How much time do you spend teaching actually?

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How much time do you spend teaching actually?

Woojae Kim 22 Apr 2015 11:46

I admit that this question depends on individual situations. But I would like to have an idea.

I believe I am a top candidate at an R2 school, and their teaching load is 2/2.

I am currently a postdoc and have not taught any classes during my postdoc (3 years). Whatever courses I offer, I need to prepare materials (as you know, usually borrow from others but need to make them my own and digest).

I know once the materials are set, semesters thereafter will take less time, but I imagine prep time will still not become zero.

My question is, with this 2/2 load, how much time should I expect to spend per week when I offer new classes? My guess is, it is definitely more than 20 hours, and depending on how well I want to prepare, it can be most of the week, leaving very little for research.

Am I right?

Of course, some reduction in the first year (or even the second year) may be requested. But that is not guaranteed. I just want to see the load realistically.

Many thanks in advance!

Last edited on 22 Apr 2015 12:01 by Woojae Kim Show more

asstprof (guest) 22 Apr 2015 14:19

It definitely depends on the type of course (lab / writing-intensive vs. run-of-the-mill lecture vs. seminar on your research topic) and the number of students per section, as well as whether there is any teaching support (grader, TA, etc) if you have enrollment over a certain number of students. But as someone with a 3/3 load who still spends at least as much time on my research & service as I do on teaching, I think you're doing it wrong if you need 20 hours / week for two classes that are fully prepped. Especially if you are at an R2 rather than a SLAC with that load. A SLAC with that load will still require you to do a lot of research but might value high quality teaching more than publications. I'd say an R2, in general, would care more about the research than the teaching quality.

I think that one way this has been described before is that you can divide your time into 5 chunks each semester. Each class is one chunk. Put in your classes, and then the remaining time is for research and service. If it is a new prep, it takes 2 chunks. So if you get no teaching release in your first year, then you won't have that much time for research (though I severely doubt you will have 4 new preps in your first year, and they will also protect you from any service. They will probably give you at least one course off in your first year.)

Before anyone berates me for my teaching quality/care, I specifically sought out a teaching-based institutions because I love teaching and it's my biggest strength. I do wish I had more time for it, but I also care about research and service.

qwerty (guest) 22 Apr 2015 14:52

I second what asstprof stated here. I teach at a 3-3 loaded regional state U, with the department focus on teaching.

For new preps, I might spend 6 hrs/wk making PPT lectures, reading materials, grading, etc. Class time will be another 5 hrs/wk. So, for each class, maybe 11 hrs/wk for a new prep.

For a repeat class, I usually revise my lectures, and maybe swap out some readings for new ones, and then there is grading. With class time, maybe 8 hrs/wk for repeat classes.

So, I usually work about 24 hrs on teaching per week (including time in classroom, grading and one-on-one with students) with my usual repeated classes.

I usually spend only 1-2 hrs/wk on service - really low, I know, and I have been dinged on that front.

Research, I spend about 20 hrs/wk (often Sat/Sun). I would do more, but the wife complains. Also, I do way more research than my colleagues. I publish maybe 1 article per year (legit pub in a top-tier journal).

Altogether, I work about 45 hrs/wk.

asstprof (guest) 22 Apr 2015 16:52

I forgot to say this in my post. Put another way, you should spend no more than 2/5 of your time on teaching, given your load, once your courses are initially prepped. (btw, most courses should be re-prepped each time to be fresh, but the first time is the hardest.)

So if you want to spend 20 hours of your time on teaching, then you need to work at least 50 hours a week to meet the research expectations for your school. I know a lot of assistant professors work 50 hours a week (or more!) but if you have kids or any other commitments like that, you'll find you physically can't put in 50+ hours.

I think that a teaching trap that new professors get into is to "write lectures." Though it seems easier and more straightforward than other teaching methods, having a pure lecture class is usually less pedagogically sound than trying to mix it up with other activities that require students to produce work during class. What's more is that the other activities often take less time to prep than a lecture.

AsstProf (guest) 22 Apr 2015 22:14

To add to what others have said above:

1) in your first year or two, try to negotiate a course reduction

2) if you have a 2-2, you might see if one or both semesters you can teach separate sections of the same class. This means that you have 1 prep, but have the 2 course credit.

3) have a good sense of what is valued by your department, college etc. for tenure. I'm in an R2 institution, but my department is much more like an R1 department. They want to see research productivity above all else. As far as teaching, here at least, there won't be concerns as long as evaluations are somewhere around the department mean (on average, across semesters).

4) Some classes don't need updated as often - I update graduate classes every year (usually over the summer for the next year). I've updated my undergraduate psychology course 1X in 5 years (I figure that updating that type of undergraduate class once every 3-5 years keeps the content current enough, and I've consistently had above average evaluations, with a lecture format and only 3-4 exams for the semester).

Again, I can't emphasize enough the importance of knowing how you will be evaluated when you go up for tenure. If research is valued most, you can be a teaching rock star, and that will certainly be valued and appreciated, but it won't get the job done. On the other hand, you can be so-so with teaching, and as long as the research productivity is where it needs to be, you won't likely have any issues when going up for tenure.

Good luck!

Woojae Kim 23 Apr 2015 10:56

Thank you so much for your consultation based on real experiences. I won't be able to get this kind of info elsewhere!

I asked for a course reduction—-somewhat aggressively: only 1 course for the first three semesters. But I am not sure how much I will get.

My impression I got from the campus visit is that they value research slight more. But they also want to see good teaching and student advising. I will definitely have a better sense of what will be major components of my tenure evaluation.

My concern is, I usually do not give up quality once I start doing something. But I will try—-I will have to.

Last edited on 23 Apr 2015 10:57 by Woojae Kim Show more

2-cents (guest) 23 Apr 2015 19:00

At an R1 with research emphasis on performance.

Once I have a class prepped, I spend ~5minutes of prep for each lecture (~1hr/twice a week) and this usually entails just checking the syllabus and making sure I have the right set of slides. I hold office hours by appointment only, and push all grading to the TA(s).
For two courses, if you are spending more than 10hrs per week (lectures included) I think you are spending too much.

Advice:
1) do not 'craft' emails to student-questions. This is a complete waste of time.
2) The students cannot tell the difference between a lecture you spent 100hours preparing and one you spent 10minutes prepping.
3) rely on your TAs. They are often paid to do 10hrs or even 20hrs per week of work (every week).

anon (guest) 27 Apr 2015 19:33

Re: 2-cents. Bet you are a terrible Prof. I know the research climate at an R1. I am at one as well. Guaranteed your students, and TAs, loathe you. For anyone with children: Send them to a SLAC!!

BeenThere (guest) 27 Apr 2015 19:52

I think 2-cents is making sense especially if someone is trying to get tenure at an R1 school. These are good bits of advice. Students and TAs can love someone. Getting that love has no impact whatsoever on the tenure decision or the promotion to full. In my experience, in fact, a number of scholars who are despised by TAs have been rewarded with promotion, raises, and grant $. At the R1s where I have been, no one gets tenure for being a good teacher.

8ball (guest) 27 Apr 2015 19:52

Invest a lot of time the first time around, then it pays off in following years. It is shockingly easy to teach a course the second time.

It should not take 20 hours per course if you are well practiced at public speaking.

The longest it ever took me was for a subject I didn't know. I read the chapter, then took two different text books and skimmed through the chapters to find information that wasn't covered in the main text, or differences of opinion between authors. That way I could include info that even the on-the-ball students didn't know.

After that, its just make some slides that tell a coherent story and present yourself as the expert. I got high marks.

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