Supporting Diverse Learning Styles: A Case Study in Student Led Syllabus Design

Abstract

This paper presents a case study in student led syllabus design, geared to support diverse learning styles and to enhance student engagement. In this case, students in an Honors American Government Course participated in designing their own syllabus for the semester. This was done through a written survey in which students were able to select their preferred learning method, combination of assignments and activities, accountability mechanisms, testing structure and level of active learning. The tabulation of student responses resulted in a student designed syllabus that reflected a diversity of learning styles and a combination of passive and active learning mechanisms including traditional lecture, readings and research-based writing assignments, as well as debate, simulation and small group discussion, tailored to the preferences of the class. Student evaluations showed a high level of satisfaction with the student led syllabus design as well as with the course overall. Student participation in syllabus design allowed for differences in learning styles to be reflected in the structure of teaching mechanisms, assignments and activities, resulting in enhanced student “buy in.” This sense of ownership contributed to satisfaction, even with aspects of the course that students did not personally select, and increased levels of motivation and participation in assignments and activities. This paper will analyze the process, the outcomes, and the pros and cons of student led syllabus design as applied in this case, and evaluate its impact on learning style diversity and student engagement.

Keywords:

• Syllabus design
• negotiated syllabus
• student led
• learning styles
• active learning

Notes

1 Certification of Exempt Status was approved for Application 2545 by the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects, Tennessee Technological University.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren Howard Harding

Lauren Howard Harding is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tennessee Technological University. Her research focuses on the intersection between trust in government, public perceptions of government performance, and service satisfaction. She also studies the consequences of trust in government for public policy outcomes. Her work on trust has been published in Public Integrity. In addition, her interests in the scholarship of teaching and learning include mechanisms of student empowerment to improve learning outcomes, problem identification, creative inquiry, and civic engagement, with projects specifically focusing on student led syllabus design, diverse learning styles, service learning, and community partnership. She recently collaborated as part of an interdisciplinary team which was awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s National Research Traineeship Program. The project, “Engendering the Spirit of Gadugi at the Food-Energy-Water Nexus,” aims to transform graduate education by leveraging the Renaissance Foundry Model to guide problem identification, knowledge transfer and problem solving to collaboratively address complex societal challenges related to food, energy and water within rural, Appalachian, and Cherokee communities.