I was hired for my first adjuncting job today. I will be teaching Intro. to Microcomputers. My class will be Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:10 to 9:45 at the same college where I completed my associate degree.I am absolutely ecstatic! I have always wanted to teach part time and I did not expect the opportunity to present itself this soon. While I'm very excited, I'm also nervous! The class includes a lab component so the time frame should work out to about 2 hours of lecture and 2 hours of lab each night give or take a bit here or there. Even if I'm only lecturing for 2 hours, I am realizing that is a long time to hold the attention of a group of students. I don't start until July 6 but I'd like to start making plans now. I was wondering if any of you in the degreeinfo community could share some resources for first time instructors.
Congrats on your new position. I found Adjunct Professor's Guide to Success by Richard E. Lyons et al. to be helpful. Lyons also has a newer one entitled Success Strategies for Adjunct Faculty that I have not read, but it's highly rated.
That's great news. Congrats. I have been an adjunct for five whole months now---so I can empathize with you. I have found that the first 30 minutes or so are taken up with what I call logistics---introduction of yourself, introductions of each student, how the course will be conducted, etc. I try to keep each first class very simple, keep the esoteric jargon down to a bare minimum. I also give them an overview of the entire course---content, grading, and expectations. By then we (students & instructor) have gotten over our initial nervousness, and we can get on with the learning. Good luck with your newfound position. Keep us posted. Bill Hurd