The lingering student

The class has drawn to a close and our minds are switching from teacher-mode to the meeting in five minutes across campus and to the journal submission deadline when we look up to realize that there's still one student who is lingering. Slowly packing his/her bag, hanging back from the gaggle of students leaving the classroom, this student is always the last student to leave. It is the Lingering Student. He/She will use the time to listen to all of the other student-teacher discussion and then might walk with you, ask you questions, or just wait until you say something to him/her. How do I know about this lingering student? I was one.

I lingered to ALL of my professors in graduate school. I waited until they were alone to ask my questions or to get clarification at the end of the class. I sought out the time AFTER all of the other students left to address the teacher. I made excuses to be in the classroom long enough to be the last to leave. I was a Lingering Student (LS)!

As a teacher, I realize how easy it is to become impatient (and sometimes frustrated) with the lingering students of the world. Sometimes, I have to do a mental check and remind myself that the lingering student is simply engaging in a different comfort level when it comes to communication. After all, I was that LS once upon a time.

For example, as a LS, I wanted to ask for clarification when other students weren't around because I was embarrassed to NEED clarification. I did not want anyone thinking I didn't "get it" and so I would wait and ambush the teacher after class by slowly and painstakingly packing up binders, pens, and paper. Additionally, I felt awkward speaking a question in front of the larger class. I simply prefer one-on-one communication so I could ask follow up questions. Lastly, and perhaps the best part of the LS life, I could get a direct response from the professor -- one that was individually tailored to my specific project/paper. I wanted the time after the class to casually, but still educationally, engage with the teacher. I was a LS. In fact, just this moment I realize that I still tend to do this at some meetings, on some committees, and even at the gym after yoga class! It is my "comfort zone" for communication interactions and it looks like it hasn't changed much.

As our semester begins and we learn who our students are, how they engage, and most importantly how they choose to interact with us, I have uncovered I have several that are LS-prone again this term. I am making a special effort to extend communication that is meaningful in those few moments where the student is slowly packing up or hanging back from the rest of the group. This morning, the goal was to avoid waiting for the student to ask me a question. Instead, as the classroom emptied, I turned and made a comment about how the content we discussed would relate well to the State of the Union speech tomorrow and gently provided a way for the LS to launch the questions stored in her mind all class period long. It worked wonderfully.

The LS is not an inconvenience and is not an annoyance--it is an opportunity! Reaching the students in multiple ways -- both during and AFTER class is simply part of the job. From one former Lingering Student to the professors of the world out there: please take the time to engage with us. It can make a powerful difference.

Practicing and preparing for a new term

How do you prepare for a new term? I'm not referencing the syllabus revisions or the text book reviews--I mean the mental preparation for the time you spend in front of your student audience. Do you have rituals or practices you follow to begin teaching successfully each term?

I attended a conference last October where a presenter noted taking a little time to physically practice her teaching by walking around spaces in her classroom and beginning the semester by examining clothing choices and appropriateness for the classroom. Presenter Dr. Ann Marie Coats from the University of South Florida reported on her research, "Strong and comfortable shoes: The role of appearance in the performance of the confident professor" and I was surprised to hear that some of my "nervous pre-semester have-to items" that I considered quirky are more common than I ever suspected. Some of us mentally rehearse while others of us use a form of physical practice that involves the space around us, but many of us do consider and plan for our time in front of students. I do several things before a new semester starts:

1 - I always visit each assigned classroom space and sit in several different seats,
2 - I check the white board use with several different colors of dry erase markers and remove those that appear too light or bright to be seen from the back of the room from my bag o' markers,
3 - I, like Dr. Coats, consider what to wear. I add layers (tank tops) under blouses that might reveal too much when I lean over a desk to help a student or I consider movement ("If I reach up to write on the board will this blouse/jacket/pants combo reveal anything?") and I am always on the search for shoes that are comfortable but "responsible" for my time in front of the class. I "test" this in front of a mirror,
4 - I mentally rehearse my time with the students by examining how I will open the first several classes, how I will remember student names (something I find is incredibly important for the connection I want to build the first few weeks of the course), and where/how I will move about the room
5 - I spend an evening reviewing some of my journals from my Freshman and Sophomore years at Purdue. This helps me remember that students are not always used to the higher education classroom and reminds me of what I used to enjoy/dislike about my 100- and 200-level professors and classmates while I was an undergraduate.

These little rituals always made me feel a bit insecure--as if I had to amp myself up to teach. After hearing Dr. Coats' research last Fall at the Organization for the Study of Communication, Language and Gender conference (http://www.osclg.org/), I realized that many of us do these (or similar) items to help us become the best educators we can be.

Ritualized preparation for a new term is more than just mentally settling, it allows a way to connect with the student perspective and, I believe, reinforce respect for our students and their educational journey. So what will you do as you embark on a new term?

Interested in learning more on the topic of attire and professors? Check out the following articles:
Carr, D. L., Lavin, A. M., & Davies, T. L. (2009). The impact of business faculty attire on student perceptions and engagement. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 6(1) retrieved from http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/TLC/article/viewArticle/1180
and
Morris, T. L., Gorham, J., Cohen, S. H., & Huffman, D. (1996). Fashion in the classroom: effects of attire on student perceptions of instructors in college classes. Communication Education, 45, retrieved from http://www.wvu.edu/~ccpsych/Morris%20PDFs/Fashion%20in%20the%20Classroom.pdf

The black sharpie

Post-it flags, sticky notes, color-coded ink pen systems, and digital reminders: the office supply and organizational gadget businesses have my money. They also have much of my time as my poor husband can attest: I spend at least an hour shopping for a new day planner each December. It is a nerdy pleasure. I pour over the layouts, the organization of days, the weekly versus monthly options. Eventually, the husband finds a nice floor sample of a piece of furniture and perches patiently while I mumble about hours broken down by the 15 or 30 minute intervals and binding options. For the past six years, I give up and order a calendar online that better fits my desires. This year was no different. After the futile trip to Office Depot, I placed my order online and waited impatiently for the new calendar to arrive. The simple joy of a well-structured week can emotionally uplift me, as I have noted before when discussing the struggle between balancing the researching, service and teaching sides of faculty life. For me, structure and scheduling provide a clear way to manage these competitors for my limited time. So, it was quite an exciting moment when my fresh calendar arrived today.

Fresh. That is the way I see the year ahead as I turn crisp day planner pages and ponder if I will use pencil or blue or black or green or purple ink this year, if I will mark off meetings and classes with arrows or boxes. Nerdy though it may be, I can't help it. I love the feel of the blank pages and the simple possibility of it all...

That is truly what the new calendar represents: possibility. I approach this 2011 day planner with reverence and with that wonderfully engaging mixture of opportunity and optimism that marks a new year.

...until the evil black sharpie, that is.

The permanence of the thick black line, the bleed through to the other pages, the impossibility of change: a black sharpie is trying to take over my day planner. There is a nagging voice in the back of my mind that is screaming "Protect your time! Tenure review is coming soon! Permanent black sharpie required!" And despite the plethora of ink options, the voice is screaming for research time to be outlined in black sharpie marker this semester. It urges a rapid reply to any committee meeting request that dances too close to the thick black lines to be, "I'm sorry, I cannot make the meeting."

Before thinking that you should call for some type of psychiatric assistance for this inner dialogue (for which I thank you but politely and of sound mind, decline), do know that my mental argument for the new calendar reflects the stress of an approaching semester: what projects are looming, what needs completed, what MUST be done. It is all a *hopefully* normal manifestation of my feeling that I did not get enough done last semester and that time is sliiiiiiipppppppping away.

Whether the black sharpie is used literally or figuratively (and let's just admit here that no way is a messy black sharpie darkening the pages of my fresh new day planner no matter how that inner voice rages), I am claiming the semester ahead as one full of optimism where my research time WILL BE a priority. I will embrace that time, I will respect that time, and I will maximize those hours. With that commitment in mind, I turn back to the blank, beautiful pages of the day planner and ponder the possibilities and opportunities ahead...perhaps I'll wait just one more day before I enter all of the classes, meetings and tasks for the upcoming term!

A hearty thank you!

With gratitude to all of the readers and especially to Ms. Karen Franker, University of Wisconsin-Stout, I am delighted to report that "Communication and Higher Education: Life on the Tenure-Track at a Teaching Institution" blog was selected as one of the "Top 8 Education Blogs to Inspire and Inform" by the University of Wisconsin-Stout: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/blog.cfm.

Dr. Jennifer T. Edwards from Tarleton State University, author of A Millennial Professor's View of Higher Education blog (http://www.millennialprofessor.com/) was also recognized with her insights into both the millennial student/professor minds as well as her emphasis on new technology activities and uses in higher education classrooms. This is an honor and a very hearty thanks for the recognition and for all who read the sometimes exhausting, but (nearly) always rewarding journey along the tenure track. Thank you!

Tech geek at heart...

"My name is Lora and I am an educational technology geek" -- Yes, I have to admit this after spending nearly all day yesterday "working" on my online course with the new 9.1 version of BlackBoard, the geek moniker is fully embraced. I realized my day did not feel as if I had done work, but instead it felt as if I had been playing on the computer all day. Believe me, progress was made and the course is coming along but I was continually sidetracked by exploring the new features available in this course management upgrade. I felt like I was logging into a familiar site with a familiar goal and was then surprised by what was in front of me. It was like going on a walk when you know you need to arrive at, let's say a grocery store as a final destination, but as you walk you decide to take a scenic digression and find yourself in a beautiful farmer's market full of brightly colored seasonal delights. BlackBoard 9 is a more verdant place than BlackBoard 8 and I am glad to make use of it this semester. After my one-day adventure in BB-9 I found it to be user-friendly and similar to 8 in many ways but those of us who are not willing to click and see what happens might find it takes a bit of time to adjust to the new visual layout.

My students can easily embrace the intuitive software and make use of several new features. Though some of my students have used blog and wiki applications in class before, they have been difficult items outside of the BlackBoard program. Now, these items are embedded into their courses and much more accessible. I am pleased by the "journal" feature which allows students access to an ongoing reflective writing process throughout the semester and allows me to avoid the submission of "journals" after each speech. This tool allows the students better ability to reflect since they can see their past submissions right along with my comments and will give richer depth to their reflection.

Of course, this is all in the "I-sure-hope-it-works-like-it-looks-like-it-will" phase so I will report back on the outcome of the new course tools. In the meantime, my true geekiness continued as I clicked my way through resources for embracing all of BB-9 and here are a few resources that might prove useful to others beginning with BB or simply experiencing the upgrade transition as we are:
http://www.blackboard.com is of course the best place to go for help, tutorials, and webinars.

http://tep.uoregon.edu/technology/blackboard/blackboard.html A great place to begin clicking and reading about instructional opportunities with BB-9

http://www.slideshare.net/joelk/blackboard-mashups-multimedia-just-got-a-little-easier for a presentation on the Mashup feature of BB-9

And for any beginning the transition to online instruction remember to keep the communication lines open. Consider reading Betts (2009) article, "Lost in Translation: Importance of effective communication in online education" from the Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/summer122/betts122.html

Facing a course I've taught online for nine semesters and updating the course with a new learning platform wasn't as tedious as I had dreaded--in fact, the course preparation yesterday was fun and has allowed me to breathe new life into some of the course elements which increases my energy and will hopefully help to engage the students. Faculty duties continue in the realm of instruction and for many of us, that means sprucing up our understanding of new technology and getting our geek on as we prepare for a new semester.

Improvement and assessment: Growing your courses

It is that reflective time of year again for most educators when we review what worked and what did not over the course of the recent semester. It is also a time to embrace changes for improvement in course offerings and options. Are your courses adapting to your students' shifting needs? Do you seek to improve class activities, texts, and online space? It can be difficult to find the energy to tackle even small change in courses we are regularly instructing, but it can be incredibly rejuvenating for you and for your students.

This semester my institution is upgrading from the online course management system, Blackboard's, earlier version to the newer version 9. Many institutions have already made this change and any advice is greatly welcome! The newer version appears to embrace technology as more than a post/reply medium and allows new ways for students to engage and (hopefully) learn including wiki pages, a blog, better video embedding options, search tools, and more visualized learning features in the course controls area. I am excited to work with the new version and embrace the possibilities behind the upgrade but it is also a time to really assess what has been working well in my online course. New tools and technology in the classroom are only beneficial if they are employed purposefully and with pedagogical intent. This coming semester will be one to watch and see what works, what does not, and what new technological elements to explore in more depth before employing them in the course. There are many detailed webinars and help options on the BlackBoard page at http://www.blackboard.com.

During this break from the campus, I am using my time to enter data, analyze data on another project, and hopefully edit an article. But I am most looking forward to examining the new version of Blackboard and preparing my courses so the students can benefit from the new and exciting learning tools available to them.

"our" work during our "breaks"

Yes, another "vacation" from work looms and everyone inquires what will be done with all of that time off...this winter I am taking a week to visit with family over the holidays, but will be absorbing the rest of my time with much needed research writing. It seems there are never enough hours in the day during a regular semester -- particularly this past semester where much of my time was on a new course prep, a new text, and an extra "overload" course (making five courses total). I am also sitting on two university committees that are what I have dubbed "time eaters" since they just slowly munch and crunch all of my little bits of extra time away. We've all sat on such committees, I am sure, and know the importance of the work but also the desire for time for "our" work.

"Our" work varies from field to field, but it is that simple desire to research what we want, to explore what we find most interesting, and to publish and write in the area we consider "ours." This proves difficult when there are many hands reaching for our time and our energy. But the "break" will prove a great time to readjust my excel spreadsheet of tasks, goals, and time lines that will hopefully lead to a positive review come tenure-review time in Fall 2012.

As faculty at teaching-centered universities this struggle to find time for our work while teaching many (often very full) classes is an on-going issue of balance and strategies/prioritizing. It is a battle I speak of often, write about often, and which fills the pages of my journals where I fight with my teaching love and my research passions. I am insistent that I can blur the lines between the areas of the tenure-track faculty member's responsibilities and find a balance that will allow the separate segments of my work to be braided into a strong holistic vision, but I have yet to find a way to make this happen. Perhaps it takes time and continued energy in all three areas before I begin to see the parts as collaborative and fully functional. Until then, I must simply continue focusing on each part in its turn and hope that the quasi-equal emphasis will end in some semblance of balance.

With that thought, I enter the winter break with the goal of making up lost ground in the research realm and pushing projects forward that have lacked the necessary focus the past few months.

Grading gadgets

There are many words to describe this time of year: hectic, frantic, overwhelming, and the simplistic but appropriate word: busy. Final exam time can bring out the best and worst in our students and in ourselves. As we find our own work mounting along with students we haven't seen in weeks coming out of the woodwork, it is easy to fall behind and give in to the emotional drain of finals. However, there are many new (and not so new) tools we can use to facilitate this time of year. Here are some ideas that can ease the strain of the final weeks of a semester.

My colleagues and I are handed out roll books at the beginning of each term and I look at them in wonder. I have never kept a pen-and-paper roll book. As a graduate student I was taught using excel and I continue to allow the digital formulas to easily compute everything from attendance to participation. I have permission to simply print out my grade sheets and staple them in the hard-copy roll book. It saves me hours of calculations that many of my colleagues continue to do. It also allows me to know where each student stands every day of the semester, so I can easily warn students (or commend them) early in the term. Things are getting fancier in the digital grading arena: Blackboard's grading options are nice, but there are other software options like Class Action Gradebook (http://www.classactiongradebook.com/) and iGrade (designed more for k-12), GradeKeeper (http://www.gradekeeper.com/), and SnapGrades (http://snapgrades.com/web/compare.php). These options can help instructors organize their time and track their students' progress and make recording final grades as simple as clicking a button.

Grading individual assignments is also going digital in my discipline of Communication Studies. The public speaking course instructor could explore SpeechGrader (http://www.speechgrader.com/home.html), a software program that has been mentioned at several conferences recently for the ease in grading speeches. This software allows for individual student reports to be generated as well as an overview of class performance so instructors can easily target problem areas.

Of course, there are many options and opportunities to explore when it comes to efficiency and quality in recording student scores and providing useful student feedback. There is nothing wrong with handwritten grade books, but organizationally I enjoy the cleanliness and ease of Excel and Blackboard options. I find that it works nicely with my ability to access my grade books without lugging around hard copies and it facilitates a student-professor interaction when I can easily print out grade slips with all of the student's scores and hand them out at midterm to show where and how grades are devised.

Little techniques can help with our grading and most of those involve advanced planning and clear preparation of guidelines and rubrics (see also http://gsi.berkeley.edu/teachingguide/grading/efficiency.html for more tips on efficient grading), but technology has become a part of the process.

Teaching tools are essential and just as engaging (I'm currently exploring Wordle - http://www.wordle.net/, Mindomo - http://www.mindomo.com/, and many organizational/company-hosted teaching sites such as CSPAN-http://www.c-spanclassroom.org/ where my teaching can embrace new technologies while continuing to focus on content and critical listening. More teaching tools can be explored at Education World, a great place for teaching ideas and discussions: http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech249.shtml.

Renewed by student research

Previously I posted about the wonderful ability of our undergraduates to embrace research and to tackle challenges that we place before them. I want to reiterate how effective this has been for me this semester and add emphasis to the personal benefits that exist for faculty members when we include our students in the research process. I have been fortunate to work with a Junior as a Research Mentor for our Undergraduate Research Day on campus. It has been really powerful for me to navigate this role with such a promising scholar -- but also to revisit some of the things I love about research and share those things with the students. Considering what goes in an abstract, the credibility of sources, the flow of ideas, and the heart of a project are parts of research that have become mundane, but were seen with fresh eyes when exploring this new world with the student. I have been so rewarded by this experience that I asked my students to work on submissions for a regional communication conference which offers a forum for undergraduate work. This can be challenging since I don't have a major and so there are no upper-level courses. However, the students have responded and several are working with me to submit their work to the conference by the end of next week. Feeling the pressure of the tenure clock can certainly make research feel like a chore or a burden. I wanted to post to encourage all of us in higher education to take a moment and remember the possibility and excitement of research and to, perhaps, feel ourselves rejuvenated by the process.

Communicating through and with our work environment

Consider what your office-space says about you...is it cluttered or obsessively tidy, comfortable or rigid, sparse or decorated? Do you have sticky notes everywhere and family pictures smiling at you? Or do you prefer a de-personalized space to work? I've been exploring the issue of work environments as our campus has spent the past five years in FEMA trailers/temporary buildings since Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area.

When I first began working in the recovery area in Fall 2007, there were 23 people in half of a FEMA building and we had library study carrels that we shared where each person had a two-drawer file cabinet stored underneath the study carrel. You couldn't fit your knees under the desk area and the computer hard drive and monitor barely fit on the work surface. We shared a single departmental phone. After a year and a half, some members were moved to rehabilitated building spaces and there were 13 of us left -- we each got two study carrels to work from, our own phone lines, and our own printers. The open working space made a loud, unproductive area in which to meet students and try to accomplish research, but the small improvements in space allocation seemed as if we could move around and really own our space a bit more than before. Despite the improvement, many of us struggled to maintain a steady pace with the research elements of our work. Just six months ago our tiny study carrels were replaced with actual desks and we received bookcases--but as my family would say, "you can put lipstick on a pig--but it is still a pig" -- and though the environment was improving, the space was rather depressing and difficult to work in, though I didn't quite realize that until today. After three and a half years, I am moving out of the shared FEMA building to a rehabilitated space on the second floor of a previously flood-damaged building. The space is an office suite with five smaller offices. Each individual office has its own door, but the walls stop about a foot shy of the ceiling, meaning the privacy is not complete. However, it is so much more than what we've had! We will no longer have to go outside and walk to another building for restrooms or water fountains (no small feat in the rain!). We will have the ability to close out the rest of the office, to not see and hear every student meeting and every phone call made by our colleagues. My whole outlook is shifting and I find myself much more content, positive, and excited about research and what I may tackle in this new space. Even though the office space is older and not truly individual, the step up is wonderful. It is a true morale boost.

My excitement over the move has startled me. I didn't realize how much my work space impacted the feelings I had when I went to work or as I tried to tackle certain elements of work.

That prompts the question, what does your work space say TO you and ABOUT you? Do you find you draw energy from the work environment? Does it motivate you? I have spent many long hours in this FEMA building and as I stare at the boxes piled around me I feel as though I am shedding several years of unrecognized sadness/frustration while embracing a bright, new outlook.

Teaching with bells and whistles?

This week I used short movie clips to illustrate concepts from the text. While I don't do this often, I try to add in some type of pop culture (music, print ad, movies, tv programs) for more difficult materials covered in the course. For example, for the Introduction to Public Speaking class I used clips from My Cousin Vinny to illustrate the concept of Ethos and Logos (Marisa Tomei court scene) in constructing arguments. I also incorporated a brief non-verbal analysis of candidates seeking election from CNN analysts to illustrate the idea that our bodies say more than our mouths. In the Advanced course, I relied on short clips from Lean on Me, A Time to Kill, and Inglourious Bastards to talk through the ideas of coercion and persuasion. I am quite blessed to say that my students are very engaged in most of the class sessions we have--they work to apply the text to daily life and to upcoming speeches. This week's classes went extremely well. Students were engaged and participating actively in discussions. I was thrilled the difficult concepts were absorbed easily and students were using academic vocabulary in the class discussion.


When I returned to my shared office, a colleague noted I lugged around a laptop, projector, speakers, and asked about the lesson for the day. When I described what we did the reaction was unexpected. My colleague noted that he doesn't like to teach with "bells and whistles" and that "of course the students would like it, but are they learning?" We are in separate disciplines and divided by 25 years of age, so it was interesting to explore the ideas of learning from one who views it in a more rote, solitary fashion and my own perception of teaching through connections and more democratically-based classrooms. It made me wonder about our perceptions of pedagogy and how we most often teach the way we liked to learn. While I enjoyed a good lecture, I really remembered/retained information when it was through some applied medium such as a class activity, a group project, or pop culture. Those classes were the ones I enjoyed the most because I knew that the material I read would be brought to life in some way during the class session. In the end, a productive and interesting discussion on pedagogy came out of the "bells and whistles" comment where we both reflected and examined our approaches in the classroom. Maintaining an open mind and sharing ideas on pedagogy across disciplines opens opportunities for educators which can enhance learning in the classroom.

Motivation and retention

What is it that spurs your motivation? This semester has been an interesting mix of energetic opportunities and simple faculty fatigue. After 10 weeks, the semester is flying by and the TO DO list is static. Examining motivation in higher education is interesting. Why do we work such long hours? What keeps us at our institutions? What are we using as a source of energy to continue our efforts?

Oldham (2005) remarked that motivation within the teaching side of higher education depends greatly on the symbolic organizational behavior and sheer collegiality within the institution--this motivation was stronger than any bureaucratic or political organizational behavior in influencing faculty motivation around teaching. This is an important observation, noting that our perception of collegiality in the workplace can influence our personal motivation to meet our professional goals. Interpersonal and organizational communication carries a powerful oar in the way we navigate our professional journey within higher education--even across departments and campus. Drysdale (2005) commented that faculty at one institution were motivated to remain at their institution by three consistent factors: their families, their desire to remain in the geographic location, and their tenure status (achieved). This calls to question, what happens to retain faculty members when they are not tenured, not set on the geographic location, and do not face family pressure to remain? In short, how are many non-tenured faculty finding the motivation to remain at institutions?

Personally, my motivation to do work and to do work specifically at my institution continues to be highly impacted by my students. When they are engaged and excited, it is much easier to work (both on teaching elements, and on committees and research). As students lose energy, my own seems to fade. This means that the end of October has become a difficult time for me to self-motivate here on campus. However, the research shows that strong collegial ties and an institutional focus on need, emotions, and intellectual goals can help faculty members stay motivated to commit to their institution. Perhaps our institutions need to continue focusing on these areas to explore faculty retention, motivation, and ultimately the success faculty members are having in teaching, service, and research as they move through their careers. Institutions aren't the only place to look for assistance in maintaining a productive work environment. Faculty members would do well to reflect on motivation and retention while personally examining how they are shaping institutional culture, departmental culture, and that all-important sense of collegiality on today's college campuses.

In the mean time, my goal lies in finding a consistent level of motivation from which I can draw to stay productive-- A level of motivation that is not subject to the valleys and peaks of the semester timeline or the student energy base.

Drysdale, D. (2005). Faculty job satisfaction: Retaining faculty in the new millennium. Dissertation: Montana State University.
Oldham, B. (2005). Organizational behavior and faculty motivation in higher education. Dissertation: Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University.

Undergraduate research during fiscal cuts

There are so many great opportunities for our undergraduates. I had the pleasure of taking several juniors to our state communication conference yesterday and was delighted to see how warmly they were received by professors and how excited the students were. The students and I presented a panel and they were professional, well-researched, and very capable to address a variety of questions from the diverse audience. Even though we do not have a Communication Studies program at my institution, the student Communication Club has provided an opportunity to introduce students to research beyond their coursework--and they are embracing such opportunities! Moreover, they were incredibly excited after they presented. They spoke about graduate programs and instantly wanted to consider regional and national presentation opportunities. I was a little shocked at how excited they were as I am somewhat numbed by conference presenting and though it is rewarding, the newness and excitement has diminished for me--until I saw them taking pictures of themselves by the poster with their panel description and names, uploading their images to facebook from their mobile phones, and claiming with their social networking status, "Just presented and did an awesome job!"

As a faculty member I know how easy it is to lament the lack of funding and assistance during today's difficult higher education budget environment. After yesterday's success, it was obvious that we may be overlooking the perfect opportunity to marry our research needs with our students' desires for opportunities. Reaching out to our undergraduates may allow them to explore and understand research, to become more familiar with our discipline's current knowledge, and to introduce them to disseminating research through presentations and writing. It appears to be a symbiotic relationship that can provide both the faculty member and the student with several benefits.

Why not include our undergraduates more fully in our research? Here are a few ideas:
- Ask for those who would like to participate in state or regional (or national) conferences that welcome undergraduate research. Mentor them as they work on their research and explore their presentational dynamics.
- Seek out opportunities for the students to assist in data-entry or literature reviews where they can learn library techniques and software and where you can get your research progressing toward publication.
- If you work with students, share the limelight! Allow the students to highlight their work and share in yours at conferences or in publications.
- Share their energy. Let their excitement for new opportunities reinvigorate your research and professional drive.
- Consider sponsoring an undergraduate research day at your institution where students can present to the campus and earn valuable experience sharing knowledge with others.
- Don't underestimate your undergraduates. They are amazingly equipped and a little guidance can go a long way.
- Share your ideas and activities with other professors!

Fall frenzy

The new semester is officially underway today! For many of us, that means leaving behind a productive summer of writing and research, or it marks the end of a hectic summer semester of teaching, or perhaps the last languid days of time away from campus duties entirely. This time of year always feels full of promise and potential to me, despite the frenzied pace of activities. Seeing the new influx of fresh-out-of-high-school students can be especially exciting. I enjoy watching their acclimation to the university culture and to their coursework as they explore personal freedoms and new academic ground. The frenzy of the fall term is one of bustling excitement and new possibilities for faculty members as well. If we but take a moment to absorb the energy around us then we can begin the semester as eagerly as those new college students.

During our registration duty last week, however, it seemed many faculty members at my institution and others bring little energy to the new term. In fact, several people reminded me of the Winnie the Pooh character, Eeyore. There was no energy, no zest, and when faced with a few items of news responded that it wouldn't be long before some type of doom came upon our heads or noted that a book they ordered had not come in and a machine was on the fritz. It is true: Higher education these days in most states is suffering from crises of morale as we trudge through the fiscal cuts. While these issues can be frustrating, and I do have my share this term, I disliked seeing such feelings overshadow the zest of a new term. The start of a semester is one of my favorite times and I am eager to meet the students, to explore the personalities of my various classes, and to see what might emerge in the next 16 weeks.

Despite the extremely dire economic forecasts in higher education, I am focusing on the positives, feeding off of the energy and eager for the new term to begin. As when I was younger, I awoke today thinking "First day of school!" and will carry with me reminders that while it may be just another semester to me it might also be a student's first taste of college life and his or her first interaction with my institution. So, bring on the new students, the emails, the questions, and yes, even the apathy. I've decided that I will bring enough positive energy into this semester to tackle it all!

Vacation and the tenure track

As a whirlwind summer semester draws to a close in two short weeks, I have many friends in the non-academic environment who comment about the lucky "vacation" time I will get with the two weeks that separate our summer and fall semesters. The Chronicle of Higher Education calls it the "fantasy of the faculty vacation"--that elusive time "off" from teaching that usually means time spent preparing for new courses, researching, revising, editing, and analyzing data. It is not time off. It is not a vacation. We often find the tenure track clock tick-tocking away and the work that we know is THE WORK that will be tallied up by those waving the tenure-granting wand is done when there is no pay and there is no vacation--it is work we do when we are on "vacation."

As a first generation college student, the misunderstanding many in my social and familial circles have about the "time off" is hard to combat and a futile effort, in most cases. Just as the comments, "You only work 12 hours a week" (representing actual class-time, not "work" time) no longer bother me, I am trying to let go of the many comments regarding the perception of time outside of the traditional semester. The impression that faculty life involves a schedule of weeks off throughout the year for "holidays" many of us spend working long hours in home offices will remain unchallenged when I hear commentary on the easy path I have chosen in my professional life, I am going to let the many slightly sarcastic well-wishing comments, ("Have fun on your vacation, I wish my job was like that. Must be so hard! chuckle chuckle) drift away from my ears and try to incorporate more of what others see in my away-from-campus time: I'm going to try to have a few days of pure vacation during my vacation. No laptop, no data, no tenure clock floating in the back of my mind.


Many faculty members struggle with this "real vacation" time. We have lingering guilt when setting aside the tasks that need done before another semester begins. We struggle to justify a true vacation when the finite time of the tenure track has us running frantically toward our goals. This is especially true for newer faculty and those who are pre-tenure. We might also share the thought, "You know how it is. Tenure first! There will be time for rest later, right?" one of my colleagues wearily wrote in her last email.


So in two weeks (and a few days) from now, during a few days of my semester break you may find me on a mental beach taking a much-needed mental vacation from the tenure track faculty life. Until then, I will wrap up the summer semester teaching, polish off a few research goals, and focus on the freedom of a few days of TRUE vacation.
~~
Montell, G. (2010, June 9). The fantasy of the faculty vacation. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved June 12, 2010 from http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Fantasy-of-the-Faculty/24586/