On Teaching Fashion: I + E + QOT = S

By Kelly C, February 3rd, 2012 at 5:00 am (Teaching)

I am not mathematically inclined but feel Monica’s equation holds great merit when combined with the dimension of time, specifically QUALITY of time.  I propose adding quality of time to the equation, i.e, Information + Entertainment +QOT = 100% learning success.

or I + E + QOT = S

A key element to my success in the classroom is to “get my students moving” at a quality level as early as possible.

1. I ask for a lot from students at the beginning of the semester
2. I ask the most of students at mid-term.
3. During finals, ideally their work ethics are high and they know the road rules, my final project does not compete with other classes and seems that the students and the work they produce benefit!

Let me give you an example:

FIRST OF SEMESTER

In my Fashion, Drawing and Rendering class we jump in the first day drawing croquis, perspective, understanding anatomy, hands, feet, bits and parts. The first few weeks are rigorous studies, the bar is raised and class is engaged from start to end. We meet twice weekly for 2 hours with usually 3-5 hours of homework scheduled weekly.

MIDTERM

My midterm project is THE biggie. Think about it folks: During finals, students are totally overwhelmed, engaging them in a serious project ¼ of the way into the semester benefits everyone – the students are energized and well rested and more able to push themselves.

Last semester, my midterm project involved the students in designing a multiple figure (3-5 figures) format in black and white with companion theme, mood and concept board (the board included such things as color, fabric and materials, component details).  The figure boards included hand drawn figures and hand drawn flats. Students could present via 3D boards or a tumblr site.

FINAL

From the first day of class I am building interest and excitement about our midterm, after the midterm I guide my students into the thinking that the midterm was a start not an ending and one part of a complete package, this is when I introduce the final.

Our final involves expanding the midterm forward as a digital presentation in Illustrator. This is done in class with little homework, this is achievable for students who are being pulled in several directions the last few weeks of class, and because the final is built on a strong midterm I find that the final work succeeds as well!

I + E + QOT = S

Here is an example of a student Emma Sidoriack’s site: http://esid.tumblr.com/

Do you have anything to add to the expanded equation for success? We would love to hear from you. Happy teaching!

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New Contributors Revive Teaching Posts

By Monica Sklar, January 30th, 2012 at 4:00 am (Teaching, Uncategorized)

You may have noticed this month that the column “On Teaching Fashion” has been rejuvenated by new contributor Monica Murgia. Click over to her bio to learn all about the classes she teaches as well as her international research presentations.

We’re also happy to welcome Kelly Cobb to the fold, who will be a team with Monica M. on the teaching posts. You may have read Kelly’s previous guest posts and she has dutifully covered the International Textile and Apparel Association conferences for Worn Through for the past two years!

Now together they’ll alternate weekly discussing teaching strategies, curriculum and assignment ideas, classroom management, colleague relations, and anything else they can think of about teaching apparel related courses, particularly at the university level.

We’ve had some great educators write for the On Teaching Fashion column and I’m pleased to continue in that tradition with Monica M. and Kelly C.*

*clarification of last initial only because of other contributors with the same first names

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On Teaching Fashion: Do They Hear What I Hear?

By Monica Murgia, January 27th, 2012 at 5:00 am (Teaching, Uncategorized)

There comes a moment in your teaching career when you are assigned a new course.  It may be your very first time leading a classroom, or you may be a seasoned professional tackling a special topics class.  You’re eager, and ready for the challenge.

Then, the bleak reality of the situation sets in: you have two weeks to design your course.  This means creating a syllabus, tests, assignments, and seemingly endless hours of lectures and activities.  It starts out innocently enough.  The syllabus and assignments are created, and the semester starts.  You’re ahead of schedule . . . until one day, you’re not anymore.  The information starts to feel overwhelming.  How can you condense all of your research into a neat, 1 hour and 45 minute class?  It seems like you’re spending 8 hours preparing for 1 lecture.

Class starts.  You present the lecture and feel great.  All of the main issues were covered, the images were great, and you even made a handout.  What a great lecture!  Or was it?

Cartoon courtesy of brownsharpie.courtneygibbons.org

As academics, we can become engrossed in our topics of expertise.  So engrossed, that it becomes difficult to gauge our students previous knowledge on the subject, as well as what they are retaining from our classes.  This affect can be compounded when you’re teaching a course for the first time.  You’ve spent the last 3 days preparing a lecture on fashion during the Reformation, but your students might not remember what the Reformation was.

Cartoon courtesy of cartoonstock.com

It’s critical to gauge your students’ knowledge and understanding of the material when you’re teaching a course for the first time.  It can be tricky the first time around, but here are some tips:

1) Always state the obvious. You have a post-secondary degree.  Your students do not.  Don’t gloss over the obvious, essential points when lecturing.  It’s a great review for them, and the perfect way to introduce more complicated material.  Not every single student will be interested every single second of your class, especially if they have some previous knowledge.  But keep in mind, many of them don’t, so don’t be afraid to start at square one.

2) Start class with a review. Have 4-5 questions and present them to your class.  Make sure the questions cover the main ideas from your previous lecture.  This is a sneaky, 2-in-1 move: it gets the students to participate and recall the relevant points you taught.  By making the review discussion-based, your students will construct the knowledge on their terms.  This equals greater retention of information.

3) Introduce relevant current events.  When you make your course relevant to current events, students see the practical applications.  They may even see a different perspective on the information you’re covering.  Target industry-based publications and popular media, and skim the latest news daily.  Here’s a fun discussion I used in my history of costume class:  Pharaohs in ancient Egypt wore false beards to indicate their status as ruler.  Pharaohs were always male, until the reign of Hatshepsut.  (Hatsheput, a woman, reigned as pharaoh c. 1497 -1458 B.C.)   How might have the citizens of Egypt felt about this blurring of gender roles through dress?  Compare and contrast this to Lady Gaga’s appearance in the 2011 VMA’s, dressed as a man (aka Jo Calderone).  This created an interesting discussion about gender roles and how identity is communicated through fashion.  It also illustrated that people still have strong opinions about cross-dressing.

4) Let them teach you.  Assign presentations and projects that put your students in the driver’s seat.  Ask them to bring a quote from the assigned reading which they related to, or found inspiring.  Have them review the historical accuracy of different films for a project.  If a particular chapter is difficult, ask them to bring topics or passages that they did not understand.  When the students take an active role in the course, it’s easier to identify what they are learning, and what you need to review.

These are just some of the techniques I’ve found to work along the way.  Many of you might have other tips and tricks for tackling for teaching a new course.  I hope you’ll share what has worked for you in the comments.

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On Teaching Fashion: Monastic Dress

By Monica Murgia, January 13th, 2012 at 1:25 pm (Exhibitions, History of Dress, Museum Life, Teaching)

The new year always leads me to reflect on my past so that I can set new goals.  This year will mark the start of my third year teaching fashion as an adjunct instructor.  Looking back at this experience, I have identified one main key to success.  This key will work in any course, across disciplines, and keep your students engaged and learning.  So what is this mysterious tenet?

What I’ve learned from my experiences is that keeping students engaged and learning requires you to keep a balance between teaching and entertaining.  Consider this your mathematical equation for success:

50% information + 50% entertainment = 100% learning success

Now, that means as an instructor I am ALWAYS searching for new materials, new techniques and ways to reach my students.  The classroom is a stage, I am the performer, and my students are the critics.

Entertaining students with factual information isn’t as difficult as it sounds.  It usually involves presenting the information, illustrating how that information is relevant to today’s world, and then giving them an activity to internalize the information.  I’ve found this formula is particularly helpful when teaching a history of costume course.

Chasuble, late 1500s. Italian voided silk velvet and silk brocade with linen lining. Allentown Art Museum.

Let’s face it: some historical eras can seem inaccessible and therefore boring to students.  For example, when teaching the Middle Ages, I’ve found a lot of resistance in discussing monastic dress.  Students tend to immediately dismiss this topic as stodgy and completely irrelevant to anything they’d want to  design.  So it’s up to me to change their minds.  Challenge accepted.

Local museums are often a fantastic and overlooked resource.  Quite honestly, I sometimes forget to investigate smaller museums, assuming that they are too small to have a costume or textile collection.  Yet I was pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to the Allentown Art Museum.  The museum had a small exhibit entitled Heaven on Earth: Textiles of the Renaissance and Baroque.  I was immediately inspired to create an assignment for my history of costume class.

I’ve found that after lecturing on topics, it’s best to have an activity that reinforces the information you’ve covered.  To really drive the point home, I always ask for a comparison to the present day.  (You’ll see this in the activity I created below.)  Without understanding the evolution of history and it’s impact on today’s world, you’re entering treacherous waters.  I never want my students to be wondering “when am I ever going to use this?”.  If you can illustrate why topics are relevant and important to your students’ careers, they’ll be much more likely to remember the content of your course.

For this assignment, I would take the class to the museum and conduct a brief review of the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance.  Then I would have the class break into small groups and complete the following questions:

• In your own words, describe who would have worn a chasuble and what were its historic origins.

• Even though these textiles were made in Italy, how do they showcase cross-cultural influences?  Please discuss where the design motifs originated and how they arrived in Italy.

Detail of Chasuble, late 1500s. Italian voided silk velvet and silk brocade with linen lining. Allentown Art Museum.

• Clothing communicates identity.  Aside from the chasuble being a uniform, what did the quality of the textiles used say about the wearer?  Please compare the chasuble to the garments of common people at the time and explain how this indicated status.

• One of the major sources of information about dress of the time comes from illuminated manuscripts and religious art.  How accurate are these sources compared to the textiles in this exhibition?  Please compare and contrast a textile and painting of your choice.  (A great source for illuminated manuscripts is the Morgan’s online exhibition, Illuminated Fashion)

Detail of Vestment decoration, c. 1625. Italian silk satin with embroidery. Allentown Art Museum.

• Italy became the velvet capital of the world during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  In your own words, please describe the technology needed to make velvet and why it was so “cutting edge” at the time.  Compare and contrast this to the leading technology of our era.

Orphrey Fragment of The Annunciation, early 1400s. Italian silk with gilt foil-wrapped thread, brocade weave. Allentown Art Museum.

Before leaving, I would have a discussion where each group share their answers.  For homework, I would have them do either one of two assignments:

• Sketch a contemporary garment inspired by the textiles and garments from our museum visit.

• Research a contemporary designer who designed a collection based on textiles and garments from this time period.  Write a brief response to their collection, and describe your favorite look.  Compare this look to what we saw on our museum trip.  (Remember to print image)

Either homework assignment will illustrate how these historical trends can be used today.  When I assign a sketching assignment, I only assess it for neatness and connection to the material covered.  I wouldn’t grade it in the same manner as a portfolio course.  Here is an example of a similar assignment I gave when teaching the 18th Century.  My student, Sandra, designed a modern-day take on the chemise a la reine by using a traditional silhouette with contemporary fabrics.

Modern-day take on the chemise a la reine. Illustration by Sandra Church.

Happy teaching!

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From The Archive: On Teaching Fashion: The Great Dickens Christmas Fair

By Ashley, December 5th, 2011 at 5:00 am (Academic Research & Related, Teaching)

Lauren Michel originally posted this article on December 25th, 2009. She traveled to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair and reported back with some great photos and advice on how events such as this could be incorporated into teaching the history of fashion.

As promised, I went to the Great Dickens Christmas Fair and Holiday Party last weekend.  As promised, I made sure to take lots of photos to share with you.  Unfortunately, shortly after I transferred the image files from my camera card to my laptop (and erased them from the camera card), my laptop’s screen stopped working. Fortunately, I have a few highlights which my spouse uploaded to his facebook profile before the computer mishap occurred.  In addition to those, there is also that great photographic resource, flickr.  A number of Dickens Fair-goers extensively document the event, each of the four weekends over which the event runs, and make their images available to the public, often via flickr, so if you want to see more than what I have below, wander over and do a search for “Dickens Fair 2009.”

The Dickens Fair advertises itself as “a Victorian Christmas card come to life.”

The bustling streets of London, immortalized for all time by the mighty pen of Charles Dickens, form the living backdrop of your excursion into Christmas Past. You are a living part of a Victorian Christmas card come to life!

Come wander the lanes of Victorian London, as the glow of twilight settles upon the city. With the scent of pine boughs & freshly baked scones floating in the air and the sound of carolers & holiday merrymakers accompanying your stroll.

The venue for the event, the Cow Palace (feel free to snicker at the name, though it is an historic California landmark), was transformed in exactly that way.  The entire place was theatrically lit to simulate twilight.  The lanes were narrow, the place was scented as advertised, the floor was covered with sawdust, and visitors were immersed in an entertaining street theatre environment.  The costumes were a visual feast, with the usual blend I have come to expect at a costume event here in California:  the perfectly historically accurate (at least appearing so, from a vantage point of 5-10 feet), the halfway accurate, the “this looks ‘Victorian’, right?”, the corsets over streetwear, goth looks, and lastly, fantasy, namely steampunk.

The cast portrayed characters from Dickens (I saw Jacob Marley’s ghost wandering about, dragging real metal chains, the Ghost of Christmas Present escorting Ebenezer Scrooge, and Fagin and Oliver Twist) and people from most walks of life:  the chimney sweeps you see above (often with teeth blacked out), flower girls, sailors, harlots, shopkeepers, soldiers, and of course, young Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.  Charles Dickens and Phileas Fogg were on the official program, and I saw a Queen of Hearts.  Rumor had it there was a George Sand about the fair, and locked on my laptop is a photo of what may be her (alas, perhaps next week).

As a comparison, at California’s renaissance faires, the costumed paying customers are usually distinguishable from the cast by either being of the wrong time period, or heavily inspired by fantasy novels and films, and often of lesser quality construction (looking like cheap Halloween costumes, as opposed to well-fitted, well-constructed, and well-researched historical and theatrical reproductions).  At the Dickens Fair, however, it appeared that many of the paying customers were dressed as well as, and sometimes better than, the cast.  Most of the time, it was hard to tell exactly who was there as a cast member and a part of the atmosphere and who was there on their own time, and their own dollar (and this is not to imply that the cast are monetarily compensated for their time, as some may be, but most probably are not).

Now that I have given you some of the background, here follow some photos that I think are quite representative of the whole Dickens Fair experience, at least from my point of view as someone who teaches introductory fashion courses, including history of dress.  Other photos that I am not showing you (because they are on that laptop I mentioned earlier), show some of the better examples of different styles covered in my history of western dress course.  I recommend doing this if you teach history (dress or otherwise), as it is important to cover not only history as it was, but also, in a fashion program, the practical reproduction of historic styles for stage and screen, and in this case, street theater.  I look forward to being able to share them with students in the future.

Here are the fair’s Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (with the blue sashes, as you know).

Above is a marvelous example of exquisite craftsmanship by one of our Worn Through readers.  Her gown is black silk taffeta.  Perfect for mourning, of course.

The steampunk element was well established, with a special 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea-inspired environment/exhibit.

Popular with photographers were the Dark Garden Corsetry shop windows, because they featured motionless live models.

These ladies were in a clothing shop called Miss Darla’s Dolls Gone Wrong.  This was the pose they struck (before moving into it robotically) when I asked if I could photograph them.  Perhaps you can see the large gold clockwork keys affixed to their backs.

Have you attended the Dickens Fair or other costumed events?  What are (or were) your impressions?

Next week:  I will be attending a lecture by Kaffe Fassett and will tell you all about him and his latest creative endeavours.  His talk is on Sunday, December 27th (two days from now).  If you have any special questions you would like me to be sure to ask him, leave them for me in the comments below.

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Contributor(s) Needed: Full-time Fashion Educator

By Monica Sklar, November 22nd, 2011 at 1:50 pm (Teaching, Uncategorized)

We’d like to revive the “On Teaching Fashion” column and are looking for a full time fashion educator (or two) to write it bi-weekly. See the old column for details. Send your CV to Monica

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From The Archive: First Trip to Paris for the Fashion Scholar

By Ashley, November 7th, 2011 at 8:45 am (Academic Research & Related, Teaching)

Acknowledging the importance of Paris to fashion scholars and many others, in July 2010 Lauren Michel created this post. Here, she provides insight into travel guides and properly planning your journey to meet specific needs and get the most of a visit to Paris.

Paris: City of Light. International fashion capital. Epicenter of fashion as we know it.

This post is for anyone burning with that particular desire often possessed by the aspiring designers in my classrooms: the desire to see Paris. Did I say often? Try always.

Here are some of my favorite resources for fashion scholars preparing for a first visit to Paris, particularly those unfamiliar with the culture and the language, and those travelers making their trip as a pilgrimage to fashion’s holy city.

General Travel Guides
For a general travel guide, I prefer Rick Steves’ Paris. He updates it yearly, and while Steves is solidly embraced by baby boomers, the guide is also hip enough for generation y and good for families with children of all ages. A great companion is his pocket-sized French Phrase Book and Dictionary.

French Culture
If you are unfamiliar with French culture, start studying. Now. Knowing something about the culture and history of the great nation of France will make all the difference in terms of how much you get out of your trip. You will see more, learn more, and appreciate more, which of course is why you are going there in the first place. One book I recommend is Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t Be Wrong by Canadian and American husband and wife, Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow.

Museum Exhibits
You may want to (make that should) plan your trip around an important exhibition, or simply visit as many fashion exhibits as possible. This year, until August 29, the Petit Palais, the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts, is hosting the world’s first large Yves Saint-Laurent exhibition, The World of Yves Saint-Laurent. Check the Fashion and Textile Museum at the Musée des Arts décoratifs at the Louvre, and the Musée Galliera (the City of Paris Fashion Museum), for their current shows, and visit the Pierre Cardin Museum.

Shopping in Paris
If you are going to Paris to shop (and if you are reading WornThrough, I imagine you are at least halfway considering it), then you will want to know where the various shopping neighborhoods are, plus where to find what you want, and quickly. Think you can plan your tour of the little boutiques of Paris with a google search? Think again. Many, if not most, of Paris’s unique shops do not maintain an internet presence. Therefore, I recommend you pick up more than one guide to the type of shops you seek, with the shops organised by arrondissement. (For those unfamiliar, Paris is divided into municipal districts, or arrondissements, numbered from 1 to 20.)

Vintage Paris Couture: The French Woman’s Guide to Shopping: It would probably take me a whole month of nonstop shopping to see every place in this guide. It covers all levels of the market, from thrift or charity-style shops, to antique eighteenth-century clothing, to twentieth-century designer couture, including the Paris flea markets. Price levels are given for the shops covered. There are so many great photos in this book that I recommend you buy it even if you are not planning a trip any time soon. It makes a great smaller-sized coffee-table book for you armchair travelers. This book has a hard cover, so I recommend photocopying the pages with info on shops you are interested in, take the copied pages with you, and leave the book at home. Lighter baggage on the way there, more room for your purchases on the way home.

Paris: Made by Hand: 50 Shops Where Decorators and Stylists Source the Chic & Unique: I wanted to go to practically every shop in here. It leans towards hand crafted items for gifts and interior design, yet also covers shops with the raw materials for your own chic creations, plus apparel, including children’s apparel. Another one with great photos, it also includes some ateliers, or studios. Also happens to be paperback and relatively compact, meaning you can put it in your day bag with your phrase book.

Chic Shopping Paris: Yet another almost-pocket-sized book with great photos, and like the above, shops organised by arrondissement. Covers a variety of boutiques, including apparel and accessories, in addition to fine china, linens and flatware. In short, everything you need for an elegant Paris pied-à-terre.

Bon Voyage!

Now that you have your recommended reading, here is a brief clip from a 1986 film by William Klein, featuring three models dressing (and undressing) in the popular fashions of the twentieth century, decade by decade. They look like they are probably wearing museum pieces, which should make your inner historian cringe, but try to enjoy it for what it is, an amusing romp.

For those of you who have traveled, studied, lived, and worked in Paris, what can you recommend? How did you get there? What are your favorite places in the city? What, in your opinion, should every fashion student be sure to see?

Photo credit: Photo at top by digitalmisfit.

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From The Archive: Teaching Fashion: Off-Figure Fashion Styling Assignment

By Ashley, July 18th, 2011 at 5:00 am (Teaching, Uncategorized)

This was originally posted by Ellen on March 25th, 2011. It is a wonderful example of practical industry skills that can be taught to students.

There was a great response to my last post on teaching fashion styling. So, I’d like to share a recent assignment with you.

Off-figure styling is styling of fashion goods, just not on a person. Anyone that has experience with this will testify that off-figure styling is much harder than on-figure styling. Off-figure styling is widely used in catalogs, websites, and magazines. The major types of off-figure styling are: lay-down, stacks, hanging, wall, and mannequin.

My students were assigned to create two or more of these types of off-figure styling during an hour of class time. I provided materials—batting, felt, t-pins, quilting pins, packing paper, dress-forms, hanging racks, tack board, sticky tabs. They provided clothes, accessories, scissors, and hangers. They worked in teams of three. All had a FABULOUS time!

Lay-down styling. Simply, clothes and accessories are arranged flat on the floor for the photograph.

Stacks. Clothing is stacked—typically in a folded state, but I’ve also seen rolled.

Hanging. Typically, garments hanging from a rack. Choice of hanger is very important to conveying the right image. Also, keeping the hangers from moving can be a real trick!

Wall. Clothing is styled by pinning to a wall. It is similar to lay-down styling, but can give the clothes a more life-like appearance.

Mannequin. Clothing and accessories are displayed on some type of body form.

Off-figure styling is a great skill for students to develop. Even if a model is not available, students can document their clothing designs. Off-figure styling is also a great skill for merchandise presentations. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into my classroom.

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Shoe Factories and Lost Opportunities

By Tove Hermanson, May 10th, 2011 at 9:32 am (Teaching, Uncategorized, Videos)

Though I don’t generally think of myself as a shoe fetishist, I do have a soft spot in my heart for Fluevogs. In their latest e-newsletter was a video of a Fluevog shoe being made (I must add the disclaimer that though I truly love Fluevogs, I truly hate the style in this particular vignette):

I have loved seeing the process of how things are made since I was a kid. Perhaps Mr. Rogers’ segment How People Make Things had something to do with it; in addition to the crayon factory (sooo many pretty pretty colors!), Mr. McFeely (the friendly postman) narrated how shoes are made in a factory. I do believe the shoes we see being made are the blue canvas Keds Mr. Rogers was known for slipping into. Go to How People Make Things and select the How People Make Sneakers video to see for yourself.

Though I’m mesmerized by the intricate process of shoe-making (it typically takes more than 100 steps to compose a shoe), I think it’s worth noting that these educational videos do not mention the mostly brown hands toiling with this fussy process, inhaling toxic glues, probably under-paid and over-worked. I can understand why Fluevog wouldn’t address this in their promotional video, but I feel Mr. Rogers missed an opportunity to discuss labor rights and exploitation (see my post on factory exploitation). The closest he gets is when he observes “she works so quickly!” and “She’s so careful!” So close, Fred. So close.

I think there are a lot of similar lost opportunities when viewing the arts and fashion as abstracted expressions of “genius,” emotion, or even kitsch: though a work of art may indeed be these things, these adjectives minimize the historical contexts and forces beyond the control of any particular artist / designer that inevitably are captured in works. That’s why I was so excited to attend the D-Crit conference last week– this two-year-old program within the New School is devoted to the serious analysis of design in all forms. These are my peeps! And yet there were at least two instances where speakers referred lightly to fashion as frivolous and superficial. This was not the thrust of any grand argument, but it was shocking to me in its carelessness– uttered by two people who are intellectually devoted to the study of design, fashion still gets short shrift when in proximity to architecture, branding, and even audio design elements. I know I’m speaking to a converted audience here, but this was a reminder that even within the arts, fashion and apparel are denigrated. Art and design are powerful teaching / learning tools precisely because they touch every aspect of the human existence, and I just hope a thoughtful, critical approach is taken when discussing things as seemingly benign, or captivating, as a shoe factory video.

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Teaching Fashion: Reflections at the end of a first year of teaching full-time

By Kelly, May 6th, 2011 at 5:00 am (Teaching)

It is nearing the end of the semester and wow are things busy. This is my first year teaching full-time (I was an adjunct last year) and having committees, advisees and and an extra class or two really add to the workload to say the least. I have really had to re-evaluate how I structure assignments, how I grade, article selection, reading requirements etc. Not because what I did before was out of line but purely for survival – my own because writing new lectures, working with new textbooks, writing new assignment guides, new grading rubrics, etc really takes a lot of time. And as we all know, there are only so many hours in the day. And I have a family – husband and 4 kids to be exact. After years of graduate school they aren’t really all that amenable to my working in the evening and week-ends so efficiency is key on my part. I am fast and I am thorough but I had to learn to let go a little. So in this abbreviated post (end of the semester and all), I will share (or at least am starting to learn) in order to survive the semesters as they come.
 

1. As noted in a previous posting, in the syllabus of a class – late policies, due dates, weekly readings, etc. The more clarity I have provided, the fewer questions and fewer complaints I receive from students. Of course they haven’t gone away completely (will they ever?) but when anyone knows what is expected, they have less to ask. I always appreciated knowing as much at the start of the semester as possible. I won’t name names but there were a few professors over the years that drove me insane with randomly added assignments and due dates.

2. Write your assignment guides, grading rubrics, etc. of them. This really saves in having to edit the documents the following year. Also, if you save or import or migrate course documents in blackboard (or what online tool your school uses), you don’t have to delete, edit and re-post.

3. Do not be afraid of using . I shouldn’t really say “afraid” because I wasn’t fearful of using them it’s just my attitude was “scantrons don’t allow the students to really explain their ideas, I feel they should be able to express their full understanding of the material in their own words not just fill in a bubble…”. Well, when it was taking 30 – 40 minutes to grade a single exam, I decided I had to change something so I did add some multiple choice and matching last year and last semester but still hand graded. Then this semester I moved those questions that could be answered on a scantron to a scantron. Yes, it took time to alter the test to scantron format but it saved me LOADS of time. Another bonus – students received their test results and therefore I received fewer inquiries as to when tests would be returned. A win-win.

4. Provide  to the students. I never really thought about it before attending a workshop before fall semester. I figured I gave students really clear assignments, based my grading on that very specifically and why would I give them the actual grading rubric ahead of time? Wasn’t that like giving them an unfair advantage – giving hints that you only need to work hard on whatever particular section? But no. That hasn’t happened. By providing the grading rubric ahead of time I feel the students really understand that I “mean business” when I write the assignment guides. That I really do mean you have to answer/address every point of the guide. And once again, how can they argue if they know they will loose points and how many points ahead of time and they still choose to not do a part of the assignment? This really gets back to clarity too.

5. . Most of my syllabi state the readings for each week AND that additional reading may be added but if they will be added, they will be posted at least one week ahead of time. If I find a great article 6 days before I want it read, it doesn’t get added.

6. Be willing to . Sometime you may have to alter your plan or your schedule. Maybe a topic takes longer than anticipated, maybe students have more to say about a topic, maybe you DO come across some great resource at the last minute and you decide to take class-time for them to read or see it. If the main reason behind it is for the benefit of the students, then let it go.

7. Keep a on your computer of what you did in each class. I didn’t do this my first semester last year as an adjunct. I kept written notes on my syllabus but did not keep it in my computer. Well, this fall when teaching the same class again do you think I could find those notes? Of course not. But I did have them for spring semester and they have helped immensely. I have a much more clear picture of how much I can cover in a given lecture, what areas seem problematic for students, I note what I want to do differently next year and I can look ahead and know what to have prepped for upcoming class sessions.

8. . I am a team player. I really am. I am a do-er. Give me a job and I will do it. And I will do it to the best of my ability and often I will search out ways to do it better. But that also has led me to say yes to probably more than I should. This seems to be a problem for many first year instructors. Whether you are on a contract and want to prove indispensable to the department so they will renew your contract or you are working towards tenure and know how much committee work counts, I have heard many instructors early in their careers become overwhelmed with commitments that come with the job but fall outside the classroom. But as in any realm, you don’t have to say yes to everything.

9. That said, also know there will be times you won’t be given a choice to do something or not do something. That’s just I guess.

10. Realize that there are going to be times you aren’t stellar in your lecture, that some students just won’t pass the class no matter how hard you try to get them interested and get them to do the work, that somedays you may feel like you are having no effect whatsoever on their learning, the list goes on and one. But as my mom (wise woman that she is) always says – this too shall pass. The end of the semester shall come, you will survive and there is to change, tweak, improve.

Must move on – the end of the semester calls.

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