Start from the End

Since this is the end of one academic semester and I am deep in the throes (and have been for a few weeks now) with planning for the next one, I thought this would be a good opportunity for another beginning: blogging.

I have been worrying, thinking, counting (number of course meetings, number of pages), etc., my way to two syllabi but I haven't actually gotten very far. Sure, I've done some reading, but this hasn't struck me as the most effective preparation. Not only will I have to read it all over again, but I also read from a very different perspective than my students. Frankly for me, course planning seems mostly like a period of hemming and hawing followed by some hasty choices made just in time to get the syllabus printed up. (And yes, I still hand out a paper syllabus.)

I thought I would see if anyone would like to chime in with their suggestions for course planning. How do others either revise existing courses or develop new ones? I have to do both for the upcoming semester.