A colleague of mine uses the first day of class to collaborate with students to create the syllabus. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?
One benefit of collaborating with students on such a key element of the course is it establishes up front that the class is learning community. Specifically, students report feeling more engaged in their learning and greater ownership of the process, as well as also experiencing less dissatisfaction with course assignments and activities (Singham, 2007). Disadvantages to this approach stem from the class time and comfort that it requires to share a process that has been traditionally teacher-controlled. Note that you do not have to collaborate with students on the entire syllabus the first day of class. For example, you could encourage students to develop a specific course policy, have them chose the deadline for a project or paper, or suggest some topics to be included in the subject outline.
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