Being an Adjunct Online

Four years ago, I began the switch from teaching seated courses to teaching distance learning (online) courses. My reasons for doing so were directly related to a health issue that kept me at home. When my health improved, I returned to the classroom, but in addition, continued teaching online, as it was convenient for me - a single mother. Moreover, as gas prices rose, that 25 minute commute began to hurt my wallet, which was pretty thin already. Now, after moving to Michigan, some 200 miles away from campus, I teach, exclusively, online. I’d love to be in a classroom again, but, I’ve not found a teaching job in this area (see prior blog article for more on that).

I teach both College Composition One and College Composition Two, each semester. Recently, I was told that I spend way too much time online - a fact that one of my relatives had determined was unhealthy for me. That same person also informed me that I should spend only about an hour, at the most, teaching each day. Initially, I dismissed that conversation, because the person who said it clearly doesn't understand what goes into teaching an online course effectively. Now, two weeks after that conversation, I am perturbed. I'm not just irritated by the fact that what I do is misunderstood so much as I am disgruntled by the fact that what I do is not respected.

I understand that it can be difficult to respect the unknown, so I’ll try my best to describe what I do. At my college, there are varying semester lengths. The traditional semester runs 16 weeks. There is also a shortened semester, which runs 12 weeks, and an even shorter semester that runs either the first eight weeks of the semester, or the last eight weeks of the semester. In the summer, there is a ten-week course, as well.

Because I am willing to teach as many courses as I’m given, I often get thrown into those varying semester lengths. Last spring, I taught five courses (I am now limited to four courses, which keeps me at part-time, and which stems from recent national healthcare changes). Two of those courses were Comp Ones, and three were Comp Twos. One of the Comp Ones was a first half 8-week course. The second Comp One was a 12-week course. The first Comp Two course was a 16-week course, while the other two were a 12-week and a second half of the semester 8-week course. Although the curriculum follows state and college guidelines, each course must be tweaked in order to fit the regulated scheduling. This means that I must change each syllabus to fit the time frame of each course. This also means that although I’m teaching two courses, I still have five preparations.

It takes me about an hour to adjust each standard syllabus to fit its course. I am one of those professors who gives students a detailed calendar, that highlights not just the course description and how grades are determined, but, also, when each assignment is due, and when students should read each chapter of their textbook. Some might say that I’m a glutton for punishment, since I spend hours getting the syllabi ready each semester, but I like to think that I’m avoiding future problems by doing so. Still, all of that work must be completed by the start of the semester, so it doesn’t figure into how much time I really spend working on a day-to-day basis. Nor does the uploading of the various files, the changes made in our classroom management system, or the technical issues which arise before each semester.

A good portion of each semester day is spent responding to student questions and problems. Since the only source of communication students have with me, aside from lectures, is the messaging service provided by Canvas, the learning management system we use, it is important that I respond quickly. In order to respond that way, I must be able to check in on Canvas several times each day. I know there are professors who only respond to student queries once a day, and who feel that is adequate, and perhaps it is? I don’t want to be that type of instructor. In fact, I feel badly if I don’t get to their messages within an hour or so. I want students to count on my reachability. I want them to trust my availability, so I’m at the computer, a lot.

With each new batch of students comes a new batch of lectures, which meet their needs. I have a folder of lectures on my hard drive, which I revise each semester. I also add new lectures to meet these requirements because as state (and now, national) K-12 curriculum is modified, students need more help. The goal in most high schools used to be to teach students how to write proper essays, but, I find that most students don’t know the first thing about citing sources, using commas or even referencing an author (it is not uncommon to find several students referring to the Paradise Lost author as John, as opposed to Milton).

When I first began teaching, 14 years ago, my goals included introducing students to argument-based writing, using outlines and having them write in third person, active voice. Now, students struggle to develop topics. Each year, I find less imagination and more desperation. I can’t blame them, entirely, though. For 12 years, they were told what to read and exactly what their topics would be. Often, they were also given a thesis statement that could be proven by going to a list of websites provided by their teachers. They simply had to write about those topics. It didn’t matter if it was in first person, second person or third. What mattered was that students wrote X number of pages in an academic year. It’s no wonder they can’t think for themselves.

It’s my goal to teach them how to think. Sure, they need to be able to think critically, and that is a key component in both comp classes, but, I do much more to help them get there. I spend a great deal of time combing through current events, not just to educate myself, but to somewhat force students to become concerned about the world around them. Each week, we have at least one discussion group question, and each student must read the specified article, then offer a response of two to three paragraphs. They cannot read what others have written until they post their paragraphs, so it truly forces them to think independently. They also debate these topics by responding to each other’s paragraphs. All of this work is graded and goes toward each student’s participation grade.

I can’t do that if I’m online for one hour per day and am teaching four courses. That’s only 15 minutes per class each day!

Technically, if I’m teaching four three-hour courses, I should be working for 12 hours per week. The powers that be understand that it takes more than 12 hours to teach a course, but, for argument’s sake, I’m paid for 12 hours a week. As far as teaching is concerned, that number is anything but accurate. Grading discussion group questions, alone, takes about an hour each week, per class. Quizzes and essays take much longer to grade. It takes me about 20-30 minutes to grade each essay. The maximum number of students I teach per course is 20. That’s ten hours of grading. Composition One has four essay assignments per semester. Comp Two has three. So, for each Comp One course, I’m spending 40 hours each semester grading essays and for each Comp Two, 30. And those are just for the first drafts! Students are encouraged (and do) revise each essay. That makes 80 hours a semester, per class. But, that doesn’t take into account the rough drafts I read and critique before due dates. Nor does it figure in the time spent responding to students, or writing lectures, or evaluating weekly readings, or…

Yeah. One hour a day just doesn’t cut it.