"Contracts in the Classroom,"
Vol. VIII, No. 4, May/June 1996

Lori Breslow

In many ways, a classroom is its own world; it is its own "social environment," as EECS Professor Al Drake described it at a teaching workshop held earlier this year. That means that like all other social groups, a class has its owns norms, values, and expectations about the way business is to be carried out. A classroom has its own culture, built (as all cultures are) from the formal rules and regulations that exist in the system, and from the interactions of those who participate in it.

Another way to understand this is to say that in every classroom there exists an "explicit" contract, embodied primarily in the course syllabus, and an "implicit" contract, a set of norms that governs all sorts of behavior--and that both need to be developed with deliberation and care.* A thoughtful crafting of the course syllabus leads to a coherent class structure and policies that serve as a firm foundation for the semester’s work. Conscious attention to the implicit contract creates a climate that works in tandem with course content and the learning objectives that are to be achieved.

So even though as you read this "Teach Talk" you may still be recuperating from the frantic end of yet another year of classes, we’ve devoted this column to information we hope you will find useful when you begin to prepare your courses for the fall.

Putting It in Writing: The Explicit Contract

Most instructors spend the first class meeting talking about the objectives, the scope, and the policies of the class. These matters are set out formally in the course syllabus, an agreement in writing that serves as a blueprint for the entire semester. (It can also be a court of last resort for conflicts that come up as the semester progresses.) The box on (page x? the next page?) lists items typically found on a course syllabus; most of what is included will be familiar to anyone who has put together at least one of these documents in his/her teaching career. But four things bear quick discussion.

First, the course description/objectives section may be the most important part of the syllabus because it defines the goals students should strive for during the course of the semester. These goals, most probably the mastery of certain knowledge and/or skills, should be relatively few in number and fairly concrete. The course description/objectives section can also be motivational; it’s the place where you can tell students why your course is important in their education as scientists or engineers.

Second, think about how firm you want to be in putting together the course calendar. Depending on the amount of material to be covered, you may want to build in leeway. But be careful: Some students get thrown if you vary the schedule too much, becoming confused about what’s happening when, and you may be seen as an instructor who can’t keep his/her course "on target." You may want to have a fairly rigid calendar laid out in the syllabus, but you can tell the class you want some flexibility in determining the schedule as you see how the course progresses.

Third, be as explicit as possible in describing policies on attendance, lateness, missed exams or assignments, late papers, and, in particular, academic honesty. Include in detail what constitutes plagiarism (this is particularly important for international students because concepts of plagiarism vary cross culturally), how contributions to group efforts must be acknowledged, what is considered cheating, etc. You may want to refer students to the official Institute policy regarding academic honesty which can be found in the MIT Bulletin Course and Degree Programs Issue under "Academic Procedures and Institute Regulations."

Finally, think about what can be left out of the syllabus. For example, information about a major project due at the end of the semester is probably better handled by a handout given later in the term. Piling everything about the course into the syllabus is likely to lead to information overload.

Setting the Tone: The Implicit Contract

While developing a syllabus takes time and effort, it can be written in the quiet of your own office and at your own pace as you think through course content and goals. It’s delivered in final form and, except in rare instances, is followed pretty closely throughout the term. The implicit contract is much more elusive, harder to control, more complex, and subject to greater variation. Yet the more deliberate you can be in developing the implicit contract, the more it will serve the needs of both you and your students.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you think about the kind of climate you want to create in your classroom:

• What will be learned? Are students to learn facts? to think through problems? to show their ability to apply abstract concepts? to create new things?
• What is the nature of the relationship between student and teacher? collaborative? hierarchical?
• What is the nature of the relationship between students? competitive? collaborative?
• What sources of knowledge are to be emphasized? abstractions? experimentation? observation and reflection? concrete experiences?
• Who sets the agenda for individual classes: the instructor, the students, or both?
• Who talks in the classroom? for how long? and how do they get the floor?
• Are answers considered definitely right or definitely wrong? If so, how are answers evaluated?
• How do students succeed in the course? How is success measured?
• What behaviors will be tolerated? eating? personal conversations? sleeping? What will be the consequences of engaging in behaviors that are not acceptable?

Several years ago, I attended the first three classes of Sloan Professor Pete Wilson’s course on accounting. I had heard that Pete works magic in a classroom, and I wanted to see for myself what he did. As most of us, Pete began the semester by laying out the organization of the course, discussing assignments, and outlining course policies. But in a variety of ways--in the words that he chose, in the way he used space, in the fact that he was often smiling and always making eye contact with the students--Pete did something else: He made it clear to the class that he wanted them to succeed in his course, and that he was going to be their ally as they worked toward that goal. Pete consciously went about setting a tone for the class from the minute he walked in the room. Through his words and actions, he communicated the idea that for him the relationship between student and teacher is ultimately one of trust, a part of his teaching philosophy he felt it was important for his students to know. And he kept repeating that message throughout those important first classes when many of the norms for a course are established.

You can choose to be more or less explicit in your discussion of the factors that contribute to the implicit contract; just as there is no perfect syllabus, there is no right or wrong way to manage this part of a course. But it’s important to be aware that an assortment of subtle variables determine the nature of the culture you produce in the classroom: The way in which you talk to students (e.g., the tone and volume of your voice); how you ask them questions and answer theirs; how much you talk about your own work and ideas; how you arrange the furniture in the room (assuming you can arrange the furniture at all); your nonverbal communication (e.g., facial expression, eye contact, the use of space); how much time you choose to talk about what; how flexible you are in following the agenda for any given class; what behaviors you’ll tolerate. The more clearly and self-consciously you can construct both the explicit and implicit contracts you have with your students, the greater the likelihood that you will create the kind of environment in which learning naturally takes place.

*The terms "explicit contract" and "implicit contract" come from material used in the Discussion Leadership Seminar, Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, Fall 1993. Some parts of the discussion of the implicit contract are from the same source.

To Include in a Syllabus . . .

• Course information, including course title, course number, credit hours, etc.
• Instructor information, including office location and phone number, e-mail address, and home phone number if preferred
• The texts and reading materials to be used in the course and where to get them
• Any other materials needed for the course
• Course description/objectives
• Course calendar, including weekly topics to be covered
• Reading assignments to be completed by each class
• Due dates of assignments, homeworks, and papers
• Dates of exams and quizzes
• Course policies, including rules about attendance, lateness, late papers, missed exams, lab safety, plagiarism, and collaboration
• Grading, including how much each individual assignment contributes to the final grade