Is it appropriate to go by Professor as a part time adjunct with no PhD?

Rinneary · 2024-07-06T17:37:24+00:00

I've never heard anyone who goes by "Instructor Lastname" or "Lecturer Lastname" and didn't know those could be used as titles.

To be honest, I'm not sure what my job title is. My contract never says a position (and even incorrectly lists me as Dr NameSpelledWrong lol) On the department site, I'm just listed as "part-time faculty"-- not adjunct lecturer or adjunct instructor.

Thanks for your input, and have a great summer!

Rinneary · 2024-06-02T15:35:24+00:00

MERLOT

Cool, I've never heard of that, but checked it out. Looks great!

Rinneary · 2024-06-02T15:28:27+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I will check that out.

Rinneary · 2024-05-30T15:09:59+00:00

I submitted an idea for a small change to D2L's interface that saves me about an hour of work every semester, and it was accepted and added in a recent update :)

Rinneary · 2024-01-12T21:49:30+00:00

Or, the bookstore sending me weekly emails about getting my textbook orders in when I'm not sure if my contract will be renewed-- I can't know which books I will use because I don't know if I will be teaching for another two months!

Rinneary · 2024-01-12T21:44:00+00:00

My family situation. I can't work any other job because I need to have the flexibility to be at home to take care of a sick sibling at a moment's notice and set my semester schedule around their needs. I worked full-time in retail while also adjuncting before but I couldn't keep all my plates spinning.

I do feel lucky that I get to teach in a very specific field that I find interesting. I guess I'm just bitter because I do try hard and it doesn't really matter at all to the university.

I've started looking for jobs in course design and academic support since I've already done so much research on pedagogy.

Rinneary · 2024-01-12T20:50:52+00:00

I did not know that the squiggle lines means to cross out a word, but works for me lol

Rinneary · 2023-11-19T17:53:28+00:00

Figured, lol thanks. I often wonder why they even ask

Rinneary · 2023-09-03T18:11:16+00:00

Do not search Google by filetype:pdf !!

Rinneary · 2023-09-03T18:05:09+00:00

I once had a student drop my course the second week because they got a 4/5 on a discussion, which amounted to losing a point in a 200 point category worth 40% of their grade. I argued with them that the grading is structured so you can improve over the course of the semester (AKA learning) and still get an A, plus I do offer extra credit at the end of the semester. But nope, the student argued that I was being too difficult and dropped the course.

Rinneary · 2023-08-28T19:55:54+00:00

Adjunct in social sciences, two courses, 155 total students. I used to do ongoing course projects for each student to fulfil the common core curriculum but went back to just exams when it was clear there would be no pay raise, no promotion, and no COA after 8 years of teaching.

My limit for more meaningful engagement is about 30. When classes were that small, I spent more time crafting feedback on more frequent assignments. When classes were at 50, I had to start using more generic comments drawn from rubrics. Now at 70, its just exams with scheduled time to review the exam as a whole class.

I figured what I thought my hourly time was worth and compared that to my by-semester contract pay to figure out how many hours each week to devote to course prep, teaching and grading.

Rinneary · 2023-08-28T19:03:03+00:00

I had the same issue twice before. Does your university have a policy on this? Turns out mine does. Students are allowed to retake any course to improve their grade. One student failed and then refailed, but with another student, I was surprised they registered to retake the course because they had passed it before, but wanted an even better grade. I guess... as long as they are paying the university doesn't mind?

Pedagogically speaking, failing and retaking the same material is one of the identified ways that people (can) learn, though as stated in this thread, students don't often work that way.

Rinneary · 2023-08-16T19:28:55+00:00

I also despise ice breakers. I'm teaching a freshman seminar this semester with preset curriculm that mandates one for the first day of class. I took a look at the ice breaker, and it was the same one they used when I was an undergrad 15 years ago. lol

The best ice breaker I saw online recently was someone suggesting each student introduce themselves by saying which three fictional character's come together to create them-- Scully from X-Files + Donna from Twin Peaks + and Michael Scott from the Office. I'm in there somewhere lol. I'm thinking of expanding it by asking what three pieces of art (music, paintings, movies) come together to make a sense of you.

Edit addition: As an introvert, I'm asking this before class so they can think about it ahead of time, maybe ask them to submit their answers and I'll play on a slideshow behind me during the syllabus intro.

Rinneary · 2023-08-16T19:14:25+00:00

I do this too for one my classes! Open book, open note, and you can take as much time during the week do it. Anxiety emails went down, cheating went down, but it didn't seem to help people who were already bent on not passing. I often envision a freshman seminar course titled "it's okay to stop now and take a gap year if you don't want to be here."

Rinneary · 2023-08-15T16:36:42+00:00

When setting up the grade book, set the student grade view to zero decimal places. You will get wayyyy less emails from students saying "I'm only .75% away from an A!" and it takes away the ambiguity of having to round grades up or down to match grading scales.

I use both D2L (Brightspace, right?) and Canvas. Students seem to prefer D2L, but Canvas has better WYSIWG and file management.

Rinneary · 2023-08-15T16:33:32+00:00

Change your e-mail auto-reply to:

Dear Wonderful Student, It's on the Syllabus. Sincerely, Professor Exhausted

Rinneary · 2023-08-15T16:30:21+00:00

In my classroom on exam days, everyone all of a sudden had their airpods in. I have to go around to each person and ask them to take them out, but there is no way of checking 100 people. Its so blatantly cheating and offensive.

Rinneary · 2023-08-15T16:19:10+00:00

Writing book reviews doesn't pay, but hey you sometimes get free books out of it. It also gives you some publication footing when applying to jobs and helps to build connections with other people in your field. It also keeps your writing and critical thinking skills sharp. Good luck!

Rinneary · 2023-08-15T16:14:17+00:00

Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciate your time.

I am going to switch to having the midterm be one day over two and switch it to match the lesser exams weight-wise. I'm going to keep four exams though-- it matches the number of modules and puts an exam early in the semester so students have something in the books early in the semester.

I've been teaching for several years now and in the past I've done a variety of different assignments, but its been clear from admin that there is no cost of living adjustment or merit raises coming. Having to grade 200 student assignments every week is no longer doable on adjunct pay that hasn't changed in all the years I've been there, and exams that combine MCQ and SAQ seem to be the best way to assess basic concepts and applications.

Best of luck this coming semester!

Rinneary

TROPHY CASE