Several good suggestions have been made on this question. One
possibility is to come to class the first day, offer several
possibilities, and have the students briefly discuss and then vote on
which approach will be used. In the syllabus, it can say something
value like "daily preparation: xx points", and the options that they
would discuss and vote on are on a separate sheet. This discussion
becomes part of "negotiating the contract for the course" on the first
day and gives the students some sense of ownership, since they had
in-put.
Keith
