How One Article Improved My Teaching

During the summer as I was preparing my syllabus and lectures for my fall class at SDSU, I happened upon an article that changed my teaching for the better. Before I tell you about that, let me begin with a a few comments about the struggles that I face as an adjunct professor in higher education. 

Adjunct professors at some institutions of higher education make up more than 50% of the faculty. There is a growing nationwide concern about the plight of adjunct faculty.  See: http://adjunct.chronicle.com/about/.  But in this post, I will comment about the professional development challenges facing adjuncts who are often isolated from campus integration and support.

From first hand experience, I know that adjuncts often work at teaching part time, on top of other jobs that compete for our attention.  And, I also know first hand that teaching a college level course is a hard job.  To be prepared and to have any hope of reaching students, each class requires hours of preparation and then add on hours of grading each semester on top of that.

Typically, adjuncts are not trained to be teachers with courses that provide the skills and techniques needed for increasing student engagement in a classroom.  Adjuncts are often only on campus part time and don't have interactions with other faculty or access to professional development resources where they can learn the tips and ideas that can increase student learning.  

I am allowed to teach because I have a Masters Degree in my field and more than 30 years of real world experience in local government, intergovernmental relations, public policy, marketing and communications.  Even though I have taught many courses in Public Administration at San Diego State University over the last 20 years, in at least six different subjects in my field, I am on my own to find ways to improve my teaching skills.

In my view, adjuncts would appreciate more professional development support to become better teachers. For me, I never taught for the money. I am one of the lucky adjuncts who doesn't need to make a career or a living from teaching. I teach to be with students, to help them prepare for successful careers in the field of public administration. That's a liberating feeling, but that alone doesn't make me a good teacher. 

At many colleges, adjuncts are offered professional development opportunities and given opportunities to interact with other faculty.  But support and inclusion of adjuncts varies widely and I believe it needs to be strengthened at campuses where adjuncts are isolated.  In my opinion, adjuncts need and would welcome more support, guidance and stimulating ideas and tips to become better teachers. I would love to have a seminar in the summer for adjuncts just about teaching tips. I would love to have periodic discussion groups with other adjuncts to share teaching stories.  And I would love it if colleges could share teaching resources with adjuncts in a supportive way. That would be motivating for us all and ultimately good for students.

Now back to the beginning.  In my lonely quest to become a better teacher, this summer I came across an article by David Goobar, a fellow adjunct and author of a blog worth reading called Pedagogy Unbound.  This one article, "The Obvious Benefits of in Class Writing Assignments"  had a big impact on me and I believe has made me a better teacher.

See: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/588-the-obvious-benefits-of-in-class-writing-assignments

If you google "in class writing assignments" there are hundreds of articles and tips for this well-known teaching technique. But remember, I'm an adjunct and I have never specifically been trained in the art of teaching.  Before discovering this excellent blog with "pedagogy tips", I had never even thought about using in-class writing or had the chance to even consider it's obvious benefits.

Each semester I am frustrated with the lack of real student engagement in my classroom and I often wonder how many of my students even bother to read the texts and readings I assign. I get frustrated by high absenteeism in my classes and students who just want to sit and listen to lectures and never have questions or comments to offer. With large class sizes of 40-60 students and more, class discussions are difficult if not impossible and lecture knowledge delivery seems to be the only option. I try to stimulate my students with videos, speakers from the community who deliver real world stories, real time surveys with Polleverywhere, and online resources and readings that I discover to supplement my topics. But still I wonder what is being learned?

What this article suggests is that an in-class writing assignment gives the student an opportunity (or forces) quiet reflection and a chance to communicate their understanding of class readings and materials. 

This semester I decided to try it and I am thrilled with the results! My syllabus indicates that there are five designated nights where there will be a writing assignment. Students are instructed to complete the assigned reading for the class and during the class they recieve a specific writing prompt. They are asked to write 4-6 organized paragraphs to respond to the prompt in 20 or 30 minutes.  They can write on paper or on their computers and email it to me, but it must be completed in class. 

I tell my students not to think of this as a test or a quiz but as an opportunity to reflect on what they have learned from the reading and the class. It's open book and I encourage creativity. 

What have I learned? Attendance is up on the nights we have these assignments, that's good.  And, I know that my students are actually reading the text to prepare.  I have also learned that my students are really smart, most write well and complete the assignment on time and cover the subject completely.  Students seem to like the assignments and as a teacher I am learning wonderful insights about their lives and gaining a better understanding about what they are learning.

Thank you David for making me a better teacher.  I plan to continue to use in-class writing in future classes and hopefully refine and improve how I use this teaching technique.   The downside to this approach, of course, is more preparation time and more work grading.  Fortunately, I am no longer working another full time job, so I avoid that big dilemma that faces far too many adjuncts.

Every teacher has two basic responsibilities, to continue to improve our understanding of the subject matter we teach and to continue to improve our teaching skills. I try to never teach the same class in the same way a second time.  I am always trying to add new subject matter and more relevant engaging materials for every class. I think teachers also have the responsibility to continue to refine their teaching skills throughout their teaching careers.  We need to provide adjuncts with more support so that they can fulfill that second responsibility.  I learned that isolated adjuncts like me can benefit from teaching tips found on resources like "Pedagogy Unbound".  We just need more of that!