Our rookie first-year lecturer gets to grips with student emotions and ‘covid' seating plans, thinks technology is double-edged and is starting to ‘read’ students behind their masks
In my first full term, I’ve quickly realised my job as a psychology/sociology lecturer and tutor is much wider than merely academic. I’m the main point of contact for the 60 students I look after at levels 2 and 3 and find handling the emotional side quite taxing - something new seems to crop up every day. The unexpected nearly always comes from individuals who you thought were doing well. Some of my few students also have learning difficulties - nothing severe but it’s a mixed bag. I hope my efforts to always remain open and friendly are encouraging students to trust and approach me about anything. It’s always better to build relationships quickly and thus pick things up early.
To be honest, I’ve been slightly naive to think I’d be spending much more of my work time than my current 60% on the academic side (teaching and producing materials), given the socio-economic background of many college learners. I spend a lot of time dealing with individuals I’m not teaching but who I have to ensure are where they need to be. One learner is currently off for several weeks because of a work injury, so that’s meant doubling up on class time by also fitting in remote one-to-one sessions to ensure that person is ok and keeping up.
In fact, using technology can lower anxiety levels all too common in many students, as it allows them to engage online from home. Learners may not even want their camera on so I end up talking to a screen. That can be a bit awkward, but the technology is fabulous in allowing me to share my screen with the students, review their work and give immediate feedback. I have to strike a balance, though, as some students physically attending class every day will see remote learning as more comfortable. I have to make clear why particular students are allowed to learn remotely. I do prefer the classroom, though. Technology is double-edged!
With people not wanting to come in to college, I don’t mind single one-day absences - for instance, mature students with children (most of my learners are 24+) may miss a lesson occasionally. But I refer any longer absences to my programme manager who then phones the individual - the process is rigorous and even single days are recorded though not acted upon.
If, say, you miss three consecutive sessions early on, it’s very difficult to recover academically and still get good grades for the full year. My level 2 students study five modules across the year taught by different tutors in six-week blocks; I teach for the first four weeks and recap for the other two. They move on to another tutor for their next module. Early intervention means the failure rate drops drastically.
In the first few weeks of this term, my courses suffered the normal drop-out rate of 20%. People find out if they really want to study psychology - and maybe withdraw because it’s not the right time or programme or they have misunderstood how the workload commitment will affect their life outside college. But those who have continued, particularly at level 3, normally have clear career goals ahead in areas including family law, midwifery, paramedics and mental health.
Feedback on my teaching has been varied. I’ve had four different observers attend parts of my sessions unannounced, which was quite frustrating in one case. I was running a very interactive four-hour session with a break in between and had to fit in a half-hour PowerPoint session to put across key material. An observer turned up at just the wrong moment and later fed back that my sessions should be more interactive! But other feedback has highlighted real areas for development where I can improve and they are probably very right. After every session, I teach I write a short 10-minute reflection piece while it’s fresh in my head.
Covid has inevitably brought its problems. Ever tried working out a class seating plan to meet internal guidelines? We are not able to move students around the room but on one occasion I was lecturing in a large classroom and students were sitting too far away to see my slides, etc. I had to get permission to move my learners and then generate a new seating plan.
And again, if someone comes back after isolating at home for a week because of covid, you have to produce a new seating plan. It’s time-consuming and you’ve got to take extreme care in what you are doing. I've had to position a returning student by a window away from the group and yet communicate well with both group and individual. The health and safety aspect is something new to me; I constantly have to refer to management to ensure I’m doing things correctly. Everyone wears a mask unless medically exempted - and exempted students are not allowed to sit next to their peers. I need to position them away from other learners, sitting them as close to an open door and window as possible and yet still engage them in the session.
Of course, masks hinder visual communication, though I am learning to read people - it’s amazing what you can pick up from someone’s eyes and body language. We’ve also made so much progress during covid using little digital games that focus on learning. Examples include Cahoot and Padlet that allow students to share ideas, though there is resistance to technology from some older learners who used pen and paper when last in education. I call in a specialist to help them get acclimatised!
As for catch-up time at home, I’ve reduced my workload from very heavy to just heavy over the term. A teacher trainer once told me: “When you are a teacher, you work all the hours God sends but you’ll never be fully happy with what you’ve done!” You do have to be highly motivated for this sort of job - it’s definitely not for clock watchers.
Despite that, I’m always trying to catch up with marking - a new thing for me this term as I only observed people marking when I was training but never marked myself. I have several days’ marking to do over the next few weeks alongside teaching and tutoring. I started out thinking I could do a couple of solid days' marking but rapidly found out you can only process so much information for a few hours and then need a breather. It took me a bit by surprise but I’ve learnt to take an hour here and there so you can approach it fresh.
I’ve also got my lesson preparation time right down as I know my subject well and let my actual knowledge feed into my lessons more. At first I was over-preparing and concerned about covering every potential scenario; now I’m more relaxed.
One term in I’m feeling immeasurably more confident and positive and just accept the many different tasks that come my way. Last week I started working on a project with another tutor. In September I’d have been horrified about how I’d fit it all in but now I’ve got used to the fluid nature of the job.
For those considering a similar path to mine, I’d say be aware you’re on a steep learning curve - everyone around knows you need time to adjust to the job - so don’t expect to deal perfectly with every individual and scenario first time round. You don’t develop skills overnight so rely on your mentors and line managers. My line manager guides me every day and helps me in my professional development - slots are allocated in my timetable. I’ve never met anyone who can shift so much work in such a short time. A genuine professional.
In fact, I’ve not met any colleague who treats their work as just a job - if I leave college late for any reason, there are always people still at work in the office. To me marking someone’s work is not a chore but more like an academic exercise in how to provide that layer of positive feedback in the right way and see how I can develop it further.
Helping lots of people, following my passion for teaching my subject and, as a by-product, improving my own skills in admin, technology and communication make up a job I really don’t think they should paying me for. Famous last words? Maybe not.
Please also see: First thoughts - When the lightbulbs start to flash (October 25, 2021)
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