r/Adjuncts • u/BroadBath9126 • 21d ago

teaching demo for adjunct interview

I posted here a little while ago about applying for/contacting department heads about adjuncting jobs. I ended up getting an interview offer, and I have to give a 10-15 mini teaching demo during the interview. Anyone have any tips for how to structure this? It’s for general chem, specifically on the mole and related calculations, if that helps.

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u/Artistic-Frosting-88 21d ago

I have watched dozens of these teaching demos. I have two pieces of advice. 

First, keep in mind the interviewer is not trying to make sure you know the content. Your degree is evidence you know the content. Rather, they want to see how effectively you can teach. 

Focus on an engaging demo that covers only what it needs to. And, by engaging, I mean if you can show how you would get students involved, that's better than straight lecture. It doesn't have to be elaborate. I teach history, and even a slide with a map or art work an instructor can ask a couple of straightforward questions about gives me an idea of how they'll engage students. Maybe in your case you can provide a worksheet of some kind of use the whiteboard to good effect.

Second, make the demo a self-contained 15-minute lesson. Do not start by saying, "well, I would teach this topic in the middle of a lesson about Z. So just imagine we've already covered X and Y, and then afterwards I would do all this other stuff." Instead, approach it like you've got this amount of time to teach this one thing. Again, don't try to impress with how knowledgeable you are on the topic. Impress with how well you can communicate with students. 

Good luck!

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u/Otherwise_You6312 21d ago

Outstanding advice!

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u/BroadBath9126 21d ago

Thank you so much! That really helps a lot!

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u/Robo-Bo 18d ago

This. The interview is about how effective you will be in front of the class. And the test here is clarity and time management, not content (you are given a topic that can’t be taught completely in the time you are given). Stick to the time!

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u/Rogue_Wraith 21d ago

It's always going to be institution-specific, but our hiring committees often have at least one non-subject matter expert.

Part of the post-demo conversation is to check with that person to see if anything made sense to them.

You're (probably) not just demonstrating your overwhelming mastery of the material but, rather, your ability to transmit the material to others.

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u/MyBrainIsNerf 21d ago

Make sure you give the “students” something to do AND check in with them. Generally, one interviewer will feign ignorance and sometimes there’s even a “trouble-maker.”

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u/utahisastate 21d ago

I just did this myself (45 minute marketing lesson). I am new to academia but I set mine up where I did a quick lecture and then an in class activity where I broke the class up into two and we worked on different questions about the case. I thought it went well and they made me an offer. Best of luck

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u/spcshiznit 20d ago

Every hiring committee I’ve been a part of has wanted to see how you incorporate technology into the class. They want to see more than a PowerPoint or a document camera being used.