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A "collaborative syllabus" is one in which the
students have the ability to help determine the specifics of a course. Those
specifics can be any element that a professor is willing to be flexible with
(such items as the objectives, grading, attendance policies, types of
assignments, and so on). The logic behind this tool is that by actively
participating in the creation of the syllabus, students are able to signal
what they want to learn and how they want to learn it and then (potentially)
set the standard by which they will be accountable.
An instrument that has been successfully used before, the collaborative
syllabus suffered in one crucial area: It required too much class time to
create it. Being unfamiliar with the concept, students first had to have it
explained to them in one class period. Following that, there would be several
sessions where they would discuss their thoughts, vote on what to
incorporate/exclude, and edit the existing document. Given the constraints of
the typical 15-week semester, every session is dear, and it is difficult to
lose one to such a process, let alone three or four.
In pursuit of a better approach that saved class time, we at Anderson University
turned to Moodle for an experiment. The more input students could have in the
process outside of class, the more class time could be saved for covering the
material. Given that, the creation of the collaborative syllabus was then
approached in a three-step process. This article details the steps taken, and
the results of walking through this process.
Step 1: Assessment of Students
Traditionally, a large number of students at Anderson University who take the
eBusiness course in the fall then take the eCommerce course in the spring
(the course for which the collaborative syllabus is being created). With four
weeks to go before the end of the fall semester, students in the eBusiness
course were asked to access the ATTLS survey in Moodle and answer the questions
asked as openly and honestly as possible.
The Attitudes Toward Thinking and Learning (ATTLS) survey was developed to
identify "connected" and "separate" learning styles
(Galotti, 1999). According to the authors of the survey instrument,
"Separate knowing ... involves objective, analytical, detached
evaluation of an argument or piece of work", while "Connected
knowers look for why it makes sense, how it might be right"; they
"... look at things from the other's point of view, in the other's own terms,
and try first to understand the other's point of view rather than evaluate
it." (Galotti)
Moodle includes the ability to administer this instrument utilizing a
20-question, five-point Likert scale as shown below.
Verbally, the students were told that although Moodle records who accesses
each element, that information would not be examined, and every survey would
be considered anonymous. Within the survey, the information relayed to them
prior to starting it was as follows:
In an effort to better understand how to change the
direction of this course the next time it is offered, your help is needed in
completing this survey. There are 20 questions and your answers will not be
visible to any user but you. Please spend a few minutes completing this
survey prior to December 4th.
The students were also
verbally told that the purpose of the survey was to be the first step in the
creation of the syllabus for the upcoming eCommerce course; this served as an
additional incentive for those students signed up for that course to complete
this. Of the 22 students enrolled in eBusiness, 12 completed the survey.
ATTLS maps the difference between connected learning and separate learning,
and the following shows the summary of these based upon the twelve responses
to the 20 questions.
The actual list of questions, and mean/median/mode for each, are as follows:
|
Question
|
Mean
|
Median
|
Mode
|
|
1. When I encounter people whose opinions seem alien to
me, I make a deliberate effort to 'extend' myself into that person, to try
to see how they could have those opinions
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
2. I can obtain insight into opinions that differ from
mine through empathy.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
3. I tend to put myself in other people's shoes when
discussing controversial issues, to see why they think the way they do.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
4. I'm more likely to try to understand someone else's
opinion than to try to evaluate it.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
5. I try to think with people instead of against them.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
6. I feel that the best way for me to achieve my own
identity is to interact with a variety of other people.
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
|
7. I am always interested in knowing why people say and
believe the things they do.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
8. I enjoy hearing the opinions of people who come from
backgrounds different to mine - it helps me to understand how the same
things can be seen in such different ways.
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
|
9. The most important part of my education has been
learning to understand people who are very different to me.
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
|
10. I like to understand where other people are 'coming
from', what experiences have led them to feel the way they do.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
11. I like playing devil's advocate - arguing the
opposite of what someone is saying.
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
12. It's important for me to remain as objective as
possible when I analyze something.
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
|
13. In evaluating what someone says, I focus on the
quality of their argument, not on the person who's presenting it.
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
|
14. I find that I can strengthen my own position through
arguing with someone who disagrees with me.
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
|
15. One could call my way of analyzing things 'putting
them on trial' because I am careful to consider all the evidence.
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
|
16. I often find myself arguing with the authors of
books that I read, trying to logically figure out why they're wrong.
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
|
17. I have certain criteria I use in evaluating
arguments.
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
18. I try to point out weaknesses in other people's
thinking to help them clarify their arguments.
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
|
19. I value the use of logic and reason over the incorporation
of my own concerns when solving problems.
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
|
20. I spend time figuring out what's 'wrong' with
things. For example, I'll look for something in a literary interpretation
that isn't argued well enough.
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
It is possible to break down the results for each question associated with
connected learning (CK) and arrive at the following scale:
Similarly, the scale results for separate learning (SK)--based upon the
questions asked--are:
Step 2: Acquiring Input
Based upon the learning styles identified by the ATTLS survey, the students
enrolled in the eCommerce course were then contacted individually (those
currently in eBusiness and those not) and asked to provide specific input
about what they hoped to gain from the upcoming course. This was done by
means of an e-mail sent to all enrolled students asking them to log into
Moodle and answer a few questions.
Moodle includes a great tool (known as an activity) for asking a single
question with limited answers in Choice. Unfortunately, Choice was much too
limited for this undertaking. Instead, a Quiz titled Pre-Course Survey was
created. The disadvantage to using a Quiz for this endeavor was that it wants
to give a grade, and this had to be explained in the e-mail the students
received:
Greetings!
The reason you are receiving this e-mail is that you are currently enrolled
in the eCommerce (BSNS 4400) course this coming spring semester. It is
that time of year when I must start putting together a syllabus, and I would
like to shake things up a bit from what has been done in the past (my
babbling bores even me after a few years of the topic). Before making
changes, though, I think the most important thing to do is find out what you
are expecting and want - what would be most beneficial to you.
To order to simplify things, I've created a stub for the course in Moodle and
added a quiz - it is not really a quiz but Moodle lacks a decent survey
module. Between now and December 5th, I would like you to do the following:
1. Access Moodle
2. Pick this course - BSNS 4400 - from the list of available courses.
3. Pick the Pre-Course Survey (it is the only thing listed) and answer the
five questions. Because I am using a quiz module to give a survey, you
may get a message saying that you didn't get all the points, etc. Just ignore
that. This is not being done for points - it is being done solely for your
collaboration in helping create a more meaningful syllabus.
Your help and participation (before December 5th) is appreciated, and I look
forward to seeing you in class in January.
Five questions were asked:
1. There can be as few as one exam for this course, or
as many as four. IF there is one, it will be the final, and all exam points
will be allotted to it. IF there are two exams, there will be a midterm and
final and the exam points will be evenly allotted between the two of
them. The same pattern will be follow for three or four exams. How many
exams would you like the course to include?
This was a single answer, multiple-choice, question with four choices (one,
two, three, and four).
2. When it comes to grading, please prioritize the following in terms of
the weight they should carry for the course:
This was done as a matching question. The choices were: Exam(s), Quizzes,
Presentations, Projects (experiential), Participation, and Attendance. The
possibilities for matching ranged from "most weight" to "least
weight".
3. In terms of percentage of time spent on activities for the class,
please rank the following:
This was also done as a matching question. The choices were: Lecture,
Projects (group and individual), Media Presentations (video in class, etc.),
Open class discussions, and Online activities instead of class. The
possibilities for matching ranged from "More time should be devoted to
this than any other activity" to "This should be the least most
common activity".
4. What are three things that you want to learn as a result of taking this
class?
This was given as a short answer question.
5. The grading scale is open, and a number of schools use different
scales. Which of the following should constitute an "A" (we can
then work backward from there to fill out the rest of the grading scale)?
This was a single answer, multiple-choice, question with four choices
(95-100%, 93-100%, 90-100%, 88-100%).
After the students took the quiz, and it closed, the next
step was to exam the Results, and particularly the Item Analysis. In this
case, it showed the following results:
1.By an overwhelming margin, students preferred three
exams.
2.The preferred priority was: Exams, Participation, Projects, Presentations,
Quizzes, and Attendance.
3.The results on the percentage question were too diverse to be meaningful. This
left me with using the results from the second question as a proxy during
this phase.
4.Answers ranged from "I honestly have no idea what I want from this
class" to specific issues involving Web site creation, moving from brick
and mortar to eCommerce, and so on.
5.By a slim margin, students preferred the 93-100% range for an
"A", and this could be attributable to it being the standard scale
used at this university.
Step 3: Fine Tuning
Given the student responses, the syllabus for the course was created. Before
the fall semester ended, the syllabus for this spring course was posted
online for the students to see. Not all that shockingly, many students chose
not to access it before leaving for break.
The week that classes were scheduled to begin, the syllabus was sent as an
attachment to the enrolled students with the following message:
Greetings!
Attached is the syllabus for the eCommerce course as it now stands. This
syllabus was created using the input many of you provided in the survey
(through Moodle) at the end of last semester. Please look it over and
consider areas that you would like to tweak or fine tune. We will discuss -
and finalize - this the first day of class.
Thank you,
At the first class session, there were several students
who had signed up at the last minute and had not been able to be a part of
the development. During that session, the syllabus was reviewed, and an
overview of the process used to create it was given. The floor was
opened to all students for suggestions, modifications, and other discussion.
Surprisingly, all of the discussion was positive, and the students expressed
appreciation for being allowed to have a say in the methodology. After only
20 minutes, the discussion ended with the syllabus being left as it was prior
to the start of class.
The 20 minutes of class time proved much more bearable than several entire
class sessions, and the experiment was deemed a success that will be repeated
again in subsequent semesters.
Reference
Galotti, K.M. & Clinchy, B.M. (1999). A New Way of Assessing Ways of
Knowing: The Attitudes Toward Thinking and Learning Survey (ATTLS). Sex
Roles, 40 (9/10), 745-766.
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