Was looking for a PT teaching job and now have two!

Hi,
I have never taught before and would like your thoughts/stories of experiences re: your first teaching job. Honestly, I have done many things in life with relatively little stress over them but for some reason, this is freaking me out a bit!

What can I expect and how do I plan? Does the university provide a teaching plan, schedule, etc? Or, do I do this? At this point, I don't even know what textbook is going to be used.

thanks much,
John

 

I'll jump in...

Some provide syllabi, some don't. If your U does not provide a plan or a syllabus, you'll need to write your own. Same with the text - they might have already specified the one you'll use.

When I was hired to teach my first class I searched the internet and found other syllabi from other intro classes. I read all of them plus I asked for and received syllabi from other instructors at my CC. I also reveiwed the course description from the college and looked at what the other instructors focused on or didn't focus on. For a textbook, I choose one that others at the CC used so that it was easier to get last-minute textbooks ordered and figured if the other intro instructors used it that was a good thing.

Contact the textbook rep and get desk copies ASAP. A lot of texts now come with supplements on CD (or fully online), like case studies, pop-quizzes, powerpoint lecture notes (you can post them online in your class site) plus mine has quiz/exam building programs that are awesome.

My Chair wanted to see my syllabus before I posted it and she made no major changes to it. She gave me some helpful pointers. After that, I was assigned a mentor and that was helpful, because I didn't have to ask the Chair all of my questions. She shared with me some research paper ideas. And another instructor was paid so that I could use his course template for the online portion. Does your U set up your website pages for you? That is a big obstacle but maybe they've already done it for you?

Good luck! Don't stress...take it one step at a time. When does class start?

 

Different schools have different approaches. What schools are you teaching for? Ask them what they expect - my first class I taught I tried to stay low key and not be overbearing in the class. I had a mid-class review and was told to be more active in the class. One student reviewed me as not being present the first half and waking up the second half of the class. The point - ask what is expected before the class starts.

 

It's a bit nerve-wracking at first, because you'll quickly realize people have paid very good money for your services, but once you get the hang of it, it's second nature.

 

Hey, another Frederick, Marylander!!! Might I ask what you are teaching and where you are teaching? Lastly, what degree(s) do you have? I ask because I have been considering PT teaching as well at some point. Thanks!

Pug