in the class? Is the course lower division, upper division, or
graduate level? How long and frequent are the class meetings? How will the course be
delivered: live, online, or in a classroom or lab? What physical elements of the learning
environment will affect the class?
General Context of the Learning Situation
What learning expectations are placed on this course or curriculum by: the university,
college and/or department? the profession? society?
Nature of the Subject
Is this subject primarily theoretical, practical, or a combination? Is the subject primarily
convergent or divergent? Are there important changes or controversies occurring within the
field?
Characteristics of the Learners
What is the life situation of the learners (e.g., working, family, professional goals)? What
prior knowledge, experiences, and initial feelings do students usually have about this
subject? What are their learning goals, expectations, and preferred learning styles?
Characteristics of the Teacher
What beliefs and values does the teacher have about teaching and learning? What is
his/her attitude toward: the subject? students? What level of knowledge or familiarity does
s/he have with this subject? What are his/her strengths in teaching?
L.D.Fink. Creating Significant Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

8. Step 2: Crafting Learning Goals and Objectives
Learning Goals
•Learning goals are the broad concepts/behaviors/skills you would like the students to achieve/master by the end of the
course or by the end of the lesson.
•Learning goals should emphasize learning instead of teaching.
•Learning goals can be crafted by answering the following questions:
• What do I want my students to know, understand, and be able to do?
• For course learning goals think about the answer to this quesiton in terms of years after the course
• What information is essential?
• What knowledge or skills are relevant to the subject area?
Learning Objectives/Outcomes
•Learning objectives are clear and specific statements that indicate the cognitive level of learning
that must be achieved to achieve/master a particular concept/behavior/skill.
•Learning objectives can be crafted by first determining the hierarcy of leanring goals:
• Essential
• Important
• Illustrative or interesting
•Consider what the students already know and target the difficult concepts
•Translate learning goals into specific learning objectives using Bloom’s Taxonomy

9. Step 3: Designing Feedback and Assessments
• Determine what qualifies as acceptable evidence that students are
learning
• What performance or behaviors indicate that students understand?
• What criteria will differentiate among different levels of understanding?
• How will students know whether they are learning?
• How will I know whether students are achieving the learning goals?
• What assessment tools will engage students and measure learning?

10. Step 4: Selecting Learning Activities
• Choose activities to help students achieve the learning goals
• Focus on the most essential concepts and critical learning goals
• Consider what activities can occur outside the classroom
• Build on instructional resources that already exist
• Vary the content and examples (for the purposes of inclusivity and diversity)

11. Step 5: Integrate
Learning Goals
Teaching and
Learning
Activities
Feedback &
Assessment
Situational Factors

12. Steps 6-8: Intermediate Design Phase
Step 6. Create a thematic structure for the course
-Creating a course structure means dividing the course into segments
that focus on the key concepts, issues, or topics that constitute the major foci
of the course.
-These segments can be arranged into a logical sequence and time can then be allocated for each segment
Step 7. Select or create an instructional strategy
- An instructional strategy is a set of learning activities, arranged in a particular sequence so that the energy for
learning increases and accumulates as students go through the sequence.
- This usually requires that some of the activities (a) gets students ready or prepared for
later work, (b) gives students opportunities to practice (c) assesses the quality of student performance, and (d)
allows students to reflect on their learning.
Step 8. Integrate the course structure and the instructional strategy to create an overall scheme of learning
activities
L.D.Fink. Creating Significant Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2003.

13. The 12 steps of Integrated Course Design.
• INITIAL DESIGN PHASE: Build Strong Primary Components
• Step 1. Identify important situational factors
• Step 2. Identify important learning goals
• Step 3. Formulate appropriate feedback and assessment procedures
• Step 4. Select effective teaching/learning activities
• Step 5. Make sure the primary components are integrated
• INTERMEDIATE DESIGN PHASE: Assemble the Components into a Coherent Whole
• Step 6. Create a thematic structure for the course
• Step 7. Select or create an instructional strategy
• Step 8. Integrate the course structure and the instructional strategy to create an overall scheme of
learning activities
• FINAL DESIGN PHASE: Finish Important Remaining Tasks
• Step 9. Develop the grading system
• Step 10. De-Bug possible problems
• Step 11. Write the course syllabus
• Step 12. Plan an evaluation of the course and of your teaching
L.D.Fink. Creating Significant Learning Experiences. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, 2003.
www.deefinkandassociates.com/​GuidetoCourseDesignAug05.pdf

14. Making a Course Syllabus: The Easy Part,
Course/Instructor Information:
• Course title
• Course number
• Credit hours
• Prerequisites
• Permission from instructor required?
• Classroom location
• Lab/recitation location
• Meeting days
• Class hours
• Lab/recitation hours
• Department location
• Web page
• Full name
• Title
• Office location
• Office phone number
• Office hours
• E-mail address
• Department phone number
• Home phone number
• Teaching Assistant(s)
• TA name(s)
• TA office location(s)
• TA phone number(s)

15. Making A Course Syllabus: The Harder Part, Course
Description, Goals, Outcomes, Assessments, Philosophy:
• Catalog description (Why?)
• General course goals and outcomes (What? – big picture)
• Specific lesson goals and outcomes (What? – bite sized)
• Assessments, both formative and summative (How?)
• Teaching philosophy and Instructional methods (How?)

16. Quick Classroom Activity
Let’s look at two syllabi examples and compare and contrast a well constructed
syllabus from a poorly constructed syllabus
Well constructed: http://biology.web.unc.edu/files/2013/02/101-Hogan-Fall-
2014.pdf
Poorly constructed: http://biology.ufl.edu/files/BSC2010-Syllabus-Fall-2014-08-
24.pdf

18. Getting ready….
o Plan ahead:
o Have you ordered the books?
o Put some on reserve?
o Visit the room
o Learn how to use the equipment

19. Getting ready…
o Plan ahead:
o Do you have your lessons
(strategically) planned?
o Are your PPs ready?
o Set up the LMS (learning
management system)?
o Do you know how to use this
new on-line tool you plan on
incorporating in your class?

20. Day 1: Make an Impression
No! make an unforgettable impression
o Arrive early!
o Greet them with a smile and
make eye contact
o How should they call you?
o Email etiquette

21. Day 1: Make an Impression
No! make an unforgettable impression
o Dress to make the right impression:
o Your appearance always communicates your perception of your
relationship to the class
Cha Kil-yong

22. Day 1: Make it personal to you
o Turn your elevator speech into a
classroom introduction:
o your degrees, your research interests, your
academic interests – create an impression of a
person who is serious, knowledgeable and
passionate about the field/subject
o Make it personal to you!
o If it is not your favorite subject to teach, “fake” it
personal – it is not about you, it is about them

23. Day 1: Make it personal to them
o Don`t begin by reading the
syllabus
o Pique the students` interest
o Fundamental problems
o Provocative claims
o Case studies, stories
o Start with a powerful opening
statement and involve students in a
discussion right away

24. Day 1: Leave them with a cliffhanger
o Physics: “Welcome, everyone, to Physics 101.
All of you just came in and took a seat. Each of
you was in motion, and now you’re at rest.
How can this be? What allows you – or any
object, for that matter – to be in motion, and
why do objects eventually come to a rest? This
is one of the most essential questions of
physics, one that we will be exploring together
this term.
o So, what do you think? What allows an object
to be motion, and why do objects eventually
come to a rest? Take a moment to think about
it, and then turn to your neighbor and see if
you can agree on an answer together.”

25. Day 1: Market your teaching strategy!
o Create a “need to know”:
o Answer the question: Why does a student need to
know this/take this class?
o Outline your course learning objectives:
knowledge and skills students will acquire or
master
o Explain that you chose content and structure for the
course to achieve these objectives:
o Why are the readings important?
o How do they connect?
o Why did you choose this format for testing?
o Why active learning?

26. Day 1: Give them a clear map
o Make it clear what they can expect from you:
o Office hours, email, skype?...
o Make your expectations clear:

27. Day 1: Be warm, but firm!
o Clearly introduce “warm” and “cool” expectations
o “warm”:
o “In our class: 1) everyone is allowed to feel they can work and learn in a safe and caring
environment; 2) everyone learns about, understands, appreciates, and respects varied
races, classes, genders, physical and mental abilities, and sexualities; 3) everyone
matters; 4) all individuals are to be respected and treated with dignity and civility; and 5)
everyone shares the responsibility for making our class, and the Academy, a positive and
better place to live, work, and learn.”

28. Day 1: Be warm, but firm!
o Clearly introduce “warm” and “cool”
expectations
o “cool” : duties of being a student
o “cool” but not cold, i.e. authoritarian:
o “You will submit three projects.” “I expect regular participation.”
“You must attend class.” “Students bear sole responsibility for
ensuring that papers…submitted electronically to the
professor are received in a timely manner.”
oCode of Conduct in class:
oAbsences
oLateness
oExam make-ups
oCheating/plagiarism
o“Petitioning” for grades
oSleeping in the classroom
oUsing electronic devices
o……

29. Day 1: Know your students
o Foster community:
o Learn their names as early as possible
o Conduct a student diagnostic – you need to know who you are teaching
o Why are they taking this class?
o How do they learn best?
o What do they already know?
o In this class I will get a(n) __________,
because____________________________________________________
o Remember “quick before it dries!”
o If you expect them to speak in class, to write in class, to engage in small group
discussion, ask them to do some of these things on the first day

30. Fears:
o Be honest, but do not focus on your
inexperience
o Be prepared - overplan
o Think in terms of communication rather than
performance
o Use many examples
o Tell stories
o Use language that applies to senses
o Make eye contact
o Try to smile
o Lecture to people in the back row
o “Telegraph” the importance of a topic by saying, “ I am
about to tell you the most important element of this
problem. If you take anything home today, I want it to
be this.”
no
teaching
experienc
e
stage
fright
English
is not
your first
languag
e
?

31. Fears:
o Acknowledge your accent
o You don’t have to be hilarious or extraverted
to be a good teacher
o But you have to be committed to their
learning
o Rehearse!
o Remember: mastery comes with practice

32. Difficult Students
o Express empathy
o Avoid Argumentation
o Stay calm
o Listen
o Self-reflect
o Direct the student to the rules
o Have a face-to-face talk
o Develop Discrepancy
o Support Self-Efficacy
o Be consistent and firm