Think of your syllabus as a content reading for your course. Write up a short quiz, or create an in-class activity to help students engage with the syllabus on the first day. If you use group work, this is a good opportunity to get students working in groups on the first day.
Make your syllabus easy-to-read. If you’ve never used the syllabus template before, now is a good time to get started. One feature of this template is that course policies and the course timetable are separate documents so that students can easily access due dates and requirements, as well as reference the policies separately when needed.
Create an opportunity for your students to change the syllabus. Leave a class session blank and have space in your policies for students to discuss and create ground rules. If you offer students some agency in the syllabus, they will be more invested in reading it.
