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Supporting and Engaging Adjunct Faculty

Supporting and Engaging Adjunct Faculty. Helen E. Burn, Highline Community College & Curriculum Research Group Gabrielle Gerhard, Curriculum Research Group. 2013 Washington State Community College Math Conference, Bellingham, Washington. Importance.

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Supporting and Engaging Adjunct Faculty

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  1. Supporting and Engaging Adjunct Faculty Helen E. Burn, Highline Community College & Curriculum Research Group Gabrielle Gerhard, Curriculum Research Group 2013 Washington State Community College Math Conference, Bellingham, Washington

  2. Importance Tenure is shrinking nationally (about 1/3 of college faculty have tenure) Adjunct faculty comprise an increasing percentage (>60%) of instructional staff, particularly in precollege mathematics Any hopes of improving precollege mathematics relies on supporting and engaging adjuncts System-wide focus on adjunct faculty

  3. Selected Literature: What does research say? • Defining NTTF (non-tenure-track faculty): • Contingent • Full- or part-time NTTF • Tenure hopefuls versus choice to be NTTF • Equally committed while satisfaction can vary (Gappa & Leslie, 1993; Wagonner, 2007) • Effectivess of NTTF(e.g., Benjamin, 1998; Ehrenberg & Zhang, 2004; Jacoby, 2006) • Interactions • Support • Instructional approaches • Technology

  4. Overview of session • Supporting • Engaging • Share study findings from Re-Thinking Precollege Mathematics grant • Defining adjunct roles/expectations

  5. Supporting A board of trustee member becomes aware of the “adjunct issue” and is concerned. Your vice-president asks you to speak to the board of trustees about how you support NTTF in your department. List the top three to five departmental practices you would include in your presentation. Distill each to single bullet

  6. Engaging What behaviors describe an “engaged” adjunct faculty? What could your department do to secure this type of engagement? List three to five strategies that come to mind.

  7. Effective Engagement Strategies for NTT Community College Faculty in Developmental Mathematics Reform (Gerhard & Burn, 2013) • Re-thinking Precollege Mathematics Grant • Goal - “substantive changes in core educational practices” • 3 “Core Practices”of the grant • Faculty Inquiry Groups (FIGs) • Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) • Reciprocal Observations • Qualitative study (interviews) with 7 grant leaders (FT) and 11 adjunct faculty in 3 RPM colleges

  8. Finding 1: Range of Strategies Professional development opportunities Leveraging the core practices Targeted instructional support Offering perquisites

  9. Finding2: Initiating vs. Sustaining Engagement • Initiating engagement • Compensation • Preferential scheduling • Personal invitations • Sustaining engagement -organized around O'Meara, Terosky, & Neumann (2008) professional growth framework • Learning • Professional relationships • Agency • Commitment

  10. Finding 3: Changes to Practice • 4 changes to practice - interconnected • Classroom instruction: less lecturing, questioning patterns, instructor role, teaching basics • Approach to curricular topics • Preparation for course no longer just textbook driven • Assessment: changes to form and content

  11. Implications for Practice • NTTF professional development • Utilizing the professional growth framework • Institutionalizing engagement • Practices shifted from groups to individuals • Advancement opportunities missed • Professional development as a shared responsibility • NTTF faculty, departments, colleges, the state system

  12. NTTF as “hybrid professionals” or “managed professionals” (Rhoades, 1998; Shaker, 2008) • Part laborer, part professional • Hired and managed as contingent labor • Professional training, autonomy, academic freedom • Practices that support NTTF(e.g., Gappa & Leslie, 1993; Green, 2007; Grubb, 2010; Lyons, 2007; Wallin, 2007) • Clarity of expectations • Mentoring • Compensation • Creation of instructional materials • Professional development • Peer interaction and communication

  13. Thank You HelenBurn, hburn@highline.edu Highline Community College & Curriculum Research Group Gabrielle Gerhard, Curriculum Research Group 2013 Washington State Community College Math Conference, Bellingham, Washington

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