Findings, Challenges, and Recommendations for Teaching in Academia
Susan Rodger, Duke University
Patricia Joseph, Slippery Rock University
Joyce Currie Little, Towson University
Suzanne Westbrook, Univ of Arizona
Thursday, Oct 2, 2008
2:45pm-3:45pm
Challenges:Family/Teaching Innovation
Susan Rodger, Duke University
• About my Teaching Position
• Challenge of Family/Work
• Challenge of Teaching
About My Teaching Position
• Background– Purdue University, PhD CS, 1989
parallel algorithms– Assistant Professor, Rensselaer
1989-1994, tenure-track– Then job offer – Duke University
• “Assistant Prof. of Practice” 1994-97• “Assoc. Prof. of the Practice” 1997-08• “Prof. of the Practice” 2008-?
Professor of the Practice Track
• Focus on Education in Discipline– PhD preferred or Prof. Experience
• Regular Rank Faculty – non-tenure
• Permanent Contract position– 3 to 10 year contracts, renewable
• Promotable – CS education– Grants, papers, visibility
Duke CS PoPs vs Tenured
• teach 2 courses/semester vs 1
• Focus on Ugrad curriculum
• Cover Intro courses plus others
• Supervise Ugrad research– Can also supervise MS and PhD
• Advising
• Attend Faculty meetings
• Salary similar, no “sabatical”
• Write Grants/papers – in CS Educ
PoP History at Duke• PoP track added in 1991
• For 2008-09 - 4 PoPs in CS– Arts and Sciences
• 526 tenure/tenure-track• 82 PoPs
– School of Engineering• 95 tenure/tenure-track• 8 PoPs
– School of Environment• 43 tenure/tenure-track• 4 PoPs
Challenge of Family/Work
Spouse/Mother of two boys
Challenges with Family/Work
• Virtual Prof (bedrest) 1996, 1999
• Maternity Leave – 1997, 2000
• ¾ Time for 5 years - 2000-2005
• “Leave” – Fall 2004 – write book
Challenges with Family/Work• Get Help
– Cleaning, Yard, Babysitters– Use online resources
• Sittercity.com – babysitters • Manic Mommies – podcast• Order kids clothes, gifts online• Use rating services – kids books, games
– Parent’s Choice Awards– Common Sense Media
– Family time - Focus on Your Likes• Our Family cooks together – fresh food• Family hikes
Challenges with Family/Work
• To get want you want – By all means “Ask”– Then “Ask again”– Keep asking – be persistent
• Examples– Leaves– ¾ time for temp period
Challenges of Teaching
• PhDs not trained to teach.
• How do you learn to teach or improve your teaching?
• How do you stay innovative in your teaching?
Teaching – Getting Started
• Use online resources
• Find similar courses – use and modify– Continue to refine every offering
Engage Students
• Reading quizzes online – Blackboard
• Dial a Picture
• Workshop teaching format– Short lecture– Students work a problem – 5 min to
20 min – Discuss– Repeat
Engage Students (cont)
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Engage Students (cont)
Be a Robot
Engage Students (Cont)
• Students working in pairs
• Workshop format
• Prof and UTAs provide support
Where to get Ideas? SIGCSE• SIGCSE is the computer science
education conference
• Over 1200 people
• Papers, panels, special session, workshops, birds of a feather, posters
Other Resources
• Education conferences – SIGCSE, FIE, ITiCSE, ASEE, CCSC
• Education journals
• Campus resource center on teaching?– Duke – Center for Teaching
Challenges for Teaching in Academia
Patricia A. Joseph
Slippery Rock University of PA
Who is Patricia Joseph?
• Tenured Assistant Professor
• Represented by a Labor Union
• State-Owned University
• Single & Content
My Story
• 1st Tenure-Track Woman in department
• 1st Information Systems person in a CS department
• B.S. Ed., M.A. English, M.S. Information Science, etc.
• Career as public school teacher
• Do not have a Ph.D.
My Experience
What I wish that someone
had told me…
Types of Institutions
• Large Research
• Undergraduate
• 2-Year & Community Colleges
Types of Positions
• Temporary or Adjunct
• Contractual or Limited Term
• Teaching Professor
• University of California system
“potential for security of employment”
Opportunities
• Interviewing for the Position
• Understanding Union Contracts
• Negotiating Salary & RankOffice & Hardware/SoftwareTravel BudgetStudent Help
Challenges
• Finding a Mentor—either in your department or elsewhere at your institution
• Being Aware of Politics in your department and in your college
http://cs.southwestern.edu/CEOHP/
Details
• Qualifications
• Pay Scales
• Typical Benefits
• Requirements in Contract vs. Requirements for Tenure
The Reality
It’s still a “chilly climate” for women in academe” … Be aware of it so that you won’t be blind-sided.
http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/chillyclimate.html
http://www.bernicesandler.com
THANK YOU!
Joyce Currie Little, ProfessorComputer & Information Sciences
Towson University
San Diego State, grad ass’t + , THEN Goucher College, CC Dir, Instr; THEN Community College of Baltimore, &
during: Chamberlayne Junior College; THEN
Towson University, since 1981 (Founding Department Chair 1984)
TEACHING IN ACADEMIAWHAT’S GOOD * WHAT’S BAD
• WHAT A JOY - LOVE IT!• CONTINUING TO
LEARN!• KEEPING CURRENT• SCHOLARLY
COLLEAGUES• EAGER STUDENTS• HELPING NEXT
GENERATION• FLEXIBLE
SCHEDULING• A DECENT LIVING
• GRADING PAPERS• KEEPING UP-TO-DATE• NOT-SO-EAGER
STUDENTS• TOO BUSY - MANY
CONTINUING DUTIES• UNPREDICTABLE
DEMANDS• GENERATIONAL
CHALLENGES, BOTH STUDENTS/FACULTY
• A DECENT LIVING
PROBLEMS FOR WOMEN ?WHAT? HOW ??
• CONFLICTING DEMANDS FOR TIME
• NOT ALWAYS WELCOMED BY COLLEAGUES
• ESTABLISHING REPUTATIONS
• JUGGLING THE VARIETY OF DEMANDS
• HAVE LOTS OF PERSISTENCE
• SHOW YOUR CAPABILITIES
• BE HELPFUL• EARN TRUST• EXPECT
EQUALITY THROUGHOUT
• LEARN TIME MANAGEMENT
Data can Help !
• Demographics, by field, by gender, by rank, by salary
• Number of eligible qualified graduates by discipline
• Number of those entering industry
• Number left who are interested
• Number who support equity rights
• Number who encourage others
• Number serving as mentors
Trends and Influences
• Corporate leanings in academia• Need for flexibility for management• Tendency to move to contractual
workforce in the professoriate• Move to decrease faculty
governance rights• Move to eliminate tenure • Decrease in “permanent” faculty• The shift to “professors of the
practice”
Recommendations
• Educate new entering faculty about the “professoriate”
• Mentor new entering faculty (both tenure-track & contractual) to help move them toward tenure
• Advocate higher percentage of tenured faculty
• Encourage rights and responsibilities (both) of tenured faculty
• Work for change in rigidity of policies
POLICY LEVEL HELP: THE AAUP
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS:
POLICY DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS
(THE “RED BOOK”)• 1940 STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND TENURE, WITH 1970 INTERPRETIVE
COMMENTS
AAUP, CONTINUED
• 1940 STATEMENT ON GOVERNMENT OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
• STATEMENT ON PRINCIPLES ON FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACADEMIC WORK
• THE STATUS OF PART-TIME FACULTY• ON FULL-TIME NON-TENURE TRACK
APPOINTMENTS • CONTINGENT APPOINTMENTS AND THE
ACADEMIC PROFESSION• INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR
LEGAL DAMANDS ON FACULTY• STATEMENT OF CORPORATE FUNDING
OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH
PLACES THAT HELP
• ASSOCIATION FOR UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS (AAUP)
• NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, & COMMITTEE ON WOMEN IN SCIENCE, ENGINEERING, AND MEDICINE
• COMMISSION ON PROFESSIONALS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
• BY DISCIPLINE: EDUCATOR GROUPS – ACM SIGCSE, MAA, ETC
• BY DISCIPLINE: WOMEN COLLEAGUES THE WORLD OVER
• YOUR FAMILY, IF YOU ARE LUCKY!• YOUR DAD AND OTHER DAD’S
Challenges: Considerations in Choosing a Teaching-Focused Position
Suzanne Westbrook
Senior Lecturer and Associate Head
University of Arizona (Tucson!)
Challenge: Choosing the Right Teaching-Focused Position
• About my position• Are teaching faculty
valued?• What indicates
value?• Opportunities • Things to consider• Recommendations
to Education Leaders
About My Teaching Position
• Background– University of Southwestern
Louisiana, (now University of Louisiana-Lafayette) PhD in CS, 1998, research in multiparadigm languages
– Northern Arizona University• Lecturer 1993-1998• Associate Professor 1998-1999
– University of Arizona – 1999-now• Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Associate
Department Head
Senior Lecturer position at UA
• Non-tenure track – focus on undergraduate education
• PhD preferred
• Three year renewable contracts (I’m starting my 4th one)
• No research expectations, but is appreciated (CS Education Res)
• Teach two courses/semester (TT faculty teach one)
• No sabbatical!
Associate Department Head
• Primarily over Undergrad program
• No additional salary, but one course relief per semester
• Work with faculty, staff, dept head on variety of issues (course scheduling, faculty assignments, student problems, etc.)
• Run the undergrad TA program
• More committees, represent department in college and univ.
Are Teaching-Focused Faculty “Valued”?
• What indicates “value”?– Recognized for contributions
(teaching, service, research)– Rewarded for contributions– Opportunities for advancement– Opportunities for professional
development (travel and workshops)– Atmosphere in department
What are the Opportunities?
• Is CS education valued both within and outside the department?– Department view of CS education
research – does it help with promotion opportunities?
– Department committees– Department leadership roles– College/University committees– Relationships with industry and
community
Does a Teaching Focused Position Fit You?
• How does this type position fit with your career goals?– Do you know your career goals? – Research interests– Need for status (respect)– Advancement– Mobility– Family
Recommendations to Education Leaders
• Regard CS education research as “real” CS research
• Include CS teaching-focused faculty even at large institutions
• Work to get CS included as a core discipline in high schools -> will need CS high school teachers -> will lead to more emphasis on CS teaching faculty at universities and CS education research!
Questions?
Susan Rodger, Duke University
Patricia Joseph, Slippery Rock University
Joyce Currie Little, Towson University
Suzanne Westbrook, Univ of Arizona
References
• K12: Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA): http://www.csta.acm.org/
Resources
Computing Educators Oral History Project.
http://cs.southwestern.edu/CEOHP/
“The Classroom Climate: A Chilly One for Women?”
http://dynamic.uoregon.edu/~jjf/chillyclimate.html
“Women Faculty at Work . . .”http://www.bernicesandler.com/id29.htm
REFERENCES
• Association for University Professors (AAUP). "Contingent Appointments and the Academic Profession." AAUP Redbook. Washington, DC. (Since 1940)
(see http://www.aaup.org)
References, Cont’d• Commission on
Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST). Salaries of Scientists, Engineers and Technicians: A Summary of
Salary Surveys. Washington DC., 2008.
Available at http://www.cpst.org.
References, Cont’d
• National Academy Press. To Recruit and Advance: Women Students and Faculty in Science and Engineering. Washington DC., 2006.
• Nelson, Cary, "Across the Great Divide," Academe. American Association for University Professors. September-October 2008.
References, Cont’d
• Plater, William M. “The Twenty-First-Century Professoriate.” Academe. American Association for University Professors. July-August 2008.
References, Cont’d
• Sandler, Bernice Resnick. “Women Faculty at Work in the Classroom, or, Why It Still Hurts To Be a Woman in Labor.” Available at http://www.bernicesandler.com/id29.htm.
REFERENCES, CONT’D
• Trower, Cathy A. “Amending Higher Education's Constitution." Academe. American Association for University Professors. September-October 2008.
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