ith August almost halfway over, my mind has turned to the first day of class. When I first started teaching college-level classes, the first day seemed so straightforward it hardly required prep. As ...

Many of the decisions affecting the success of a course take place well before the first day of class. Careful planning at the syllabus design stage not only makes teaching easier and more enjoyable, ...

Both minimalist and maximalist approaches to syllabus design have their proponents: concise syllabi are easier to navigate, while detailed ones offer a more precise picture of the course structure.