Why students crave an overview of learning (and how to make one easily)
Simple Syllabus Series Part 2
Hi,
Welcome to this week's issue of Course Builder's Corner.
Today, we continue our three-part Simple Syllabus Series. Part 1 was on your philosophy of teaching. Today's article is on Part 2: The Overview of Learning.
You'll discover why your course participants crave this overview and how to develop one that satisfies their craving.
Let's get started.
(By the way, this is coming out on Wednesday due to the 4th of July holiday in the US)
How did a paperclip save a $750 million plane?
On April 30th, 1966, two test pilots were circling a bomber over the California desert to burn up its fuel. This way, they could crash the plane while minimizing the fire it would produce. But why crash the plane?
Its landing gear was jammed.
Fortunately, after 2 hours, engineers on the ground figured out how to clear the jam—just short the circuitry. But there was a problem—there was no toolbox onboard. Back to circling the desert, right? Wrong. One pilot opened a briefcase with flight documents and found a paperclip. He was able to use it to short-circuit the electricals, and the landing gear was lowered.
So, a two-cent paperclip saved a $750 million bomber.
But the problem could have been solved more easily with a small element of preparation—a simple toolbox. In the hubbub of life, it's easy to miss such small elements of preparation. Similarly, in the flurry of activity it takes to build and run a course, it's also easy to miss small preparatory elements. One of these elements is the overview of learning.
What is the overview of learning?
It is a brief outline of what you teach that you'll include in your syllabus. It can take many forms, from a simple list of the topics you'll cover to a detailed infographic.
But why bother creating an overview of learning?
Without an overview, some students feel lost. Even if they trust you to guide them, the planning part of their brain wants to know, "What’s next?" and "What's next after that?" You can let the planning part of the brain relax by showing them the big picture before diving into the detailed learning.
What does a good overview of learning look like?
The simplest is a list of points.
"I'll cover topics A, B, and C."
Another level-up is to give more details about those topics.
Topic A + sentence
Topic B + sentence
Topic C + sentence
Another level higher is to make a detailed outline of the points you'll cover.
Topic A
1
2
3
Topic B
1
2
3
Topic C
1
2
3
You can even take your points and put them into a more visual form such as Tiago Forte does with this Building A Second Brain Course.
Forte lays out his CODE method as follows:
And like Forte, if you can put your ideas into an acronym, all the better.
However, you are not restricted to linear forms; some people like to make mind maps like the one below.
There's really no limit.
How do you create the overview of learning?
My suggestion is to start with a simple list. Then, write up a brief explanation of each item on your list. Next, add a few points you'll cover under each item. You'll have just enough detail to put your student's planning minds at ease.
Here's what this looks like for the Atomic Course Blueprint
Section 1: The Atomic Outline
The Purpose Formula - Defining a purpose for your course so that instead of merely giving information, you deliver clear results.
The Top Level Outline - You discover the three broad steps that deliver results for your students.
The Question Framework - You discover how you'll guide students through each subtopic.
Section 2: The Magic Bullet Writing Process
The easy way to answer the questions you posed in the Question Framework
How to turn the easy answers into finished text for your course
Section 3: The Information Sandwich
How to create the introduction for your course
How to create the conclusion for your course
One mistake is making the overview incredibly complex
I took a course earlier this year with an incredibly complex visual diagram to explain all the learning. The diagram was beautiful and always shown with animation that built it up slowly. But no one could explain the diagram other than the instructor.
What I was thinking was, "This overview is great for HIM but not so great for me."
As an instructor, you might create a very complex document to help you think through what you teach but don't share that complexity with the students. Your job as a teacher is to simplify, so boil down your complex thinking to something simple that students can understand and remember.
Go for three main topics with a maximum of three subtopics each.
In some cases, you may need to break this rule, but even if you do, having the goal of creating a simple structure can keep you from creating an unwieldy spiderweb of topics few can decipher.
Summary
The overview of learning is a brief outline of what you will teach
It helps students put their planning minds to rest so they can focus on what you teach.
Overviews of learning can take many forms, from a simple list to a more detailed outline to mind maps and diagrams.
The main thing is to keep the overview simple.
While I don't think your course will crash and burn for lack of an overview of learning, I do think it's a small thing that can make a big difference to many of your course participants. So, create one for your next course and share it with your students so they can see the big picture before delving into the fine details of your program.
Before you go, you may want to check out any of the following:
The Atomic Course Blueprint- Want to create a course without the usual overwhelm? Try creating a tiny course. Find out more here.
iPARA: How to organize your digital life for action- Is digital disorganization keeping you from reaching your goals? What if just four folders could let you not just stay organized but actually get things done? See for yourself here.
That’s it for this week.