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[aristof_ns]

Thankfully, my position is safe. And I'm trying to build up my CV outside of the teaching gig. I had several conferences, and I can polish those papers for journal submission after the term ends. Plus, I have one more project underway for the summer, and I need to submit a book proposal from the diss. At the same time, I have to prepare four new classes for next year (2 each semester), so that may limit how much time I have for continued research.

What are the best practices for my second year in the non-TT job? What's the best piece of advice you can give for someone who has survived year 1 but who doesn't want to get trapped by the easy lure of an indefinitely renewable lectureship?

[untenured]

Research is the coin of the academic realm.  If I were you, I'd keep my research profile as active as possible.  You need to find that tenure-track job and it will be your publication record that will get you there.

You just might have to limit the time you put into those new preps.  Every hour spent on them is an hour you are not improving your CV via research.  Don't sacrifice your job prospects on the altar of high scores.  This assumes, of course, that your search focuses on institutions that don't view teaching scores as primary metrics for hiring.  If you can stay away from service all the better.

Good luck.

Untenured

[msparticularity]

Get the papers submitted to journals this summer--or sooner. This should be your first, second, and third priority. The conferences are a lower priority, although they can help a bit in terms of networking and name recognition. A couple of good peer-reviewed publications really can make the difference on the market, combined with the teaching and service experience you are getting in your current position.

Or at least it worked that way for me. :)

[untenured]

Chime on that.  Get those projects which are close to completion out the door.

Untenured

[watermarkup]

At the same time, I have to prepare four new classes for next year (2 each semester), so that may limit how much time I have for continued research.

Stop. You've got to rethink this.

1. Spring semester is a long way off. Teaching schedules can change. Keep a list of possible readings in the back of your mind, but don't invest time in a reading list until your department head bugs you to get book orders turned in. Even then, you only need the major texts. The supplementary stuff can be handled with handouts and online distribution as you think of it over the course of spring semester.

2. Don't prepare the perfect class before the semester starts. Prepare just enough so that your syllabus will pass inspection, and then plan on making a lot of last-minute readjustment and quick fixes during the semester. You'll learn a lot about what works and (especially) what doesn't as you go along. Fix your syllabus along the way. At the end of the semester, you'll have a terrific syllabus for the second time you teach the course, and that will work as good or even better in a teaching portfolio than what you can come up with in advance.

3. Plan on using pedagogical techniques that don't require insane amounts of summer preparation (for example, hour-long lectures). Instead, plan lots of small-group discussion and short student presentations.

4. If you want good evaluations, give students the impression that you are an easy grader. Extra time spent on lecture preparation now will lead to student complaints about your boring teaching style.

5. Past and upcoming conference papers can often be dropped into place as classroom lectures. Students can see what your research is all about, and you can give upcoming papers a trial run.

This probably sounds like the Slytherin Guide to Teaching, but you've got to keep in mind that if you stop doing research, your career is over as soon as your current employer no longer desires your services.

[aristof_ns]

Thanks all. I assume that if I get my articles submitted in the fall, I won't hear back from the journals until mid-semester at the earliest. Is that correct? And that I won't be able to put them on my CV -- unless I can mark them as "under consideration," which I assume is not acceptable.

1. Spring semester is a long way off. Teaching schedules can change. Keep a list of possible readings in the back of your mind, but don't invest time in a reading list until your department head bugs you to get book orders turned in. Even then, you only need the major texts. The supplementary stuff can be handled with handouts and online distribution as you think of it over the course of spring semester.

Thanks. I may have shot myself in the foot on this one. I had to submit a proposal for this class, and the committee wanted a weekly breakdown, so it's partly already done. But at the same time, there are only a couple major texts and the rest will have to be my own anthology -- for which I need to re-read several texts I haven't had to read in about 6 years. This class is also a writing-intensive class, so that I will have more to grade than for the other classes I teach. Although I'm excited about teaching this topic, you're making me wonder if I shouldn't have volunteered to teach this kind of course and this particular topic while on the job search. (I saw it as a CV builder, but maybe it's a research-detractor?)

[scampster]

Thanks all. I assume that if I get my articles submitted in the fall, I won't hear back from the journals until mid-semester at the earliest. Is that correct? And that I won't be able to put them on my CV -- unless I can mark them as "under consideration," which I assume is not acceptable.

Maybe this is field specific, but this is acceptable in my field in the sciences for newer people who may not have papers pushed through the pipeline yet (as long as it is noted as "under review" or what have you). The fact that papers were submitted shows research productivity. It's the people who list the "under preparation" papers on their CV that are a little sketchy IMHO.

[msparticularity]

Thanks all. I assume that if I get my articles submitted in the fall, I won't hear back from the journals until mid-semester at the earliest. Is that correct? And that I won't be able to put them on my CV -- unless I can mark them as "under consideration," which I assume is not acceptable.

Maybe this is field specific, but this is acceptable in my field in the sciences for newer people who may not have papers pushed through the pipeline yet (as long as it is noted as "under review" or what have you). The fact that papers were submitted shows research productivity. It's the people who list the "under preparation" papers on their CV that are a little sketchy IMHO.

I agree that indicating papers are "under review" is fine, especially early in one's career. This becomes problematic over time if none of these translate into actual publications, of course. :)

[glowdart]

This probably sounds like the Slytherin Guide to Teaching, but you've got to keep in mind that if you stop doing research, your career is over as soon as your current employer no longer desires your services.

Not Slytherin at all.  As the master of new course preps and a heavy teaching load, I can tell you that this is the only way to do it and still remain productive.  Course prep will expand to fill whatever time you give it. 

Books need to be ordered 4-6 weeks from the beginning of the semester; more if your bookstore is incompetent; less if you won't be using the book until week 12 of the semester.  July & November.   

Syllabi and schedule need to be done in enough time to make copies and allow for the copier to break during the week before classes due to overuse.  August 15th & January 1st (or Dec 20th, etc. depending on schedule.)

Major texts need to be read before each class starts (and in my case, the day before.  If I read them in August, then I will just need to read them again in November.  Hell, if I read them in week 10, then I will just need to read them again in week 11).  If you make notes in the margins and on some post-its, then you can survive teaching after attending to the advisee in tears who eats up your entire two hours of pre-class prep time. 

Powerpoints... who needs 'em?  (I'm in the humanities.)

Thus, take a week in July and work mornings on your fall syllabi.  Procrastinate on fall grading by prepping for spring in late October/ early November. 

In the meantime, write. 

[erzuliefreda]

Major texts need to be read before each class starts (and in my case, the day before.  If I read them in August, then I will just need to read them again in November.  Hell, if I read them in week 10, then I will just need to read them again in week 11). 

This term I've been reading them in the morning for my afternoon class. It's daring and high risk, but the material stays fresh and I've been able to get some sleep.

[magistra]

At the same time, I have to prepare four new classes for next year (2 each semester), so that may limit how much time I have for continued research.

Stop. You've got to rethink this.

1. Spring semester is a long way off. Teaching schedules can change. Keep a list of possible readings in the back of your mind, but don't invest time in a reading list until your department head bugs you to get book orders turned in. Even then, you only need the major texts. The supplementary stuff can be handled with handouts and online distribution as you think of it over the course of spring semester.

2. Don't prepare the perfect class before the semester starts. Prepare just enough so that your syllabus will pass inspection, and then plan on making a lot of last-minute readjustment and quick fixes during the semester. You'll learn a lot about what works and (especially) what doesn't as you go along. Fix your syllabus along the way. At the end of the semester, you'll have a terrific syllabus for the second time you teach the course, and that will work as good or even better in a teaching portfolio than what you can come up with in advance.

3. Plan on using pedagogical techniques that don't require insane amounts of summer preparation (for example, hour-long lectures). Instead, plan lots of small-group discussion and short student presentations.

4. If you want good evaluations, give students the impression that you are an easy grader. Extra time spent on lecture preparation now will lead to student complaints about your boring teaching style.

5. Past and upcoming conference papers can often be dropped into place as classroom lectures. Students can see what your research is all about, and you can give upcoming papers a trial run.

This probably sounds like the Slytherin Guide to Teaching, but you've got to keep in mind that if you stop doing research, your career is over as soon as your current employer no longer desires your services.

I so want a copy of this.  Your next publication, I hope!