Revitalizing the Syllabus: A Collaborative Journey

At the start of every school year, students receive course syllabi—documents that can often feel tedious to create and review. But since 2018, I’ve transformed this process into an engaging experience by inviting my students to actively annotate our living syllabus.

The idea wasn’t originally mine. I was inspired by Remi Kalir’s Marginal Syllabus project, which promotes collaborative reading, social annotation, and dialogue to build new knowledge together—especially with vital documents like course syllabi.

My syllabus has become a dynamic, evolving document where students can freely annotate their questions, thoughts, and concerns. As Kalir notes in "Annotate Your Syllabus 3.0," an annotated syllabus sends a powerful message: course documents are not static, feedback is welcome, and student voices are crucial to our shared learning journey.

Annotating the syllabus is not just an exercise—it’s a meaningful practice that calls us to act with integrity. As our core values state, acting with integrity means holding each other to high standards of honesty and care, ensuring the well-being of our community, and being “right” with one another. Our annotated syllabus stands as a testament to our collective commitment and responsibility in our community of learners, where every voice matters and everyone is supported.