AL-78 · Selected Studies — Education

First-Time Instructor Toolkit

You have full responsibility for a course — not as a TA, not as a guest lecturer, but as the instructor of record. This toolkit generates your syllabus framework, first-day plan, and grading rubric starter from your course inputs. Anchored by the experience of teaching KINE 199 at Texas A&M for three semesters as instructor of record — not TA.

📊 Syllabus design: Grunert O'Brien et al. (2008), The Course Syllabus; Fink (2003), Creating Significant Learning Experiences
🔒All inputs are processed locally in your browser. Nothing is transmitted, stored, or logged. Inputs disappear when you close the tab.
Course Profile
Build your syllabus structure here. Each section generates text you can paste into your department's template or word processor.
Learning Outcomes 3–6 recommended

Write one outcome at a time. Outcomes should be measurable and student-centered: "By the end of this course, students will be able to [verb]..."

Required Materials
Course Policies

Pre-written policy templates are provided. Expand each and edit to match your course.

Grade Breakdown 0%

Add grade categories. Weights must sum to 100%.

Total: 0%
Course Schedule Shell

Week-by-week planner. Weeks 1–3 are pre-populated. Add your content for remaining weeks.

Week 1 Plan MWF: 3 days
The first week establishes norms, rapport, and expectations. Research on teacher effectiveness (Wong & Wong 2009) is unambiguous: how you run the first two weeks predicts the rest of the semester.
First Week Checklist
Rubric Starter
Analytic rubrics give more specific feedback. Holistic rubrics are faster to score.

Complete Tabs 1–4 and click "Build Full Export" to generate your toolkit summary.