Review the pedagogical and technical information below to inform your progress in Week Zero. Have questions about what you learned here or ideas for future tips? Join Coffee & Answers (open support Zoom sessions with the Academic Technology Team) or email the Office of Teaching and Learning.
Pedagogical
What should I include in your course syllabus?
A syllabus serves as a contract between you and your students. A thoughtfully written syllabus helps establish classroom norms and expectations for the course and is often the first document students see from your class. While much of a syllabus is dictated by the university or your department, you can modify your syllabus to emphasize what your focus and take on the course is, as long as it meets programmatic and professional requirements. Stanford’s Center for Teaching and Learning offers more detailed guidance for syllabus building, including a syllabus template (if you are creating your syllabus from scratch) and a syllabus checklist for revising a syllabus.
Each semester the Teaching and Learning Center offers language for various course policies in SJU’s Consolidated Syllabus Statements. With the exception of the policy for students with disabilities, none of these policies is required, and all can be modified. Your department may offer more specific policies that are needed for professional standards.
While the syllabus serves as a contract between you and your students, most students do not carefully read the syllabus. Often they simply skim for the number of assignments and “what I need to do to get the grade I want.” A summary of the main points of your syllabus on your canvas site might be helpful for both you and your students (a TL/DR) or, if you have time and energy, you can design an infographic or graphic syllabus that condenses the information on your syllabus into a more easily digestible formula.
Coming soon! Cura Personalis! At SJU, we embrace the values of Jesuit education, including cura personalis, or care of the whole person. For a preview watch this short video by Father James Martin, S.J.
Technical
Where can I find my course shell? Where do I put my syllabus?
Saint Joseph’s University uses Canvas, a Learning Management System (LMS). Each semester, every section of each course has a shell in Canvas. Each Canvas course shell has a wide variety of Canvas tools, including Modules, Assignments, Quizzes, Grades, and more. You can create content directly in Canvas or upload existing content (for example, content provided by your department). A great place to start when setting up a new Canvas course is adding your syllabus! You can learn more about the other tools in Canvas in the Getting Started with Canvas (Faculty) section of the Knowledge Base.
You can find your course shell by visiting sju.instructure.com. Clicking the Canvas icon on the home page of The Nest is recommended because it provides a seamless login experience. The landing page of Canvas is called the Dashboard, which is where all the courses you are teaching can be found.
Vocabulary
-
Learning Management System (LMS) - a website that allows students and instructors to interact. Instructors can share course content, administer assessments, grade assignments, and more. Students can take exams, submit assignments, complete course readings, and more.
-
Canvas - the LMS that Saint Joseph’s University uses
-
Canvas Course - a digital space to house content for each section of a course, also referred to as a shell
-
Knowledge Base - SJU’s internal database of articles and service requests
-
The Nest - SJU’s internal website, which houses many helpful links, including a direct link to Canvas
Additional Resources