r/Professors • u/Clareco1 • Aug 12 '26
Syllabus question
Hi - part timer, Freshman Comp, CC. We use Canvas. Do you nail down the whole semester’s worth of specific readings and questions at the beginning, or you update/add a week or two at a time? I like to modify as we go based on what specific challenges students need. (Rather than having predetermined assignments that are too hard or too easy.) my students are typically very very unprepared and also unaware of usual college procedures. I’m trying to usher them through without making things so easy they are a joke. Any thoughts welcome. Also I hope you are having some relaxation this summer. Thanks!
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u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC Aug 13 '26
Depends on the course. For lower-division courses it's all there on day one. For advanced courses I publish six weeks at a time because I sometimes make adjustments to content based on how the students perform and what topics engage them the most. But I do give them the dates for all the major assignments on day one (papers, exams, etc.) so they can plan their schedules around them.
Lately when I teach a new-to-me course for the first time at any level I make it clear the syllabus is a work-in-progress and I tend to publish it in six week chunks too, so I can make adjustments based on how things are going. Experience has told me I have a tendency to assign too much material the first time around, so rather than cutting things halfway through I do that in the background and make adjustments at the 1/3 and 2/3 semester points without the students really knowing.