I taught a one day workshop on classroom management recently at Northwood University in Midland, Michigan, and was extremely impressed with the creativity and innovativeness of the professors there in designing and teaching their courses. Dr. Jeff Phillips who teaches literature, communications, and interpersonal relations courses uses a cartoon format on his syllabi to provide information about reading assignments, grading scale, office hours, and tips for success in his classroom. As he notes, "These syllabi are my attempt to set a tone and send a signal that reading can be enjoyable, relaxing and stimulating; even people who have not taken any of my courses request copies of the syllabi..."
Dr. Phillips has agreed to share a couple of his syllabi with us. Obviously, this style would not work for all of us (for one, I don't have the drawing skills that he does!) or for all classes. But he does make you stop and think...how could you make your syllabus stand out from the rest and make it one that your students would want to read?
I'm befuddled as to how cartoons encourage reading. It seems to me that providing drawings instead of words is further dumbing down. That makes me even crankier than I already am.
Posted by: Fiona | December 30, 2006 at 05:13 PM
These are very interesting (and fun) examples of syllabi. Looks like someone who I would definitely enjoy learning from. I differ from Fiona in that I think it takes some creativity to come up with this, and I would think this would show students that thinking outside the box, even for the the professor, is accepted and expected. Cartoons encourage my creative side much more than bullet points do. I'd bet his lectures, or rather, conversations, are most enjoyable.
Posted by: Phil Gerbyshak | December 30, 2006 at 07:14 PM
Thanks Fiona and Phil for your comments. While the cartoon approach wouldn't work for me in what I teach, I admire the time and effort that Dr. Phillips takes to get his students' attention. And that's the first step to teaching...I agree with Phil that these students no doubt look forward to coming to class!
Posted by: Delaney Kirk | December 31, 2006 at 11:52 AM
Two thoughts: I looked at the syllabus for the communications class for just a few minutes and I couldn't make heads or tails out of what the professor wants, and to me, it looks like the class is something of a "joke." Neither of these are exactly good things.
Second, part of the reason why a professor has a syllabus in the first place is to present "the rules" for the course. It probably isn't quite a legal document, but it is close. So, what happens when there is some kind of dispute-- say a contested claim of plagiarism in a class, for example-- and a case goes forward to judicial services. What does this instructor look like?
There's nothing wrong with a little personality in a syllabus, even a cartoon or two. But making your syllabus (and thus your class) look like Mad magazine? Not a good idea, IMO.
Posted by: Steven D. Krause | January 01, 2007 at 08:23 PM
Thanks for your comments, Steven. His approach wouldn't work for me in the Business College but it seems to work for him--at least the students READ his syllabus. I'm thinking he's missed an opportunity as a graphic artist or cartoonist!
Posted by: Delaney Kirk | January 05, 2007 at 08:17 PM