| This is an example syllabus containing the core information necessary for running the course at UC Berkeley. It refers to several university specific policies that may not apply at other colleges. It also doesn't have any due dates or other information that needs to be updated every term. An example syllabus with placeholders for all those details can be found here. |
Weekly Schedule
| The core of the class is the collective learning in the discussion sections. It's important that as many of the students as possible watch the lectures before section so that all the students can start on the same page and elevate each other in their discussions. |
Each week covers two main topics. These are presented in a "flipped classroom" format where the students are first exposed to the content via a series of prerecorded lectures. The students then wrestle with the material more directly in discussion sections. These force the students to engage in active learning through a series of planned discussions and other activities that reveal new sides to the material not covered in the lectures. Each week closes with a "plenary" session where professors from different fields engage with the each other and the students in a more freeform discussion. The plenaries act as the capstone of the week, resolving several of the activities and drawing connections between the course topics as well as other disciplines.
Berkeley Schedule
The UC Berkeley variant of the course is the most "comprehensive." It presents the lectures with an online tool called PlayPosit. It has two discussion sections referred to as "labscussion" sections. The labscussions are lead by GSIs and the plenaries are run by three professors from philosophy, social science, and the natural sciences.
Weekly Schedule for the Berkeley Course
| Monday
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- PlayPosit for topic 1 due at 11:59 PM.
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| Tuesday
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- Labscussion section on topic 1 for 1.5 hours.
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| Wednesday
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- PlayPosit for topic 2 due at 11:59 PM.
- (optional) Faculty office hours.
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| Thursday
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- Labscussion section on topic 2 for 1.5 hours.
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| Friday
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- Plenary sessions on both topics for 1.5 hours.
- (occasionally) Quizzes for the first half hour of plenary.
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