Final projects are one of those things in teaching that can either be the bane of existence or the most fun thing ever. I have felt this way in previous classes, both as a student and as the instructor. I think from the instructor perspective, the thing that makes final projects the “bane of existence” is the repetition; whether it’s seeing the same topics repeatedly or wading through the same literature review paper assignment in each of your courses. To break this boredom, I came up with a “choose-your-own-adventure” format for a final project, allowing students to flex their creative muscles and take ownership of their work.
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​This year when I sat down to construct my syllabi I took on a new approach to the syllabi’s organization and headings: Q/A style.

​The intent of a syllabus is that it is a place students can find out important information about the course, and hopefully answer questions they have about the class and due dates, before asking the instructor. To help facilitate students’ ability to do this (and in part inspired by recent changes made to IRB consent forms at my university), I now label the various parts of the syllabus with particular questions a student might have about the course.