In this paper, I discuss the impact of a course design class on my development and use of a syllabus for a class titled Islamic Education. In Course Design the professor taught graduate students like me how to think and plan as a teacher. In my discussion, I share how student- and context-centered pedagogy, at the core of thinking and planning as a teacher, manifested effectively in the pages of my syllabus and in the space of my classroom, demonstrating that the pedagogical insight and practices I learned speak to the needs and demands of today's classroom.