a) Yes, give everyone an answer key and they can read it out loud in class like the 1800s when teachers were whoever the fuck the town council hired to teach whether they knew the subject or not.
c) Of course fucking not! If they're already stymied converting inches to centimeters without a god damned answer key then the students are surely going to be super fucked by the time they're doing redox-titrations.
I was an adjunct elsewhere for a decade and never even thought to ask for an answer key, let alone did I ever receive one. A new adjunct at one of the former institutions once complained that we didn't get answer keys and we all looked at her like she was fucking nuts. Here I say "make your own but if a question stumps you, it may be poorly worded so ask me and I'll help you with it" and everyone looks at me like I'm fucking nuts.
Ok - that was the catharsis poll, now for the developmental poll:
How can I recruit better instructors?
--WotC
"How can I recruit better instructors?"
ReplyDeleteShow me a college president who hasn't asked some form of this question out loud many times. You really have to make recruiting a way of life. You have to be proactive. You have to constantly be sensitive to the needs of your best instructors. You have to be prepared to respond and take the flak for deciding to get rid of instructors who aren't good. In order to quell the fears of other instructors, you have to be able to articulate (without violating any of the laws or school rules) why less-than-good instructors are being let go.
@Wombat: I hope you report back on what your successes will have looked like in this area.
You also have to pay people what their work is actually worth.
ReplyDeleteWait, maybe we need to turn that around: You have to hire people whose work is worth the professional salary that a person in this job is entitled to expect. And then pay them that salary.
BU has departments and centers. They both have tenured instructors, but the approach to adjuncts is different. A center will supply an answer key, and expect it to be followed to the letter, even if there are problematic items. Departments try to find the best instructors they can, take good care of them, and give them free rein in how and what they teach. My own program only has 2 adjuncts, who both have full-time industry gigs, and they offer something to the learners that our tenured faculty do not.
ReplyDeleteThey came to us through a mix of personal recommendations from people we trust, interacting with them at industry-related events, and having them come speak to our students on an occasional basis. When a space opened up in our program, both we and they were ready for it.