Read helpful tips on creating your own course syllabus.

Students at each school and the purpose and focus of the course at each institution will be different. Becoming a Master Student is designed to give students and instructors a variety of topics and ideas. By using this Annotated Instructor's Edition, the Course Manual, and the HM ClassPrep CD, you can select material that is most appropriate both for your students and for your course purpose. Specific resources for "Writing your course purpose" and "Creating a course philosophy" are available in the Course Manual, available in print and on this Class Prep CD under Teaching Tools. In customizing your course and addressing the issues that face the first-year students at your college, you will likely discuss the following topics.

• First Steps encourage students to examine their current skills and assess areas for potential growth. This area of development offers students the chance for reflection through self-knowledge. Materials in the Introduction and Chapter One will support your goals for this component of the course. First Steps might also include orienting your students to available campus resources as they make the transition to the world of higher education.
  
  
• Academic skills, including planning, memory, reading, note taking, and test taking, provide students with the knowledge and opportunity to improve their scholastic achievement and develop techniques necessary for success in their core curriculum courses. The Put It to Work feature of the Eleventh Edition helps students understand the transferability of academic skills to the workplace.
  
  
• Life skills, including thinking, communicating, and being aware of diversity, technology, and health issues, present students with opportunities to practice healthy lifestyles, improve communication to enrich relationships, and use technology to enhance their overall success in college and beyond. Concluding the course with Chapter Twelve: What's Next? helps students prepare for their future in higher education. While these are the primary themes of a college survival course, you will find that Becoming a Master Student incorporates critical thinking, personal responsibility, and ethics and integrity into each of these areas. Create a syllabus that emphasizes both the short-term and long-term goals of your course, seminar, or workshop. Regardless of the length of your course or its specific focus, you might consider including some of the following standard information in your course syllabus:
  
  
  • Instructor's name and contact information, including office hours.
  • The course title and catalog description.
  • A statement of purpose for your course and a list of objectives. For help in authoring and refining your statement of purpose, see the Course Manual that accompanies Becoming a Master Student.
  • Time and location of course meetings.
  • Authors and titles of required texts and supplementary materials, including videos, CDs, frequently used Web sites, etc.
  • The schedule for readings and assignments. You might want to include major tests, assignments and activities that will be graded, and quizzes.
  • Your expectations for student behavior, including attendance and promptness.
  • A description of lengthy or complex assignments and a schedule for completion.
  • Your grading policy, including the percentages for assignments, tests, class participation, etc., that make up the total grade.
  • A statement of academic honesty.

You can visit the instructor's website at: http://masterstudent.college.hmco.com/instructors