How to Read a College Syllabus - And Strategize for How to Best Approach the Course
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This is the 6th video in a series of 17 videos on How to Do Well in College. This video walks through one of my own syllabi, and explains how to tailor one's strategy for taking a college course to the various policies in the video. It is also important to understand which parts of the syllabus can be skipped, and how to build one's personal calendar based on the course schedule. This is for first-year college students. The parts of the syllabus covered include: Office Hours, Course Description, Student Learning Outcomes, Course Policies (attendance policy, late policy, grade breakdown, etc.), and Course Schedule. I also talk about the faculty meme: "It's on the syllabus" or "It's in the syllabus".
The dedication level is just off the roofs
The ceiling is the roof
Wow, I really feel like I need to start a calendar now. You're helping me build a strategy for my education and life in general. Thank you professor.
Professors' revenge: making a separate pdf/doc file for each part of the syllabus. It pretty much guarantees we students will miss something. I have a linguistics course with a "syllabus" website for college policies, a doc for the course schedule, and a pdf with the grading scale. I simply made my own syllabus so I can find what I need. I hope there are no typos!
I had two professors in college who gave us quizzes on the syllabus to make sure we read it. There was also a class procedure in my Intro to Philosophy class to check the syllabus first before contacting the professor for any questions as a way to make office hours more effective.
Hey im in g11 right now. Ive been watching your videos and realise how much the small things in the learning process can help. Just having the knowledge that these actions are helpful and APPROVED by the designers of the course motivate me to do it. Thank you so much for your videos.
I finally know why I kept struggling in college now!! Thank you!!!
I love all your videos about college. I am a professor. I really wish I could share links to them with my students. However, auto captioning does not satisfy the accessibility requirements of my college.😢
I am so proud to be the first one to say to you: congrats for the videos!
This is my first time attending college, and your information is greatly appreciated! I needed this, thank you!
Really fantastic videos so far, a lot of this should be common knowledge but alas I never heard it from anyone and never learnt it, now I have the opportunity to study efficiently, albeit late, again as an enlightened adult, thanks Jeff, legend.
Hilarious, insightful, engaging as always. Keep it up!
Thanks for such amazing videos on knowledge, information and guidance... Love and respect from Pakistan.
So insightful .thanks
Another great video, thank you.
Wow! I could not disagree more with the idea that students do not need to read the Learning Outcomes! When a student asks, "What's going to be on the exam?" I always tell them to read the learning outcomes. I would argue that this is one of THE most important parts of the syllabus. Many good pieces of advice here, but please DO read the learning outcomes... maybe even a few times through the semester!
I was cracking up the entire video. I'll definitely apply
Thanks, good job, professor.
Your vides are a lifesaver, man. Thank you.
Professor Kaplan is a dynamic instructor.
Many thanks
After you've completed the course, shouldn't you check if the outcome matches the student learning outcome? Because if it doesn't, doesn't that mean that you didn't really complete the course?
If you were my professor, I would have a crush on you. Thanks for the tips. I will be using them. Is there a way for me to look at the syllabus and course schedule way before the semester starts? I just finished my freshman year of college and I want to plan ahead for next semester.
Please make a class on experimental philosophy anf Robin hood activities
in the past, I didn't care about reading the syllabus. I will not make this mistake again.
@Jeffrey Kaplan is the best instructor, professor, teacher on KZhead
🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:00 📘 *Highlighting the importance of strategizing based on course policies.* 00:53 🕒 *Emphasizing the significance of listing professor's office hours in personal calendars for better academic engagement.* 02:08 📅 *Stressing the necessity of maintaining a personal calendar to manage academic and personal commitments effectively.* 02:37 📚 *Advising to read the course description for a general understanding but not to dwell on it for success in the course.* 03:33 🤷♂️ *Introducing the common academic meme "It's on the syllabus" to highlight faculty frustration with frequently asked logistical questions.* 06:34 🎯 *Discussing the role of student learning outcomes in the syllabus, suggesting they are more beneficial for faculty and administrators than students.* 08:01 ⚖️ *Underlining the critical nature of understanding course policies for formulating strategies to excel.* 10:39 🗓️ *Pointing out the importance of the course schedule for managing readings and assignment due dates efficiently.* Made with HARPA AI
This video is helping me build a motivating course. thanks!!!!!!
Syllables* syllabii' syllabrium.
It's frustrating learning the things other people dont know. Or maybe mystifying