Syllabus for 2030? Fun, Relax, and Learn
In May experiment, I join the topic “write the syllabus for your class in 2030”. I choose to write my new syllabus for my course — Thinking Systems for Innovation which I have been teaching for 4 years.
My current course is about 60% explanation and usually explains before giving students chances to explore. For my new course, I set a maximum of 40% explanation in the course. No bigger number for this part as my goal is to “allow learners to innovate and apply”. That is to motivate students to learn and carry what he/she has learned from the class to synthesis and implement ideas in his/her real life.
In 2030, university would change in some ways. Online and hybrid courses might become common. Therefore, I expect that my courses might be like . . .
Space: Freely switch between offline and online.
Expected Learning Outcomes: Up to “Create” according to the Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Learning Style: Self-paced + Group discussion & Group work + Learning by doing or testing.
Evaluation: Assigned projects (mini & final projects) & Peer-evaluation.
Flow of the course:
- Step 1: Course Introduction
⇒ course overview + ice breaking - Step 2: Basic Concept #1
⇒ An “activity-based learning” for foundation of the course is then conducted.
⇒ The concept “Explore ⇒ Explain” and “prompt quiz” will be used for this part. Additional activities will also be designed according to the topic. - Step 3: Self-paced Learning
⇒ This is a knowledge exploration session where students will work in groups and explore new experiences and knowledge according to assigned topics.
⇒ Online materials will be used along their learning journey. - Step 4: Learning from Peers
⇒ Each groups present what they have learned in the prior steps.
⇒ Open discussion will be our main activities beside group presentation. - Step 5: Basic Concept #2
⇒ Back to the same learning style in Basic Concept #1
⇒ In this step, students will learn additional basic knowledge which focuses on applying what they have learned. - Step 6: Final Project
⇒ Each group presents their proposed project.
⇒ At the end of each presentation, open discussion will be conducted to gain additional perspective from the customer’s viewpoint (role play)
⇒ A week after, each group should come back with “Idea Improvement” presentation. This presentation aims at showing additional value due to discussion on their original ideas.
I tested my idea with one of my ex-students who attended the same course a couple of years ago. She likes the idea and mentioned a lot about activities as it would allow students to think and generate more ideas. She also likes prompt quiz which sounds exciting and challenging. However, she also recommends me to think about a strategy which helps handling passive learners in the class.
Although I have learned something from my ex-student, I would love to hear more comment from other students and colleagues. If you are interested, feel free to visit my May Experiment. Don’t forget to leave me your comment. ;D
