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[mathprofdk]

I'm a relatively new department chair at a suburban community college.  My predecessor didn't really give me much guidance about how to interview potential adjuncts, so I've just been kind of winging it.

What I'm doing right now is just a single 10 question phone interview of the best candidates, and then offering a class or two based on that.  I'm quickly realizing that this is not enough, so I'm wondering what other steps I should be taking.

Obvious choices: 2nd in-person interview (not always easy - many applicants have 8-5 jobs), following up with references, or a demonstration lesson.  (I'm not even sure how that last one would work, given that I'm a search committee of one.)

Anyone have any recommendations?

[london1]

I'm not a department chair, but I have adjuncted at a few cc's and I did meet the department chair for an interview (after a phone interview such as you describe).  I was also asked to submit a sample syllabus for the course with my CV and references.  I'm not sure if my references were ever checked.  I think you should try to meet an adjunct candidate before you send him or her into one of your classes.

[zharkov]

Meet them for interviews, even if it means staying after 5.

Are these people who have taught before?  Are the students mainly adults taking evening courses?  If so, have they worked with adult students? 

[cgfunmathguy]

I'll chime with both of these. When I worked as an adjunct, I met the chair before ever being assigned a class. As a chair, I didn't use a single new adjunct until I had met with them in a reasonably short interview. It doesn't have to be long, just 20-30 minutes. You want a feel for when they can teach, who they can teach, and why they want to teach for you. Then, you can make an informed decision about whether they belong in your classroom.

[mathprofdk]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.  To be clear, I definitely get a sense of what they can do from the phone interview.  It's not like I'm going in totally blind.  It's just that when I had my orientation recently, there was on particular adjunct who was just much different in person than on the phone.  I may not have given this particular adjunct a course if I had the in-person interview.

I like the syllabus idea, too.  It would definitely be tough for some without teaching experience, but that's revealing enough in itself - can you create a syllabus for a course from scratch?  (We have a lot of guidance in the department when we actually hire someone.)

I also think the 2nd interview is a no-brainer.  I guess I just wanted the obvious reinforced.

[london1]

I was fresh out of grad school when I was asked to sumbit a sample syllabus and I think the request was reasonable for the reasons you mention, mathprofdk.  Good luck with your hires.  By your moniker, I am guessing you chair the math department.  Those adjunct hires are so important to student success, especially in intro courses.

[brixton]

Phone interviews have a lot of limitations.  Some people are adept at reading nonverbal cues.  This group are frequently good teachers.  (Interestingly, some people in this this group can sometimes not be strong in phone interviews.)  Others are terrible at reading nonverbal cues.  You ask a question, they can answer it in paragraph form, but aren't paying attention to whether you're getting it.  For that reason, I think at least 30 minutes in person is something you owe to your students.  Syllabus/assignments are always good too, (as others have said.)  A cover letter or writing sample can tell you if they can write clearly.