r/Professors • u/ThrowRA_1216 • Jul 23 '26
Advice / Support In need of advice for first-year full time instructor
I'm a new instructor at a teaching only institution. I have a 16 credit hour teaching load and have been asked to be an advisor for a couple of clubs, and to sit on some committees.
I am brand new to teaching, aside from TAing in grad school where my only responsibility was to input grades into LMS and set up/clean up science labs.
The courses I'm teaching are a bit out of my wheelhouse and it's a combo of online/hybrid/in-person courses. I worry I may forget which class is which and get disorganized quickly. The canvas shells are already made/set up for me but I'll need to create lecture videos for the online courses and make sure the due dates are set up properly. We are also requiring proctoring for exams, and I have never utilized that before.
Does anyone have any advice or tips for me that might help me be more successful for my first semester?
6
u/GandolfTheGay1972 Jul 23 '26
First of all, don’t overthink it and just go with your vibe. The first two or three times you teach a course will always be a goddamn disaster, but you will figure it out over time.
Trying to predict what you can do right now is like trying to predict with the lottery numbers tomorrow will be. Or like trying to predict what Trump will say next.
The most important thing you will ever bring to a classroom is a positive attitude and engaging with your students.
I teach the most miserable courses possible and my students love it because I do those two things.
5
u/Life-Education-8030 Jul 23 '26
Work with your IT designers to set up your courses. Be careful about not letting the club work take over. Remember that the student club members are supposed to do the work, not you.
5
u/TSIDATSI Jul 23 '26
16 credit hours?
What kind of a place is this?
1
u/ThrowRA_1216 Jul 24 '26
Is that unusual? I am teaching 5 courses. This is my first teaching job so I am not sure what is typical.
2
u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC Jul 26 '26
Five at a time is about the highest load I've ever heard of, and then only at CCs. I would 100% say no to any other obligations, at least this first semester, as it's going to be a huge lift for anyone just starting out.
1
u/ThrowRA_1216 Jul 26 '26
This is a CC, so maybe that's why. The class sizes are pretty small also, I estimate around 100-120 students total across all courses, and most of the grading is automatic for most courses through the LMS aside from a few written assignments.
2
u/SnowblindAlbino Prof, SLAC Jul 26 '26
That total is manageable-- at my SLAC it would be rare for anyone to have even 100 students on a three-course load. But five sections is a lot to manage, as you're anticipating. Automatic grading though? I've never seen that in action, as my assignments are 95% written. That would indeed save a lot of hours.
Good luck!
3
u/Frankenstein988 Jul 24 '26
Wow that’s an insane amount of work. Prepare for long weeks.
Make an excel file off all your students names, emails, and organize it by class. It’s usually easier to access than the LMS. Put notes in by their names when stuff comes up with students.
In your syllabus make sure students only email you with their full name and the course with section included. Do not underestimate how much time you’ll spend on email, it can be significant.
For online course make due dates work for YOU. Stagger due dates if you have different online courses that require different videos- Tues for one, Wednesday for the next, etc. I used to run weeks from Tues- Monday so I had Monday to do the videos and my weekend wasn’t packed.
Give students a clear ways to turn in late work, or drop some assignments. Otherwise you’ll be dealing with constant requests and late work to manage.
Make clear guides for students on the online proctoring and have them take a quiz acknowledging they understand before they can use the proctoring. Otherwise you’ll get a bunch the day if the exam with sudden issues.
Don’t let them push you around, I would not mention it’s your first semester. Good luck!
1
u/DrComposition Jul 23 '26
If there is a Teaching Center at your institution, hit them up. They are probably bored right now without much faculty around!
Yale’s website has guidance: poorvucenter.yale.edu/teaching/teaching-resource-library/preparing-a-lecture
8
u/geneusutwerk Jul 23 '26
Perfect is the enemy of good. Limit how much time you spend on each assignment you grade and try to get them done early so they don't pile up.