Software and Tools That Help Faculty Plan Courses and Reclaim Time
A practical guide to choosing and setting up productivity tools around the way faculty work, without creating another system that demands constant maintenance.
Productivity tips for faculty. Life’s complicated as it is, let’s see if we can help you simplify a few things.
Finding Time To Write
Like most faculty, I first started seriously writing while I was in graduate school. At the time, I was working full-time during the day and working on my studies in the evening. I did not have the luxury of dedicating huge portions of my day to writing. What I did have was an academic goal and a graduation deadline. With this realization, I utilized two techniques that worked extremely well for me. The first technique was mirco-writing during the week. I began writing whenever I could in increments of 5 to 15 minutes. I did this before going to work, during my coffee and lunch breaks, and before bed. Every spare, and sometimes odd, minute during the day counted towards my writing productivity. A sentence here and there eventually adds up to a paragraph and then a page. This meant that I took my notebook or laptop everywhere. The second thing that helped me was to be intentional about writing and making it a part of my daily routine rather than a chore. I tend to do a lot of my writing early in the morning when my family is still asleep. I typically wake up at 4am, grab breakfast and then get to my computer to begin writing. Some may prefer to write in the evening, at a coffee shop, or library. The time and location do not matter as long as writing becomes a part of your daily schedule. So start taking advantage of every spare minute and make writing a daily habit. You may be writing in sound-bites, which may feel different at first, but you will be writing and doing so regularly.
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How To Prepare For A Teaching Demonstration At A Job Interview
This is the third in a series of articles to help you prepare for the teaching job interview. In the last two articles, I discussed how you can prepare for the Writing Assignment At Teaching Job Interview and how to Prepare For A Teaching Interview.
In this article, I’ll share four things to help you prepare for the teaching demonstration.
Teaching Demonstration
Most applicants applying for a teaching position seem have some teaching experience either as a Teaching Assistant (TA) in graduate school, or as an adjunct faculty, or as a trainer in the industry they’ve specialized in. If you happen to be one of those, you’re fortunate enough to have some classroom or instructional experience.
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Top 5 Higher Education Job Sites
Whether you are looking for your first faculty position or a different one, a job search is a full-time job in itself if done correctly. Opportunities within academia have to be actively pursued on a daily basis.
Why? The answer is simple. Supply and demand!
Universities are awarding more graduate degrees than the market can handle. In 1957, U.S. institutions awarded a total of 8,611 doctorate degrees. In 2012, they awarded a whopping 51,008. That’s a 492% increase within half a decade.
We have seen a 64% percent increase in doctoral degree program completers within the last thirty years alone. The competition in the job market is extremely tough, and you, as a job seeker, need to understand that a college degree, even a PhD from a respected university, does not equal a guaranteed job offer any more. There are simply more qualified job seekers within the academic market than full-time positions.
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5 Time Management Tips
I have yet to come across a college or university that requires all students to take a course in time management before they graduate. It’s mind boggling! We in the United States require our students to take a whole bunch of General Education (GE) courses that they’ll rarely, if ever, use after they graduate, but we won’t require them take courses on topics that they will need and benefit from every day of their life during and after college. Courses like: money management, personal financing, and time management. Some of these students eventually become professors never having learned how to manage their time effectively.
I meet a lot of faculty who want to get a lot of things done. They want to accomplish great things in academia but find themselves working around the clock and barely accomplishing anything. They’re able to meet the basic obligations of their duties and nothing more. Why is it that some faculty seem to be involved in so many exciting activities and projects, in addition to teaching, while others are barely keeping their heads above water?
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How To Avoid Group Work Complaints: 4 Tips To Follow!
Ever wonder why so many students hate group work? If you were like most students in college, the thought of group work was something you did not look forward to either. Why? Well, there are a number of reasons.
Being in a group meant:
- making concessions and giving up control of a portion of a project or assignment
- having the performance of other students in the group affect your grade
- being possibly stuck with one or more losers who never do any work and still end up with the same grade as everyone else in the group
- having to rearrange your schedule to accommodate the availability of others in the group
Managing Group Projects: 8 Things You Should Do!
So you’ve assigned your first group project and thoroughly explained the requirements to your students and you now want to make sure that your students are productive and efficient. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to facilitate the interaction and progress of each group.
1. Raise The Bar
Before assigning the groups, it’s important to set the tone for the quality of work you expect from students. Raise the bar high, and your students will meet it and possibly exceed it. Set the bar too low, and you’ll be disappointed with the quality of your students’ work, and they’ll never really know what they are truly capable of achieving. Never make the mistake of assuming that a student’s socio-economic background, age, or cultural background will prevent them from achieving spectacular results if they are properly trained and prepared by you.
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How To Plan Your First Course: 5 Tips For New Faculty
Planning a course for a brand new faculty can be an overwhelming experience. It can be especially overwhelming if this is your first time going through the process. And even more so if you have not had the opportunity to participate in a TA program and be mentored by seasoned faculty. But, there’s no reason to fret. This article will cover a few simple things you can do to help you plan your first course without stressing and getting overwhelmed.
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