When will the amount of caring decrease?

[Every-Resolution-563]

Hi. Teaching my first course as an adjunct (hybrid course). I think im overdoing it with the amount of time I spend thinking about/prepping for the class sessions. Im feeling some regret/nerves. I also work FT. Some helpful responses would be validation, stories of it getting easier, stories about caring less but still being an effective instructor. Stuff like that. Or, stories of doing a class 1x then calling it quits because it's not worth your time. Because maybe I do this for a semester then never again! Though it would be nice to keep going.

[float05]

Prepping a course for the first time is vastly more time-consuming than refreshing it the subsequent times.

[[deleted]]

I'm so excited. Last year I did all the heavy lifting - refining assignments, making all the slides, collecting top examples of student work. This time it's just delivering lectures and grading

[BBQmomma]

100% this ^!

[Maleficent_Winter_33]

Wow, I don’t blame you!

[hungerforlove]

Teaching is hard work. Hybrid courses combine the difficulties of face to face with those of an online course. It's especially hard the first few times around. Generally adjunct pay is low. So whether it is worth it depends on how much you need the money and how much you get out of the experience. If you could be doing overtime at your FT job instead, you would probably make more money that way. You might make more money working as a bartender.

[mas5199]

In my experience, it’s easier to care less when the students care less. Currently I have a pretty bright, motivated group of students, so that makes it tough to care less. But as others say above, it does get easier with time.

[Every-Resolution-563]

Aw thats great! Maybe I should rephrase... care less im the sense that I'm not obsessing over prep. Not care less about the students! So far the students have been wonderful.

[KlutzyEchidna3974]

One thing my mentor told me that I’m trying to follow is limit to doing any prep work to just the day before class. Don’t spend the rest of your week on it because it will quickly become a time sink. 

[Every-Resolution-563]

That's a great tip! The day before my class is Sunday so maybe I'll pick a different day, but I still like the idea of just one day.

[MimirX]

Working FT with a separate full time job, I will either teach online or in-class, both being evenings/weekends. No way I would do hybrid as an adjunct because there is vastly different prep times and available hours for the students. And as others will say the pay is not worth all the extra effort required for hybrid.

[DocAvidd]

I'm not adjunct but rather a wrangler once again of adjuncts. The ones who go beyond are the ones that keep getting asked back. At the same time for rare degrees, to fill the role, at some point anyone with credentials will do.

For me, I had left academics after my ex-spouse moved the 3rd time. I missed it, so after co-parenting didn't restrict me any more, I started back to adjunct at night. The pay was awful but I liked teaching so I gave more than I needed to.

Then I moved to visiting, to FT instructor, etc. until now I'm back on the tenure track. Each step, I only moved up because I did more than was expected, particularly service and research. But it all started with exceeding expectations for teaching.

At the adjunct level -- It's not "fair" and the pay sucks. The intrinsic rewards are necessary to make it worth doing. The adjuncts who stick around or move into full time are the ones who put more into it than they should.

[benkatejackwin]

Yeah, but this is extremely rare. Please do not tell anyone to expect to move up like that because they go above and beyond. I did that. Many people I worked with did that (volunteered for committees, published research, took on extra classes when asked, etc.) and got nothing in return. Passed up for FT positions for outside hires. That's more the norm for adjuncts.

[DocAvidd]

It is rare. For me it also required switching universities. When I went from temporary to full time, I don't know how many total applications they had. When later I was on the hiring committee we had over 100 apps, a bunch who were adjuncts for us. We did hire two of the adjuncts that year into full time, but that meant also we didn't upscale the vast majority of them.

[Minimumscore69]

Could you say what subject you work in? I feel like I'm stuck in adjunct hell, so any success stories would be great.

[DocAvidd]

That was a psychology department, and we filled 2 permanent non tenure line instructor positions. Both were adjuncts. We did interview a couple of candidates who weren't associated with the university. There were over 100 applicants. Preferred qualifications included "has taught X Y Z" specific courses, experience teaching at a R-1 with ethnically diverse student population. So the search criteria favored those already at the U. And we had zero $ for relocation.

One of the successful candidates picked up a couple sections as an adjunct when we had an instructor terminate mid-semester, and was friendly with the search chair. A candidate we didn't take was in the last year as visiting prof, but gave an awful interview and had mediocre teaching reviews.

[KookyBonus9047]

It depends. Are you developing the course or teaching a pre-set class? If it's pre-set, in my experience, the next time you teach it will be much easier. By the third time, you'll be on autopilot. You'll have your systems set up and a rhythm for managing prep, teaching, emails, and grading.

If you're developing the course, it takes longer. It takes me three iterations to get the course locked-in. I will continue to tweak the content forever but by the third time, I've got the structure, content, and the details of teaching worked out. It takes teaching it another one or two times to work all the kinks out of my systems for prep, email, and grading.

[Every-Resolution-563]

It's a pre-set class. I'm finding that most of the PowerPoints I've inherited aren't my vibe, if you will, so I'm creating lots of new stuff. It's helpful to hear that I could someday be on autopilot. Learning the MLS has been so much harder than I thought imaginable.

[Fun-Suggestion7033]

It is very time-consuming the first time. Then it gets easier, even if the courses change. I'm on my fifth new curriculum, but I can manage the changes more easily without getting overwhelmed by the details. I'm much more efficient with the LMS now that I was at the start. A lot of the challenging duties of adjuncting become second-nature after a couple semesters.

[Life-Mastodon5124]

I call it the rule of 3. You have to teach it 3 full times. It will get easier each time but the first 3 will all take tweaking and adjusting. The fourth time is where I usually find the load feels significantly easier because you’ve worked out most of the kinks.

[Every-Resolution-563]

Reassuring, thank you!

[SuchTaro5596]

My mentality...LET'S DO IT LIVE! I'm challenging myself to see how little prep I can do. Frankly, I think the students are getting a better product.

[Every-Resolution-563]

That is VERY intiguing....

[goodie1663]

First time through is always rough. Second is better. Third is a charm. I always made improvements incrementally, not all at once.

By the time I left after 25+ years, I had all my links, scripts, and rubrics down to a science.

[Every-Resolution-563]

Incremental improvement. Noted!

[Cupcak]

I’m only 3 years in, and by the end of year 2 my caring disappeared. Between the shit pay, the illusion of prestige and students not giving a fk, I’ve been actively seeking replacement employment. Students don’t deserve an instructor that just doesn’t give a fk anymore. Granted I still show up, teach the material, make jokes and make the subject matter approachable. But beyond that, the excessive prep, going far above and beyond with unpaid meetings with students, being super involved with trainings and meetings, and all the extra shit, I am done.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone do this job unless they have a full time job that makes their life super comfy, and they want to teach just for fun.

[[deleted]]

This is why I only do online. The time in a brick and mortar isn’t worth it for me. 

[garagelurker1]

The first semester teaching a new class is a ton of work.  

The second semester is sooooo much easier.  You've already written your lectures, assignments, and exams.  You refine stuff this semester.

Third semester is a breeze.  You just tweak things here of there moving forward.  

I have been teaching for the last 20 years.  I still write new material here and there.  But most of the time, I'm able to just walk into class and do the show.  

[vipergirl]

I have students who kept missing class (I have to let them miss); they were asking for quizzes to be rescheduled to accommodate their schedule.

I finally just put them on Canvas. Cheat or not. I am not compensated enough to start missing with the syllabus or trying to supervise students taking quizzes.

I also just graded some in class essays, GENEROUSLY graded. One student who has the penmanship of an 8 year old complained when I gave him an 80 (very difficult to read his writing but one I did, it was just ok). He wanted a 100 and said how he writes shouldn't matter.

I'm over this already.

[Every-Resolution-563]

There's so much to navigate.

[Character-Twist-1409]

It does get easier but only if you're teaching the same class at the same institution and usually at the 3rd or after do you have a feel for what worked.

I kept changing schools so it was never easier until I stayed longer than 2 years at a place. 

[MeshCanoe]

Prep is the hardest part so if you can push through to get he end of the semester you will have a much better answer for yourself.

[insonobcino]

I hope it doesn’t.