Teaching is an important part of your job. And you are committed to doing it well.
At the same time, you often resent how much time it takes. And feel like you really wish you had more time for research than you do right now.
It’s like the bookshelf problem.
You know, your bookshelves are packed so tight you have double layers of books and ones stacked sideways on top of other books to fill that space between the top of the books and the shelves.
So you decide that if you bought more bookshelves, there would be space. They’d be more aesthetically pleasing. Maybe there would even be space for a vase or something on one of the shelves.
You go and buy another bookshelf. And now you have more bookshelves that are completely stuffed with books. How did that happen?
Teaching prep expands to fill the time available
Just like the books. Once you have space for them, you acquire more.
And, just like the books, teaching prep is a really important part of your academic life.
But sometimes, there are books in there we no longer want or need. Books we could give away to make room for other important books.
Today I want to talk about some of the ways that you might be spending time on teaching that isn’t required for you to do it well.
How does teaching make you feel?
Seriously.
Do you look forward to it? Or do you dread it? Or something in between?
Here’s the thing. Sometimes we try to ease anxiety by doing more preparation.
It doesn’t always work. Which can lead to a vicious cycle in which you overprepare, the students don’t get it, your anxiety increases, so you do more preparation …
I saw this happen to someone once. The outcome was not pretty. She was stressed. The students didn’t understand. She wasn’t getting any research done, which meant her job was on the line. OMG. It was awful.
Sorry. Didn’t mean to increase your anxiety there. But spending more time preparing might not be the answer.
Nobody trained me to do this!
I actually got some training in teaching and learning. I started my first academic job in the mid-90s, a time when UK universities started providing some resources for new faculty. And I worked at a University where the course was run by an HE specialist in the education department.
Nevertheless, the dominant mode of thinking about teaching in higher education remains (even in the UK) that content knowledge is the most important element.
I find it astounding that comprehensive exams are often justified as important preparation for future teaching.
Given that kind of organizational culture, it isn’t really that surprising that people overprepare. And focus on content.
Sometimes less really is more. Especially when teaching lower level undergraduate courses, the nuance can confuse. Spending time thinking about how to pare down the content to the essentials can be more productive in the long run.
Your anxiety is completely understandable.
Stress is caused by uncertainty and perceived lack of control.
Your lack of training in how to teach creates anxiety about teaching.
Going into a classroom as an “expert” when you feel like you have no clue causes a lot of stress. And let’s face it, you aren’t always teaching in your area of expertise.
The fact that your job security depends on good teaching evaluations just adds to that stress.
To deal with the anxiety, address the anxiety.
Spending more time on content can be a diversion.
Getting support for teaching
Believe it or not, support is probably available in your institution.
Many universities now have a centre for teaching and learning or something. And those centres are staffed by people who can help you with your teaching process.
You are the content expert. Even in areas that are not your research focus, you have enough knowledge of your discipline to teach an undergraduate course well. Which is why ABDs and other folks with no PhD are teaching so many courses as sessionals and adjuncts.
The folks in the centre for whatever they call it, are experts in the process. They probably have books you can borrow, run workshops, and even do individual consults.
They probably have no formal connection to your department. So no one on your tenure committee is going to know you went there. Not that it would harm you chances or anything, but if that is a concern, don’t worry.
You can also create your own support.
You are not the only one who is anxious about teaching and having some difficulties.
Find a colleague who will be your learning partner.
Learn about effective teaching methods together.
Observe each other’s classes and provide constructive feedback.
Act as sounding boards for each other when things aren’t going well.
And celebrate together when things are going well.
Your learning partner doesn’t have to be in the same discipline. In fact, having someone from a completely different discipline can be eye-opening.
I have two friends who continued this practice for years. One was a visual artist, the other a chemist.
In your first year or so, teaching will take a lot of time
While you should be able to find a rhythm that enables you to continue your research program during term time, that might not be the case during the first year or two of a tenure-track job.
You have all new courses. You are living in a new city. You have to figure out how this institution works.
There are circumstances at the beginning of your career that legitimately take time.
However, you can make sure that time is spent doing things that will actually enable students to learn stuff from you.
And you can begin as you mean to go on, reducing your anxiety around teaching so it takes an appropriate proportion of your time.
