This syllabus reflects a 14-week course that meets twice a week for 75-minute class periods. The course has a maximum enrollment of 20, and the course is structured as a seminar where most class meetings are spent in interactive discussion rather than using lectures to help students understand course material.
The professor leads all skills-focused classes (e.g., effective presentations, writing and research in psychology), all blog discussion days, the chapters at the start of the semester, and the final chapter at the end of the semester. The structure of the class on the skill-focused days varies by topic and may involve some lecture, demonstrations, interactive activities, etc. When readings and student projects shared on the class blog are being discussed, the course is entirely discussion-based. The professor spends a few minutes introducing the chapter and setting up the structure of the discussion for the day, but they largely serve as a facilitator as the class collectively works through content from that chapter.
As the semester progresses, students start to take responsibility as discussion leaders and work in pairs to plan and lead class for a specific chapter. On these days, the professor becomes a participant in the discussion and only steps in if questions are asked that are beyond the scope of the knowledge of the discussion leaders or problems arise in class.