Media

MediaUndergraduate andGraduate
Undergraduate and GraduateSyllabus:
Syllabus:
AAProposal from Students’
Proposal from Students’Perspective
Perspective

By: Otmane Ben Tahar

Chapter II: Designing a course

syllabus

A. Introduction ………………………………………………………….…………27
1. Syllabus and curriculum……………………………………………..……28
2. Models of Syllabus design…………………………………………....….. 30
3. Approaches to Syllabus design……………………………………..…… 31
4. Functions and benefits of Course Syllabus………………..…………… 33
a. For instructors………………………………………...………………33
b. For students………………………………………………………... 34
B. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………35

NB: the Rest of the Paper Will be available in Academia website soon.
A. Introduction

Course design is the process by which the raw data about a learning need is interpreted

in order to produce an integrated series of teaching-learning experiences, whose ultimate aim

is to lead the learners to a particular state of knowledge. In practical terms this entails the use

of the theoretical and empirical information available to produce a syllabus, to select, adapt or

write material in accordance with the syllabus, to develop a methodology for teaching those

materials and to establish evaluation procedures by which progress towards the specified

goals will be measured.

A detailed course syllabus, handed out on the first day of class, gives students an

immediate sense of what the course will cover, what work is expected of them, and how their

performance will be evaluate. A well-prepared syllabus shows students that you take teaching

seriously (Davis, 1993, p. 14).

A well-crafted syllabus sends students the message that the instructor is organized,

cares about student learning, and will create effective learning experiences. A syllabus should

provide clear and explicit expectations for student learning and establish procedures and

guidelines for typical problems and requests posed by students. In the absence of a clear

syllabus, instructors must continuously negotiate decisions about deadlines, make-up work,

extra credit, and other special requests from students. When an instructor simply applies rules

described in the syllabus to a current request or problem, the actions taken are clearly justified

and students are unlikely to believe that decisions were driven by personal characteristics of

the student. In contrast, an instructor who makes these decisions on unexpected cases may

risks treating students inconsistently or appearing to act in an arbitrary or inappropriate

manner. Faculty can avoid many conflicts by communicating policies in their syllabus and

following these policies consistently. A well-documented syllabus does not exclude

exceptions for unusual circumstances that justify adjustments to policies. But a well-

documented syllabus helps faculty respond to student requests in a consistent and fair manner

that minimizes complaints and grievances (University of West Florida, 2015).

Furthermore, it is sometimes crucial to draw a dividing line between syllabus and

curriculum because they are used in some countries interchangeably meaning the same.

1. Syllabus and Curriculum

Curriculum is wider term as compared with syllabus. Curriculum covers all the

activities and arrangements made by the institution throughout the academic year to facilitate

learning for learners and teaching for instructors; whereas Syllabus is limited to particular

subject of a particular class. Kruger (1990a) describes 'curriculum’ as the content of all

subjects that learners follow during a particular course.

Stern (1984) points out that 'curriculum' is used to indicate either a program of studies of

an institution, or to indicate the substance of what is taught in a given subject. For the latter

the defining of objectives, determining of content and some indication of progress are

included. Stern indicates that the term 'syllabus' is used in Britain to indicate 'curriculum' in

the more restricted sense. White (1988) says that if a curriculum is 'future directed towards an

objective yet to be realized', it is synonymous with syllabus.

Rodger, T (1996) says that a curriculum is understood to mean one of the following:

 Units of knowledge that have to be mastered before a qualification can be achieved.

 What has to be taught; a selection of content in order to reach certain objectives.

 Intended learning outcomes.

 Planned learning experiences.

  All learning experiences (including the hidden curriculum of unplanned learning

experiences).

 An encompassing description of the officially organized and prescribed career of the

learner, which includes content; methods; techniques; materials and activities.

White, R. & Robinson, P. (1995) regard the syllabus as the academic content in a

subject. Nunan (1993) defines 'syllabus' as the specification of what is to be taught in a

language programme and the order in which it is taught. Thus, syllabus described as the

structuring of content for a specific subject that is organized in subsections, providing an idea

of the work that should be done during the course of a year. Syllabus is seen as a statement of

what has to be learnt during a particular period; it is a description of the following; the policy

of teaching, the aims, the objectives and content.

White (1988, pp. 3-4) summarizes the consensus of the commonalities that occur in the

definitions of 'syllabus' as follows:

 It specifies the work of a department and the subsections of work done by specific

groups.

 The sequencing of content is either intrinsic to the theory of language learning or the

structure of specified material that is relatable to language acquisition, but restraints

may also influence sequencing; it is linked to time; it is a document that directs

administration.

 It is negotiable, because it is only partly justified on theoretical grounds.

 It is a public document that expresses accountability.

 It can only state what is taught, but cannot organize what is learnt.
 Additionally, these theoretical bases for and approaches to syllabus design differ. Not

all syllabus designers, for example, describe only what is taught; many current syllabuses also

describe what the intended learning outcomes should be. Some syllabus models emphasize

objectives and content; some add methods to the model and some add assessment (ibid: 3-5).

2. Models of syllabus design

The syllabus is an integral part of the curriculum process and invariably influenced by

development in curriculum design. The traditional curriculum mode is designed on Macro

level by a few policy makers and presented to teachers and learners. The mode is based on the

means-end or objectives (Ibid: 27).

Johnson, K. (1982) proposes a model for syllabus design that takes into account the

source of the syllabus, the selection of syllabus items, instruction, and syllabus evaluation. He

sees the source of the syllabus as the total available culture that determines the intended

learning outcomes projected by designers.

Yalden, J. (1983) presents a model that involves the aims of education and subject

matter, objectives and outcomes, teaching and learning methods and assessment that are

subservient to the aims.

Steyn (1981), Calitz (1982) and Du Plessis (1993) are among the authors who propose a

cyclic syllabus design model involving the following steps (as cited in De, Villier. p, 5):

 A situation analysis.

 Aims and objectives formulation.

 The choice and structuring of learning content.

 Presenting learning experiences and opportunities.

  Assessment.

 Syllabus evaluation.

In this respect, designing syllabus or developing a course to be taught for group of individuals

should take into consideration the aforementioned steps. Without paying attention to such

elements the course will be lacking organization, pointless and ineffective. For this reason,

many scholars, researches, curriculum and syllabus designer, stakeholders and language

practitioners have proposed many approaches to syllabus design, each of which focuses on a

certain aspect in language.

3. Approaches to Syllabus Design

The choice of a syllabus is a major decision in any teaching program. Several distinct

types of language teaching syllabi have been proposed, and these different types may be

implemented in various teaching situations. Krahnke (1987: 10) has proposed six types of

syllabi as follows:

a. A structural syllabus is a kind of syllabus in which the content of language teaching is a

collection of the forms and structures, usually grammatical elements such as verbs, nouns,

past tense and so on.

b. A notional/functional syllabus is the one in which the content of the language is a

collection of the functions that are to be performed when language is used, or of the

notions that language is used to express. For example, informing, agreeing, apologizing,

requesting, promising and so on

c. A situational syllabus is one in which the content of language teaching is a collection of

real or imaginary situations in which language occurs or is used. For example, seeing the

dentist, asking directions in a new town, buying a book in a bookshop.

d. A skill-based syllabus is one in which the content of the language teaching is a collection

of specific abilities that may play a part in using language.

e. A content–based syllabus is not really a language teaching syllabus at all. In content-

based language teaching, the primary purpose of the instruction is to teach some content

or information using the language that the students are also learning. The students are

simultaneously language students and students of whatever content is being taught. The

subject matter is primary, and language learning occurs incidentally to the content

learning. An example of content-based language teaching is a science class taught in the

language the students need or want to learn.

f. A task-based syllabus is one in which the content of the teaching is a series of complex

and purposeful tasks that the students want or need to perform with the language they are

learning.

Additionally, there are many other approaches to course syllabus along with the

aforementioned ones. Davis, B. G, (1993) talked about Learning-Centered Course syllabus,

and stated that: this approach focus on the needs of students and their learning process.

Instructors specifically include information that will facilitate the academic success of

students. The main components of this approach are:

 Description of the course purpose so that students know what to expect from the course

and why it is important that they learn the content presented.

 Intended learning outcomes describe specific student behavior and learning goals that

are expected through the course.

 Extensive description of how students are expected to participate in the course.

 Recommended study habits and details of how students succeed in this course.

 Additional assignment descriptions or grading rubrics.

 Recommended or suggested reading materials that are difficult to obtain.

Such approach to syllabus design is characterized by flexibility. It will be changing as long as

new needs emerge during the process of teaching the course. Learning-centered course

syllabus makes learners’ needs in the center of its concern; these needs could be personal,

social, cultural, political or economic.

4- Functions and benefits of Course Syllabus

Syllabus can serve a wide variety of functions that will support and challenge students

as they engage in their educational activities. In this respect, Grunert, (1997, p. 14-19) stated

some of the functions and benefits of a well-written course syllabus on both instructors and

students.

A. For the Instructors:

 Helps teachers plan and organize a course.

 Articulates instructors’ own scholarly orientation to the big concepts in the discipline.

 Articulates instructor’ beliefs and values about learning and teaching.

 Communicates the nature of the content of the course to other faculties and

administrations.

 Communicates instructor’ teaching styles and pedagogical methods to other faculties and

administrators.

 Provides an important document in the teaching career or process.

 Guides instructors’ lesson planning.

 Focuses instructors’ day-to-day teaching on the key goals and objectives.

 Creates a learning contract with students.

 Helps reduce student anxiety about the course- contributing to a classroom atmosphere.

 Conducive to participation.

 Establishes instructors’ credibility with students as an organized, responsible, and

considerate instructor.
 Allows instructor to set policies which enable him/her to work comfortably.

 Models good writing and organizational skills for students.

B. For Students:

 Establishes initial point of contact between student and instructor.

 Explains what students should learn by the end of the course.

 Clarifies specific course objectives, expectations and, rubrics.

 Explains how the student will change as a result of the successful completion of the

course.

 Helps to set the tone for the semester.

 Acquaints the students with the logistics of the course.

 Defines student responsibilities for successful work.

 Describes active learning.

 Provides a conceptual framework.

 Helps the student assesses her or his readiness for the course.

 Sets the course in a broader context for learning.

 Provides an opportunity to list academic support resources on campus.

In this concern, syllabus plays an important role in any teaching program or course. Thus, it

helps both the instructors and students to function effectively throughout the teaching process.

It makes courses organized and focused till the underlined objectives of the course are

partially achieved, because it was stated earlier that syllabus can tell what should be taught

and mastered in a course, but cannot show what is learned.

 B. conclusion

By relating the aforementioned studies and findings in literature on designing a course

syllabus to our Media Studies Classes in the English department of Féz-FLDM, we may say

that the appropriate approaches to designing a syllabus in this discipline are: Content-based

syllabus, Task-based syllabus, Learning-centered syllabus and somehow skill-based syllabus.

Since the majority of the approaches to syllabus design are language-based, it seemed that the

selected approaches to syllabus design are adequate for designing any course or teaching

program regardless of its nature. It is, therefore, necessary to take into consideration the main

components of each approach while designing these syllabuses.