Creating a Learner-centered Syllabus
OVERVIEW
The purpose of this toolkit is to help instructors create an effective, learner-centered syllabus that is aligned with course goals to provide a more engaging experience for all learners.
Effective syllabi are learner-centered, meaning they move beyond the mechanics of a course (e.g. office hours, deadlines, and textbooks) to outline how students can be successful in a course. Research has found that students learn more and experience enhanced engagement and motivation when they are presented with a student-centered syllabus.
A learner-centered syllabus reinforces the instructor’s intentions, tone, and instructional techniques used to promote effective learning. The intention is to present the syllabus as a learning tool to help students achieve course goals.
A learner-centered syllabus promotes student learning and motivates students to engage with your course. While a learner-centered syllabus includes all the traditional information students expect to find in a syllabus (i.e. course description, learning goals, course information, instructor information, office hours), it also sets a welcoming tone for learning and shares why you, the instructor, find the course engaging and the content important. The learner-centered syllabus “reinforces the intentions, roles, attitudes, and strategies that you will use to promote active, effective and purposeful learning,” according to research by O’Brien and colleagues.
The learner-centered syllabus makes clear what students can expect from the instructor and from the university to support and guide their learning. An effective syllabus includes the assignments, learning activities, and the assessment plan–all of which should be aligned around course goals–with a clear explanation of how students’ learning will be measured and how feedback will be provided. When the learning outcomes of the course (and the pathway the course will take to get there) are made clear, the syllabus becomes an invitation to a learning experience that is both welcoming and inclusive for all learners.
Key elements of a learner centered syllabus include the following:
📜 Course description, prerequisite information, and course learning objectives
📋 Activities and assignments
🧠 Information on how to prepare and participate in class activities
📚 Required textbook and learning technologies
✍️ Assessment and grading policy
🗓️ Course topics, schedule, and due dates
📬 Course communication
💬 Discussion guidelines
📌 Course policies
🛠️ Support resources to promote student success
🧘 Mental health and wellness resources
Detailed information on some of these components is listed below.
You are encouraged to download our syllabus template as a guide to help you develop your complete course syllabus.
Deeper Dive
🎯 Course Learning Objectives
Course learning objectives tell students what they should be able to do as a result of taking your course and how students will demonstrate their learning. When students take a subsequent course in the course’s major or program, what knowledge and skills are essential stepping stones? What should they remember five years from now in their professional lives or as critical thinkers? The answer to these questions are the high-level learning objectives that you expect that all students should be able to achieve.
➜ Writing Effective Course Learning Objectives💬 Course Communication
Describe how you and your students will communicate throughout the course. Include when and where office hours will take place, how students should contact you and any TAs, and your typical response time to messages. Also explain how you will share important updates, such as schedule changes or class cancellations, and which platforms (e.g., email, LMS) students should check regularly.
📝 Assessment and Grading Policy
The assessment plan includes all graded and ungraded assessments (including participation). List the graded assessments and how they will add up to the total course grade. Include any ungraded assessments or practice so that students are clear of the overall assessment plan as well as how students can expect to receive instructor feedback.
Ensure that all assessments are aligned to the course learning objectives. To determine assessment types consider what students should learn in your course and how their learning can be effectively measured.
For more in-depth guidance on assessment design, refer to the “Design and Grade Course Work” teaching guide.
🗣️ Discussion Guidelines
Consider using discussion guidelines to promote more respectful and productive class discussions and to prioritize learning for all students. Introduce and reinforce them during class to emphasize their importance.
➜ Writing Effective Discussion GuidelinesCourse policies
Academic Integrity:
Provide a clear, accurate, and explicit statement about how you expect students to do their work in your course with integrity, and why, as well as how academic integrity is valued in your discipline, course, and at Duke.
Academic Accommodations:
Provide clear instructions for students who need accommodations. Direct them to the Student Disability Access Office (SDAO) and explain how and when they should share their Faculty Accommodation Letter with you to ensure timely support.
AI Policy:
We strongly encourage instructors to develop a course-specific AI policy. Your policy should clearly define what is and isn’t acceptable and explain your choices in relationship to your discipline, teaching, and view of student learning. Sharing the rationale behind your policy, grounded in your course goals, disciplinary norms, and views on intellectual development, can foster transparency and open dialogue with students.
Recommended Resources
- Fink, L. D. (2003). Self-directed guide to designing courses for significant learning. Jossey-Bass.
- Hogan, K. A., & Sathy, V. (2022). Inclusive teaching: Strategies for promoting equity in the college classroom. West Virginia University Press.
- Ludy, M. J., Bracken, S. C., Scheer, K. A., & Williams, J. K. (2016). Student impressions of syllabus design. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 10(2), Article 11.
- O’Brien, J. G., Millis, B. J., & Cohen, M. D. (2008). The course syllabus: A learning-centered approach. John Wiley & Sons.
- Slattery, J. M., & Carlson, J. F. (2005). Preparing an effective syllabus: Current best practices. College Teaching, 53(4), 159–164.
- Wagner, T. S., Smith, J., & Johnson, K. (2023). Best practices in syllabus design. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 87(3), 432-437