Julia Thomson on LinkedIn: Why are the individual subjects important? (2024)

Why are the individual subjects important?When I talk with colleagues about what they hope for their subjects in terms of the impact on pupil’s learning, there’s sometimes a pause. Then a file gets opened, usually on a laptop and some complicated blurb gets pulled up.There is a problem with this. If the intent needs to be read from a document, how real is it? What I mean by this is that there can be a gap between the words on the document and the reality of bringing it to life.This is not to pick holes or to be mean. It’s about thinking through whether the fine words on a website match the way we actually talk about, implement and bring a subject to life.Why is it even important to even be considering this? Well in my view, the subjects are not inert, they are not just items on a programme of study or exam specification.More here:

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While I agree that Higher Education has changed quite drastically in the last decade, one of the things that hasn't changed at Trine University is the constant review, usage, and careful, manual optimization of the syllabi. It still serves as an executive summary, calendar, and expectation-setter for all courses that we develop and/or teach. #highereducation #coursedesign #coursedevelopment

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A simple roadmap (the syllabus) with a clear definition of an outcome or outcomes is very useful. This going away is Just another reason and example why so many colleges are going out of business and so many 17 and 18-year-olds are opting for apprenticeship programs instead of College.

I beg to differ with this sweeping generalization. My syllabi, and those that I have seen from my colleagues, always have included very specific objectives and details on exactly what students can expect to learn from a given course. What has changed, and dramatically, is the requirement from universities and colleges to include pages of boilerplate disclaimers and warnings about university policies, classroom conduct, resources, academic integrity, diversity, equity and inclusion policies etc. It would seem that there must be more efficient and effective ways to transmit this important information to students other than cramming it into every single syllabus.The syllabus is often ignored by students because it now feels like a case study from a class on torts and contracts. Syllabi that may have been two pages a decade or more ago have ballooned to a dozen or more pages in many cases, challenging even the most committed students to wade through in order to locate the course specific learning objectives etc. Perhaps this also tripped up Ian Bogost, the author of this piece?I expect more required warnings and disclaimers as schools grapple with the redefinition of original work in the age of generative AI.#highereducation #professor #academia #academiclife

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Two useful academic resources forClaude

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