The University of Delaware Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning (CTAL) will host a walk-in syllabus workshop on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 25-26, to help faculty edit and optimize syllabi for their upcoming courses.

The Soup and Syllabus clinics will take place on both days from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in 212 Gore Hall. Those who cannot attend may email CTAL-info@udel.edu or call 302-831-2027 to schedule a private consultation via face-to-face or virtual meetings over Skype, Facetime or telephone.

The goal of the clinic is to help all who teach at UD, including adjuncts and graduate students, review syllabi, provide suggestions and feedback, and consult on any teaching or learning issues they may anticipate.

Steven Hegedus, senior scientist in the Institute of Energy Conversion and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, said that his previous experience with the clinic was valuable. He credited Kathy Pusecker, director of educational assessment, with helping him clarify and polish his syllabus.

“She gave me a few suggestions that were easy to implement,” Hegedus said. “One was to improve my syllabus by listing five or six key learning outcomes for the semester, then for each class identify which one or two of those concepts it supports. At the beginning of class I would briefly remind them which of those concepts we were working on that day. These small changes in my teaching routine helped the students to better connect that day's material with the big picture goals.”

The Center for Teaching and Assessment of Learning offers many services, including confidential consultations, course design, learning assessment, and resources and workshops on classroom strategies. To receive periodic messages announcing CTAL campus events and teaching news, subscribe to the Faculty Commons newsletter.