Center for Excellence in TeachingPedagogical approaches to contract grading in composition
Rory Lukins from the Dornsife writing program discusses a study on the implementation of contract grading in composition courses at the August 2022 Faculty Showcase on Alternative Assessment
Resources: Syllabus
Implementing a mastery-based grading system in a mathematics class
Felicia Yeung Tabing from Dornsife Mathematics discusses design, implementation and revision of mastery-based assessment in a mathematics class at the August 2022 Faculty Showcase on Alternative Assessments
Trauma-informed teaching
A compilation of teaching techniques and strategies that can minimize unproductive stress in students and support students who are dealing with trauma.
Trauma-informed teaching
Teaching and course design practices that can help mitigate the negative impact stress and trauma can have on students’ learning.
Core principles of instruction
Foundational teaching principles, including course design, learning objectives, course alignment, assessment, and lesson structure.
Challenging discussions 4: Plan a challenging discussion
Strategies for planning class discussions, including a positive class atmosphere, discussion norms, grading discussions, and acceptable sources of information.
Challenging discussions 2: Inclusive course design
Inclusivity considerations when designing courses and syllabi, including discussions about controversial topics.
Diversity and inclusion syllabus checklist
A syllabus checklist that can be utilized as a tool for course review using the lens of diversity and inclusion.
USC Syllabus template
A template for creating a USC syllabus which can be downloaded and edited. This template contains the most recent version of the Statement on Academic and Support Systems.
Course design syllabus review checklist
This syllabus review checklist was developed to include recommended course design practices relevant to most teaching environments at USC; it is editable so that schools may add or delete items to customize it to their needs.