I have to say, I feel a little off this semester. Things have been running smoothly. My two f2f classes are fantastic, very responsive, having a lot of fun with the discussions. I'm also quickly weeding out those who don't want to work, but more on that in another blog! My online courses have also been moving quite swimmingly, although my online speech students can be frustrating. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. How is it my heart isn't racing in anxiety to get things done? Because everything is already done? How is that possible? Oh, yeah, only have to come in to work two days a week!
With the crazy snow hitting all of Indiana, we have had several meetings postponed, so now they are piling up! I have at least one meeting a week between committee meetings, spring in-services, and regional meetings. Whew! I know most people aren't big fans of meetings, but remember, I come from an organizational communication background. Even when bored, I have a tendency to internally break them down from a theory point of view. Keeps me on my communicative toes! Off to another meeting.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
SPRING semester? Liars, all of you!
We had snow days last week during registration. It's cold outside, there's too much snow, and I'm here at home instead of in my office. Ah, work from home bliss.
The usual first week emails and paniced messages have already crossed my computer, but with so many less students, it doesn't feel so crazy. This is the first semester since I started that I was completely prepared by the first day. Once again, 2 of my 6 classes don't start until the second 8 weeks, but I'm okay with that. I feel like, since I know how crazy that will be, I will be much more prepared for the chaos.
I have a lot of committee meetings this semester, so I need to get working on getting subs for the classes I will miss while I'm down in Indy. Maybe it will be warmer 200 miles south of me? I swear, I'm going to start teaching full-time online and move to the Caymen Islands to work.
The usual first week emails and paniced messages have already crossed my computer, but with so many less students, it doesn't feel so crazy. This is the first semester since I started that I was completely prepared by the first day. Once again, 2 of my 6 classes don't start until the second 8 weeks, but I'm okay with that. I feel like, since I know how crazy that will be, I will be much more prepared for the chaos.
I have a lot of committee meetings this semester, so I need to get working on getting subs for the classes I will miss while I'm down in Indy. Maybe it will be warmer 200 miles south of me? I swear, I'm going to start teaching full-time online and move to the Caymen Islands to work.
Friday, January 8, 2010
I'm soooooo happy to be back!
Although it was a shorter break between final grades last semester and late registration this semester (which we full-timers are required to work), I have got to say, I am so glad to be back. We had nonstop illness at our house. First the hubby was in the hospital to have two stents put into his heart (he's doing much better, thank you), then the four-year-old got pneumonia, requiring two trips to the ER, then the two-year-old became sick Christmas Eve with a cold and a wicked ear infection, and just as soon as he was on the mend, I came down with a crippling case of bronchitus, which, currently, I'm still suffering from. Ugh.
After a short break with only a few days of productive work, mostly on housecleaning and thinning out the sinful amount of toys my two boys own before refilling their playroom with all their new Christmas toys, coming to the office means having the peace and quiet of getting some work done. Whew.
Due to some administrative decisions, the powers that be have decided that they are capping online courses at 30 students (which they won't do for f2f classes for some money-grubbing, I mean, fiscally responsible reason), so less money in the paychecks, but less stress for the mind. I also scored a sweet schedule this semester - only teaching and having office hours on Thursday and Friday. Hot damn!
I'm really looking forward to the spring semester starting up next week. But, for this week, I'll clean up my office, get Blackboard up and ready for the new classes, and help some students register for classes.
After a short break with only a few days of productive work, mostly on housecleaning and thinning out the sinful amount of toys my two boys own before refilling their playroom with all their new Christmas toys, coming to the office means having the peace and quiet of getting some work done. Whew.
Due to some administrative decisions, the powers that be have decided that they are capping online courses at 30 students (which they won't do for f2f classes for some money-grubbing, I mean, fiscally responsible reason), so less money in the paychecks, but less stress for the mind. I also scored a sweet schedule this semester - only teaching and having office hours on Thursday and Friday. Hot damn!
I'm really looking forward to the spring semester starting up next week. But, for this week, I'll clean up my office, get Blackboard up and ready for the new classes, and help some students register for classes.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Those Who Can't, Teach
Once the in-your-face pressures of teaching is done, I take the time to contemplate what it is I do, and what I'd like to do from here. Have you ever thought about teaching college? Do you wonder what it takes? Do you wonder if you have what it takes? Here's what this job really looks like, and what you need to do it.
First of all, to teach at a college level, you have to an advanced degree. Although, in very rare cases, you may be able to teach basic level courses, such as Intro to Writing, Intro to Reading, Basic Math, etc., with a Bachelor's degree, it is almost impossible to find even an adjunct position, and completely impossible for full-time positions. A Master's degree, at the minimum, is required with at least 18 credit hours of graduate work in the field you want to teach. Most community colleges are fine with just a Master's degree. Some 4-year colleges and universities will allow an instructor with a Master's degree and some teaching experience to teach 100- or 200-level courses, but unless you are in a PhD program, they often will not let you teach upper level undergraduate to graduate courses.
Once you have the education level down, some teaching, or in my case, training, experience is an additional requirement. Computer skills are a must, especially if you want to teach online.
So, you've accepted the challenge, you want to teach. In reality, here's what it will look like. First, after applying an interviewing, you'll probably have to give a presentation or teach a topic, usually chosen by the employer. Once you pass that, you will become an adjunct instructor.
What's an adjunct instructor (also called visiting instructor at some universities)? An adjunct is a part-time, offerred employment on a semester-by-semester basis. On the plus side, you get to decide which classes you'll teach and which ones you don't, you'll rack up lots of teaching experience, and you can work at multiple colleges. On the negative side, you're last to choose classes (full-timers first), no benefits, the pay sucks, hard to find work in the summer, and you often HAVE to work at multiple colleges to make enough to live on.
How long do you have to work as an adjunct in order to get promoted to full-time? That's a much harder question to answer. Are you willing to move, and to where? Is your school experiencing an enrollment increase, and do they have the money to open more full-time positions? What do you teach? I've heard of people who wanted full-time positions but couldn't move, so they ended up waiting years, 10 or more in some cases, before getting a full-time position.
How long was I an adjunct before I got a full-time position? I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but only one semester. I had the luck of starting as an adjunct at a new campus of Ivy Tech, worked 6 days a week (if you can call that luck) to show my dedication and willingness to do whatever it takes to get things done, and teach a subject (communication) that is a requirement and had no full-time instructor at that campus.
Because it is so odd to get a full-time position so quickly, I have worked really hard to make them grateful for choosing me over my more experienced colleagues. I took positions on two statewide committees, numerous region committees, became involved with on-campus activities, and brought new communication courses to our region.
In future posts, I'll talk more about the actual experience of teaching college. Everyone's experiences are different, so if you interview for a school, you'll want to talk to an instructor from that school, but some things, like whiny students and administrative decisions that make your life harder, seem to be pretty universal.
This job is not for someone with thin skin. It takes an ability to let things slide off your back, patience (as any change, good or bad, takes forever to happen), and a good sense of humor. Still interested?
First of all, to teach at a college level, you have to an advanced degree. Although, in very rare cases, you may be able to teach basic level courses, such as Intro to Writing, Intro to Reading, Basic Math, etc., with a Bachelor's degree, it is almost impossible to find even an adjunct position, and completely impossible for full-time positions. A Master's degree, at the minimum, is required with at least 18 credit hours of graduate work in the field you want to teach. Most community colleges are fine with just a Master's degree. Some 4-year colleges and universities will allow an instructor with a Master's degree and some teaching experience to teach 100- or 200-level courses, but unless you are in a PhD program, they often will not let you teach upper level undergraduate to graduate courses.
Once you have the education level down, some teaching, or in my case, training, experience is an additional requirement. Computer skills are a must, especially if you want to teach online.
So, you've accepted the challenge, you want to teach. In reality, here's what it will look like. First, after applying an interviewing, you'll probably have to give a presentation or teach a topic, usually chosen by the employer. Once you pass that, you will become an adjunct instructor.
What's an adjunct instructor (also called visiting instructor at some universities)? An adjunct is a part-time, offerred employment on a semester-by-semester basis. On the plus side, you get to decide which classes you'll teach and which ones you don't, you'll rack up lots of teaching experience, and you can work at multiple colleges. On the negative side, you're last to choose classes (full-timers first), no benefits, the pay sucks, hard to find work in the summer, and you often HAVE to work at multiple colleges to make enough to live on.
How long do you have to work as an adjunct in order to get promoted to full-time? That's a much harder question to answer. Are you willing to move, and to where? Is your school experiencing an enrollment increase, and do they have the money to open more full-time positions? What do you teach? I've heard of people who wanted full-time positions but couldn't move, so they ended up waiting years, 10 or more in some cases, before getting a full-time position.
How long was I an adjunct before I got a full-time position? I'm almost embarrassed to say it, but only one semester. I had the luck of starting as an adjunct at a new campus of Ivy Tech, worked 6 days a week (if you can call that luck) to show my dedication and willingness to do whatever it takes to get things done, and teach a subject (communication) that is a requirement and had no full-time instructor at that campus.
Because it is so odd to get a full-time position so quickly, I have worked really hard to make them grateful for choosing me over my more experienced colleagues. I took positions on two statewide committees, numerous region committees, became involved with on-campus activities, and brought new communication courses to our region.
In future posts, I'll talk more about the actual experience of teaching college. Everyone's experiences are different, so if you interview for a school, you'll want to talk to an instructor from that school, but some things, like whiny students and administrative decisions that make your life harder, seem to be pretty universal.
This job is not for someone with thin skin. It takes an ability to let things slide off your back, patience (as any change, good or bad, takes forever to happen), and a good sense of humor. Still interested?
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Fall 2009, That's a Wrap!
Thank GOD this semester is over. Final grades are in, so I can wash my hands of the whole thing. I've been teaching at Ivy Tech for almost two years, and seriously, this was the worst semester by far.
On the good side, many of my f2f students blew me away with their work. I had higher than normal As and Bs this semster. I'm pretty tough, and I really don't bend very often in my rules (including NEVER accepting late work unless it is an extreme situation or my mistake), so I usually have an almost perfect bell curve. My two new classes did really well. So impressed with their work all semester long.
On the bad side, my online classes were rougher than normal. The 16 week classes did good, and I managed not to get too far behind in them. My 8 week classes, though, were a nightmare from beginning to end. I spent so much time fixing problems, dealing with issue after issue, technical and otherwise, then desperately trying to catch up on grading, I felt like I never got my feet under me. Those two classes had me questioning my sanity in choosing this for a living.
As a post script, after my last email to my problem student concerning turning in all of her work with no penalty so long as it was by the last day, which was two days ago, I have not heard hide nor hair from her. My gamble paid off. I just wish it hadn't been necessary to do.
Anyway, two weeks of brain dead relaxation to re-group for next semester. Happy Kwanza, Merry Christmas, and Happy Chaunaka. In other words, happy holidays, everyone!
On the good side, many of my f2f students blew me away with their work. I had higher than normal As and Bs this semster. I'm pretty tough, and I really don't bend very often in my rules (including NEVER accepting late work unless it is an extreme situation or my mistake), so I usually have an almost perfect bell curve. My two new classes did really well. So impressed with their work all semester long.
On the bad side, my online classes were rougher than normal. The 16 week classes did good, and I managed not to get too far behind in them. My 8 week classes, though, were a nightmare from beginning to end. I spent so much time fixing problems, dealing with issue after issue, technical and otherwise, then desperately trying to catch up on grading, I felt like I never got my feet under me. Those two classes had me questioning my sanity in choosing this for a living.
As a post script, after my last email to my problem student concerning turning in all of her work with no penalty so long as it was by the last day, which was two days ago, I have not heard hide nor hair from her. My gamble paid off. I just wish it hadn't been necessary to do.
Anyway, two weeks of brain dead relaxation to re-group for next semester. Happy Kwanza, Merry Christmas, and Happy Chaunaka. In other words, happy holidays, everyone!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
It's Finally Finals!
Ugh, this week could not get here soon enough! I've taken an informal poll of all my colleagues that I associate on a regular basis, and we all agree - this semester SUCKED.
Part of the problem for us was the explosion of enrollment with very few new hires. Many of us were maxed out of overload. Top that with raised class limits (a particular pet peeve of mine due to limited interpersonal interaction and no additional money for additional students), more rules and regulations coming down the administrative pipe that allows us less and less freedom in our classes, and a raise freeze due to lack of funding, and it makes for a cranky group of people. We were told that this semester would be the worst, by next semester, many of the issues we had with this semester will have been worked out. Needless to say, none of us are holding our breath.
On the positive teaching side of things, this is group project and individual presentation week for all of my students. They do their final online to give us time to do these presentations. I have to say, this has got to be my favorite of all assignments! I require creativity as the majority of their grade, and what they end up coming up with blows me away every semester. Oh, sure, there's always a few that barely put in enough time to throw a Power Point presentation together, but then there are those who are so rich and complicated and entertaining that I end up keeping them as examples for the next semester. This semester, I had a group who did a Dateline Undercover-type project, sending two gals into Best Buy, one looking hot, the other looking kinda scruffy, to see who was helped first. Needless to say, the hot gal was helped first. In fact, the sales clerk closest to the scruffy student walked by her and ignored her completely to go help the cute student. I smell an expose here!
My media class also had some great projects. They had to do a presentation on the marketing and advertising campaign on a product and how that related to culture and communication. One student did Gatorade and emotional communication. I was floored. It was so well researched, so outside of the box, with just enough imperfections that I didn't suspect plaigarism, she got the highest grade in the class for that project.
It is just these things that make all of the other crap that has to be dealt with so much easier. If only there were more moments like these.
Part of the problem for us was the explosion of enrollment with very few new hires. Many of us were maxed out of overload. Top that with raised class limits (a particular pet peeve of mine due to limited interpersonal interaction and no additional money for additional students), more rules and regulations coming down the administrative pipe that allows us less and less freedom in our classes, and a raise freeze due to lack of funding, and it makes for a cranky group of people. We were told that this semester would be the worst, by next semester, many of the issues we had with this semester will have been worked out. Needless to say, none of us are holding our breath.
On the positive teaching side of things, this is group project and individual presentation week for all of my students. They do their final online to give us time to do these presentations. I have to say, this has got to be my favorite of all assignments! I require creativity as the majority of their grade, and what they end up coming up with blows me away every semester. Oh, sure, there's always a few that barely put in enough time to throw a Power Point presentation together, but then there are those who are so rich and complicated and entertaining that I end up keeping them as examples for the next semester. This semester, I had a group who did a Dateline Undercover-type project, sending two gals into Best Buy, one looking hot, the other looking kinda scruffy, to see who was helped first. Needless to say, the hot gal was helped first. In fact, the sales clerk closest to the scruffy student walked by her and ignored her completely to go help the cute student. I smell an expose here!
My media class also had some great projects. They had to do a presentation on the marketing and advertising campaign on a product and how that related to culture and communication. One student did Gatorade and emotional communication. I was floored. It was so well researched, so outside of the box, with just enough imperfections that I didn't suspect plaigarism, she got the highest grade in the class for that project.
It is just these things that make all of the other crap that has to be dealt with so much easier. If only there were more moments like these.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
No Good Deed, Part 3
After receiving another email from my problem student during Thanksgiving break asking why I had not responded to her last email, a time she specifically said NOT to email her due to her stress, I finally broke down. When honest won't work, give them what they want and call it for the lost cause it is.
The email I sent her was so nice and sweet, you could have sugared your coffee with it. I told her, given her unfortunate circumstances, I would accept all of her work, late and otherwise, without any penalty at all. The only catch was that I had to receive by the last day of class, no exceptions. That gives her three weeks to turn in 15 weeks worth of DB postings, quizzes, and papers. If she can do it all, I will keep my word.
Now, before you think I'm cashing in my integrity but letting her do this when any other student would not be allowed, I understand your thinking. It choked me to do it. However, given the tone and language of her letters, I truly do believe she will do what I first claimed she would do in my first email - set herself up to fight her grade by making me the bad guy. Instead, I gave her EVERYTHING she asked for, taking me out of the equation on her grade entirely. Kind of like playing tug-of-war and letting go of the rope.
Let's see if she falls.
The email I sent her was so nice and sweet, you could have sugared your coffee with it. I told her, given her unfortunate circumstances, I would accept all of her work, late and otherwise, without any penalty at all. The only catch was that I had to receive by the last day of class, no exceptions. That gives her three weeks to turn in 15 weeks worth of DB postings, quizzes, and papers. If she can do it all, I will keep my word.
Now, before you think I'm cashing in my integrity but letting her do this when any other student would not be allowed, I understand your thinking. It choked me to do it. However, given the tone and language of her letters, I truly do believe she will do what I first claimed she would do in my first email - set herself up to fight her grade by making me the bad guy. Instead, I gave her EVERYTHING she asked for, taking me out of the equation on her grade entirely. Kind of like playing tug-of-war and letting go of the rope.
Let's see if she falls.
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