Students benefit from frequent opportunities for feedback and self-assessment. Frequent assignments minimize the consequences of poor performance on any one of them and maximize opportunities for practice, trial and error, learning, and involvement with the course material. The syllabus conveys the teacher's desire to help students individually . Most syllabi give the teacher's office hours. A motivating syllabus will go beyond these in assuring the student of the teacher's availability for consultation.
Many students are likely to do better if they have a relationship with the teacher outside of class.
The National Teaching and Learning Forum vol. November 1, 1993. All rights reserved.