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[macaroon]

How have your teaching demos been handled?

For my first two teaching demos, the SC allowed me to pick between a couple of classes that were meeting during my campus visit, and asked me to fill in for the regular lecturer by delivering the material indicated on the syllabus.

The instructions given to me for my third teaching demo have left me a bit confused.  I suspect that the teaching demo might be new for School #3, and the odd instructions might be a result of the SC's inexperience.  It's an R1, so I was surprised that I was asked to give one at all.

I am wondering what is typical.  I'm a biologist, if that helps.

Thanks in advance!

[enggrad]

 I've had one school give very specific content to fit the class I was visiting, one school said to lecture on anything that I wanted, and one school gave me a title for the lecture but no other guidance.  The last was the most difficult because the title was broad enough to be a course in and of itself and it didn't even fit the syllabus I would teach for the class I was presenting to.  I'm also int he sciences and I'd prefer to get some content instructions since it's hard to gauge from a syllabus alone the quantitative level of the class sometimes.

[katherineparr]

I've given four of these, and they've varied widely. Two were quite confusing, and both times the confusion worked against me. In other words: bad instructions, completely different environment/expectations than what I was told to prepare for, result: poor performance. (couldn't be me. Naturally, I'm perfect)

The most straightforward demos worked the best: I was told what class, given a topic, and off I went.

However, as a member of several SCs, I can tell you that teaching demos vary widely. So just do your best. No one's perfect, and if you find things a bit confusion others will, too.

[macaroon]

Thanks enggrad and katherineparr...

enggrad - I think I was asked to do the third option you mentioned.  I was given a weird title and instructions to handle it however I wanted.  It was Spring Break at that institution while the details of my visit were being hashed out, so there were additionally confusing aspects regarding to which class I would be delivering the lecture, and whether I actually was supposed to be sticking to that odd topic. 

I mulled it over and ultimately decided to prepare a different topic that would be, IMO, a good supplement to the class where I'd be delivering the lecture.  I sent lecture notes and a paper to the prof whose class I am guesting in, and his responses were very enthusiastic regarding the content I sent him.  I've given a variation of the lecture twice before, so I know my demo will be good stuff.  I'm just hoping they don't get too mad that I didn't stick to the topic they assigned, but I'm also not entirely sure I was really supposed to lecture on that topic anyway.

Thanks again!

[yellowtractor]

Hi Macaroon,

You really just try to do the best you can.  It's an artificial situation for everybody concerned--you, SC, "students" (sometimes they are real students in a real class, sometimes fake students in a fake class, and sometimes--yes--they are SC members pretending to be students).  Any SC member of any intelligence and/or empathy whatsoever knows this.

I've experienced all the scenarios described.  I've also had a situation where the SCC flat-out refused to tell me anything about the teaching demo--topic, number of students, time allotted, etc.  She said "We're treating everybody the same.  We just want to see what you do."  (Deep down inside, I thought "what I do is plan ahead so that I do not have to wing it in gratuitously hostile situations."  I didn't say this, of course....)

And then there was the time I was asked to take over a preexisting class--in fact, the class of the adjunct faculty member who had applied for the very same position and not made it to the finalist stage.  That was ugly.

If I were you, though, I would make sure you let the SCC know ahead of time that you have changed the topic (with the regular instructor's consent and enthusiastic support--you might emphasize this, under the circumstances).  That way it sounds as if you are trying to work *with* the scenario they have offered you, rather than blowing off the topic they originally assigned.

Good luck!

[svenc]

It's an R1, so I was surprised that I was asked to give one at all.

At an R1 you are required to spend less time teaching and more time doing research, but many schools still care about the quality of that teaching.  How important this is varies from school to school, and from unit to unit.

At our large R1 (in a college that does care about the quality of teaching), we often request teaching demos from newly minted PhDs, but forego them for people coming in with more experience.  I suspect that campus visits in many/most other colleges on our campus do not include teaching demos.

[oseph]

Worst teaching demo was when I had to take over someone's class for the day, with a preassigned topic.  He gave me the syllabus and even some past lecture notes, but I had no point of reference for tying it back into what they had learned.  I had to guess what themes he had emphasized based on the texts and readings he had assigned.  I could tell it didn't work.  I was coming at things from a totally different angle, and not in a good way, because this was a course where you really needed some key questions and approaches to guide you through each week's material.  Later I found out that a member of the search committee who sat in on all the teaching demos was pushing for a buddy of his to get the job, so he coached the buddy in what to emphasize in the demo (how did I find this out?  I was the final candidate, and an advanced ABD who liked my job talk and had a few too many drinks afterwards foolishly told me that he had overheard the professor and the friend discussing it at their school's party at our field's big annual meeting).  In any case, I don't think the teaching demo tanked my candidacy, so it didn't matter, but the point was that I didn't like teaching someone else's class, someone else's subject, without any frame of reference for where the professor was taking them with the material.

[dr_dre]

My teaching demo turned out to be a positive experience. I took over a professor's class for the day and was asked to teach the topic on the syllabus. The professor sent me a copy of his syllabus, so I could see the textbook and thrust of the class. The hardest part was gauging the level of the students, but they turned out to be very average, like the students where I adjunct, so I was familiar with techniques to use. I emphasized clarity of presentation and student interaction where possible. My advisor's advice would not have worked well--he said to "give an interesting lecture"--but reflects his experience at elite R1 schools. At a school like that, I am pretty sure I would have tanked. It seemed to me that my demo went well primarily because I already happened to have lots of experience teaching students of that level of preparation and achievement.

[imawakenow]

I emphasized clarity of presentation and student interaction where possible.

This is what I tried to do on my last two campus visits with teaching demos. Both were R1s, and at one they specifically mentioned that teaching was very important in that department.

At the first, I received a topic right from the syllabus along with a chapter from the text. I introduced myself and then assigned topics for small group discussion, which then led into a short lecture interspersed with questions to the students.

At the second, I received a broad topic relevant to my field. That time I framed the topic and then asked a question to get things started. There, I asked the students to preface their comments by giving their names.

While research will likely rule the day, unless you know that this is a very grant-driven department, I wouldn't assume that the teaching demo isn't important, otherwise why waste your time and everyone elses?

[macaroon]

OP here....

I'm back from my interview and I thought I'd let you know how the demo went.  I prepared the "different" topic, and it went over very well.  The students were very engaged.  I could tell by the body language of the faculty that they were all very pleased, and several members of the SC commented positively on the demo.  I don't think anyone was upset that I deviated from the instructions. 

Thanks again for your input.