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College Professors Chatboard

Teaching for Two Hours

by Staci

May 30, 2012

I am set to teach at a school that combines high school and college classes. I will be teaching ninth grade English. My concern is what to do for two hours each session to keep kids engaged. I really don't want to lecture much and I plan on having all materials, assignments, and power points online. So what does one do to keep everyone engaged and ...See More

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bernoulli On 5/30/12, Staci wrote: > I am set to teach at a school that combines high school and > college classes. I will be teaching ninth grade English. My > concern is what to do for two hours each session to keep > kids engaged. I really don't want to lecture much and I > plan on having all materials, assignments, and power points > on...See More

Jun 1, 2012

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Diane On 6/01/12, bernoulli wrote: > On 5/30/12, Staci wrote: >> I am set to teach at a school that combines high school and >> college classes. I will be teaching ninth grade English. My >> concern is what to do for two hours each session to keep >> kids engaged. I really don't want to lecture much and I >> plan on havin...See MoreOn 6/01/12, bernoulli wrote: > On 5/30/12, Staci wrote: >> I am set to teach at a school that combines high school and >> college classes. I will be teaching ninth grade English. My >> concern is what to do for two hours each session to keep >> kids engaged. I really don't want to lecture much and I >> plan on having all materials, assignments, and power points >> online. So what does one do to keep everyone engaged and on >> task?

I was teaching 9,10,11, and 12th grade English on a block schedule - 1-1/2 hours at a time. A couple of projects I had great fun with. We "translated" Shakespeare: with my 9th grade, they split into groups and were responsible for either performing a scene live or filming it (most kids have video even on their phones nowadays). They were to contemporize it (use everyday words instead of Old English). We presented them in order, filling in the other scenes mostly by summarizing and reading a few "key" lines. For the seniors, we read "King Lear" - students had to sign up for characters and rehearse their part. Students also signed up to summarize scenes (they were allowed to use SparkNotes).We dramatized it during a portion of class everyday - a scene acted, then summarized. Instead of an essay for a persuasive argument, we did speeches. Students were to come up with a minimum of visuals to accompany their speech. Other students had a review slip to fill out, which kept them listening.

For the most part, however, if you have a long stretch like 2 hours, make sure your transitions are SMOOTH. I regretted days that I was not totally prepared, as those were the days that students became restless.

And face it - they're teenagers. 2 hours is a long stretch! If between items on your agenda, somewhere in the middle, you can let them stretch, move around the room (one of our teachers actually took her class for a walk around the building each day midway through class), just for five minutes it will help break up the class time. Perhaps they can even be seated in one place for a portion of class, but move to another location for another (like group work)?

As much hands-on as you can think of is best! Visuals as much as you can also is imperative!

Hope this helps!

Dec 3, 2012

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english

by anna

Jun 4, 2012

could anyone tell me the meaning of this sentence"you are the apple of my eyes". thank you very much.

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bernoulli On 6/04/12, anna wrote: > could anyone tell me the meaning of this sentence"you are > the apple of my eyes". thank you very much.

It is "You are the apple of my eye". It is a slang expression to mean: "you are the center of my attention" or "you are who I desire." It is an endearing expression. My guess--and it is just a guess--is th...See More

Jun 4, 2012

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pixie I googled the term and came up with this:

The term was originally used in the bible and it was used to signify someone of great worth 'whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye', someone who was very precious. The 'apple of your eye' is the iris or center of the eye. If someone were to touch the apple of your eye it would be very pa...See More

Jun 10, 2012

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Faculty showed true grit at UVA!!

by Other Options

Jun 26, 2012

I must say that during the last two weeks it was something to see the Faculty Senate really come alive and show the determination to get a really good person and strong university president reinstated. There are lessons to be learned from this experience which higher education across all sectors and states must come to grips with and soon. It might...See More

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marjoryt I'll respond to your queries from the cc instructor stand point > > - How many professors in a department teach? ALL cc instructors teach - that's what we are hired to do. We generally get NO time off for research or other duties - they are folded in around teaching.

> - Not only what is their course load, but what kind of > co...See MoreI'll respond to your queries from the cc instructor stand point > > - How many professors in a department teach? ALL cc instructors teach - that's what we are hired to do. We generally get NO time off for research or other duties - they are folded in around teaching.

> - Not only what is their course load, but what kind of > course do they teach and to how many students? All freshman and sophomore, including more nontraditional and at risk, and very high numbers, especially in lecture based classes such as psychology and history. I teach English composition, and generally have 250 students per semester for fall and spring.

> - How many have bought out of teaching undergrads at all? That's all we do. I have two co-workers, both with Ph.D.s who are trying to work their way out of teaching freshmen students, to teach only sophomore level literature courses. They don't realize it, but they are actually endangering their careers! Many universities are drastically cutting the course hours for undergraduate degrees, and those lit classes are among the first to go. I see this already - we just don't have our American and English literature sections fill any more. I teach American Literature online, and even they don't make every semester.

> - Does the tenure and promotion system really reward those > who do want to teach in higher education? Tenure and promotion?????? What's that? We have yearly contracts.

> - If the university does not have a year-round course > program, does there really need to be 12-month > administrators in all functions? Community colleges do have year round programs, especially in our technical and career programs. Not only that, but we are seeing growth in the short term classes. About half of my last graduate degree courses were done in short term classes between semesters - the professors wanted to teach the grad courses then, and do the undergraduate and research during the Fall and Spring.

> - As K-12 staff often has differentiated summer coverage, > perhaps in a university support staff might be broken down > into 9-month, 10-month, or 11-month jobs with "shared summer > coverage" in some university or school functions. Some of our career technical instructors, coaches, and music instructors have those positions, because they must do recruiting and prep work. Personally, my Spring semester ended in May, and this summer I'm teaching June and July. Our classes begin in August. We need to offer the summer classes, and many of my coworkers want the summer off. This means I'm on call.

> - Is there any management training provided to Deans of a > school or department chairmen? IMHO, almost nothing worth their time. There is a "leadership" program offered to some instructors - mostly being groomed for future department chairs or to move into management. I would LOVE to see ccs hire people with backgrounds in business management. Not only that, but many ccs tend to hire locally - to the point that administration seems a clone of the local university.

> - Just what should a college student expect for the tuition > paid? That's a really good question. Right now, in that online American Lit course I have, 18 of my 23 students are co-enrolled a universities in and outside the state. They are taking my course because it's 1) offered during the summer, 2) cheaper, 3) online, which lets them travel, and 4) is accepted by the English departments of their universities. Number 4 is because I've had to provide my syllabus and sample tests to those departments to "prove I'm teaching a real course" -this in spite of the articulation agreements on the books at the state board of higher education. Tell me - would YOU be willing to share YOUR syllabus and tests with instructors at another institution, so that they can "grade" your effectiveness? > > I think that a discussion about what basic reforms any > college or university might consider is a really relevant > point for consideration. I can agree. Here's a point I propose: If university professors do not want the freshmen and sophomores, then why teach them at all? Why not set up universities to handle juniors, seniors, and grad students? Let the community colleges deal with the freshmen and sophomores. By the time the student transfers to a university, we've weeded out or tried remediation for the under-prepared student.

Jul 5, 2012

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Other Options Just happened to check back on this board. I think what will happen is that the community college will become an option for many students and families and even be encouraged in time by the universities. Why - so it will help them avoid any kind of real change and restructuring for at least a while - other than continuing to raise the tuition. It re...See More

Nov 7, 2012

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Entering Ph.D. program - Application and GRE questions

by M

Jul 4, 2012

I have been teaching adjunct for quite a while and I think I'm ready to make this my full time vocation. I decided that I'd like to teach for a large state university so it sounds like a Ph.D. is a better choice than an Ed. D. and my field is education (leadership or curriculum). My questions concern application requirements. How do I best prepare ...See More

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Prof Phil On 7/27/12, pixie to the OP wrote: > To M: > I don't mean to imply that you have not fully researched this > expensive, time-consuming path, but surely you are aware that > 50 percent of university faculty are part-time adjuncts, and > that "there is now an entire Internet world of blogs and Tumblr > posts where unemployed and und...See MoreOn 7/27/12, pixie to the OP wrote: > To M: > I don't mean to imply that you have not fully researched this > expensive, time-consuming path, but surely you are aware that > 50 percent of university faculty are part-time adjuncts, and > that "there is now an entire Internet world of blogs and Tumblr > posts where unemployed and underemployed holders of doctorates > indulge in the second of the five stages of grief---anger---over > their lousy-to-nonexistent academic job prospects." (This quote is > from the linked article.) > I am one of many adjuncts who have entertained fleeting thoughts of > how pleasant it would be to teach college full-time. But then I read > a couple of articles by William Pannapacker, associate professor of > English at Hope College in Michigan and author, under the pen-name > Thomas H. Benton, of such articles as "Graduate School in the > Humanities? Just Don't Go" and "Big Lie About the Life of the Mind" > for the Chronicle of Higher Education. (also referenced in the > linked article) Please, for your own well-being, read a few of these > articles before you go into debt persuing a doctorate.

The linked article seems to emphasize the difficulties in getting tenure track jobs in the humanities. I am in engineering and I don't think the prospects are quite as bad--but probably still discouraging to many. What you will find in Engineering is that almost all the applicants for tenure track positions are foreign born Ph.D graduates. Most are Chinese and second most are Iranian. Then other middle eastern countries. Females are in huge demand for tenure track jobs in engineering. We just hired a female for our open position. She was qualified, but our Dean made us skip over a male who was extremely qualified to grab her.

The reason tenure-track jobs are not being filled for retiring professors is the economy and the terrible downward spiral of funding of public universities. One of the only ways the administration seems to know how to balance the budget is replacing tenured faculty with lecturers. Leaders in higher education are generally not very creative managers and are often myopic. What they are forgetting is that the answer to most of their problems is a strong faculty.

This "solution" is coming to a head in many places. The remaining tenured faculty are struggling and a lot of things are falling between the cracks like quality of teaching and advising. Younger faculty just going into higher education are realizing the "good old days" are gone.

All that being said, a tenured faculty position is still a lot more fun than many industry jobs where the pressures are much greater. I also believe we are on the verge of a huge number of retirements of baby- boomer faculty like myself who are ready to go. Many of these positions will have to be replaced for many programs to survive.

Until the economy turns around (which it may never do) things will be tight.

I finally am retiring after 30 years of teaching and 10 years of full- time engineering. I will teach part time for many years to get my teaching fix...but not as much pressure as before. Fortunately, the Provost approved a search for a tenured faculty member to replace me. T

Jul 29, 2012

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Other Options M - I, too, echo Pixie's question of what are your ultimate goals in pursuing a Ph.D. at this point in your career? If you no longer need to work and would like the academic adventure of higher education, then by all means for it. But if you are going to take on a lot of loan debt in years in which you might be earning your highest to prepare for r...See More

Aug 6, 2012

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10 Career Path Tips to Guide Your Students

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Sep 2, 2012

In the sage words of Yogi Berra, “if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll be lost when you get there.” Picking a career path boils down to a cost benefit analysis and a gut check. It is a game of reality versus passion, and your students can start blazing a meaningful path in high school.

But hopefully students can appreciat...See More

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Do we need teacher training, or untraining?

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Oct 16, 2012

We Need Teacher UnTraining by Bill Page

Teachers are more knowledgeable, better trained, and more career-ready than any other professional practitioners. After a twelve-year apprenticeship as students directly involved in the schooling process and four years of college, professional teachers begin their careers...[Click below to read the r...See More

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A Teacher Died Today by Al Haskvitz

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Dec 1, 2012

A Teacher Died Today by Al Haskvitz

It was a slow death. Indeed it took years to wake him up to the fact that he was dead. [Click below to read the rest.]

[link removed]]

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Student Cheating - How and Why

by Diane

Dec 3, 2012

I am doing my Masters project on student cheating. One of my methods for collecting information is to go to other teachers to ask about their experiences. I mostly am interested in finding out methods of cheating you may have encountered, as well as reasons students give for cheating. If you have had success at curbing a cheating problem, please sh...See More

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A couple of strategies that seem to work well On 12/03/12, Diane wrote: > I am doing my Masters project on student cheating. One of > my methods for collecting information is to go to other > teachers to ask about their experiences. I mostly am > interested in finding out methods of cheating you may have > encountered, as well as reasons students give for cheating. > If you h...See More

Feb 19, 2013

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VOR "I've seen students spend MORE time and MORE effort to cheat than to actually do the assignment. "

Yes, I've seen that often as well. It's remarkable.

I have pointed that fact out to the students, and have received widely varying responses.

Thanks for posting that!

May 17, 2013

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Are Teachers Listening?

by Teachers.Net Gazette

Dec 5, 2012

“Can you hear me now,” is a commercial for mobile telephone service that became popular in daily discussions. I think every student should wear a message button posing that question for teachers. [click below to read more.]

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