I've never really used a "syllabus" so much as just looked for certain skills to develop. A specified set of "lessons" or a checklist of "tasks" has always, to me, seemed to be overkill...for two reasons:

1) This ain't scale flight, folks. I acknowledge, a Telemaster certainly CAN cause harm if treated carelessly, or used without adequate ability to handle the machine. It is NOT, however, in quite the same "threat level" as, say, a Cessna 152 or DA-20.

2) Different folks are different folks. I've taught a whole BUNCH of subjects to a whole BUNCH of people in my life...and the single biggest skill or trait a GOOD INSTRUCTOR can have, imo, is not the oft-cited "patience"...but JUDGMENT. That ability to recognize that while Bob may learn one way, Sam learns another...and the ability to convey information to BOTH equally well.

I've had students (both in RC and in vastly different fields) who simply COULD NOT grasp concepts without a map, a plan, hourly reviews, and a detailed schedule of events and topics. On the other hand, I've had students who wanted to skip right to the end, and work backwards. Some methods work for some, others for others.

As a result, it strikes me that ANY instructor...of nearly ANY topic...should go into a teaching situation using "tasks" and "maneuvers" not as a roadmap, but rather as teaching tools...each one able to be included OR NOT, at ANY time, when it seems that said task will convey the bigger picture.

So, having said all of that, here's what passes for my "syllabus" when teaching RC Flight:

Fly straight and level.
Fly a pattern in both directions
Land
Take Off

Do the above things enough times that I'm not scared to stand next to you WITHOUT a buddy cord.

That's really pretty much it. I've had guys that took MONTHS to complete that list, and "enough times I'm not scared" was several hundred. I've also soloed guys in a day. *shrug*

Now, to do this, imo, takes a pretty large "bag of tricks". For every "task" above, there are almost LIMITLESS things an airplane can do that might or might not aide in the student learning one of those skills. Consider the simple stall. What MIGHT a student learn from a stall and recovery?

1) The elevator is a fast/slow control, not up and down.
2) Landing approach management is frequently taught as "elevator for airspeed, throttle for altitude". See #1 above.
3) What does the plane look like when it's about to stall?
4) What CAUSES a stall?
5) Why does it stall more readily in a turn?
6) How do I tell if my wings are level?
7) How do I know if I should keep power on during landing?
8) How do i know when the plane is going fast enough to take off?
9) How high should I be on my approach?
10) When is it time to let the plane settle on the ground during landing?

There's 10 right there...just off the top of my head. 10 lessons that could be applied to ANY or ALL of the skills above, and may or may not serve to illustrate a point to any random student.

So, anyway, there you have it. I'll tell you the same thing I've told a few hundred other instructors of various skills and topics...don't walk into the classroom with a roadmap. Walk into it with an end-point, and a full bag of tricks to get your students to that end-point.