Question

[hester]

Here is scenario:
 You are offered to teach a math or STEM related course at a CC and the school required you to use specific activities ( homework, exams,etc).

 You taught this course once before and used watered down activities as the student population could not handle what the school required.

 School is mostly full time. As an adjunct, it would take me many , many hours to properly prep course to have a remote chance of getting students through this rigor.

 Additionally, one set of bad evals and it's lights out for adjuncts.

 Is it just best to pass on these courses? Another adjunct I know teaching this course felt it's an impossible situation.

Your thoughts or ideas please!

Thanks

[Parasaurolophus]

Did you teach it at this particular CC? If not, then it seems to me that you kind of have to trust their assessment of their students' abilities, since they've got the course standardized. Whether the additional prep work required of you is worth what they're paying is another question.

[hester]

Yes, I taught it once before and do not trust the assessment of students being able or motivated to handle this work.

 However, with a herculean effort, one could get some students through some of the material. It would definitely be a painful course.

 Sounds like I should consider the heavy prep required as a factor prior to teaching this course again.

Thanks

[the_geneticist]

It sounds like they want someone to teach the class "as is".  If you don't think it's a good match for you, then decline.

Words of wisdom - don't create more work for yourself. 

No one expects you to create tons of new materials for an existing class. 

[hester]

Thanks. The new material would be prep notes / material to help students through lengthy exercises.

 If I was ft and knew I'd be teaching this course each term, it wouldn't be a problem.

 However, how much time should an adjunct put into a course they may occasionally or never teach again?

 My answer would be for adjunct to be protective of their time.

 But then again, I'm speaking from real cynicism lately 😊.

[Caracal]

Thanks. The new material would be prep notes / material to help students through lengthy exercises.

 If I was ft and knew I'd be teaching this course each term, it wouldn't be a problem.

 However, how much time should an adjunct put into a course they may occasionally or never teach again?

 My answer would be for adjunct to be protective of their time.

 But then again, I'm speaking from real cynicism lately 😊.

Well, it depends on what the adjunct's goals are, how much the CC is paying, and what else they might do with the time it would take to teach this class. When I was first teaching I taught a number of classes that took a lot of time and that I've never taught again. Mostly they didn't go very well, but I wasn't very comfortable in the classroom and I needed to put in the time. By the time I arrived at my current job, I had developed a classroom presence, figured out how I wanted to teach, and was reliably getting decent evals.

I also taught some of those classes when I was still finishing my dissertation which was moving slowly, living in a new city and feeling pretty isolated. I needed a schedule and a routine that wasn't just "work on the stupid dissertation all day, every day."

But yeah if none of these things apply and the pay isn't great and it's just going to be a lot of work for not much payoff, don't do it. One thing I try to always remember about adjuncting is that I could find something else to do that would pay more money very easily, because almost everything pays more money. I'm doing this because I like teaching and I like the flexibility and freedom the job provides. If it starts to feel like it's just making me miserable, I need to get out.

[Ruralguy]

This would depend on your options, would it not?

If you have other choices, take them. If you don't, take this course and try your best to get students to where they need to be and grade relatively leniently.

[lightning]

I knew a college president that was arrogant enough to take a teaching assignment similar to the one offered to you, in order to prove to the faculty that it was not an impossible task. By his own measure, by the measure of institutional Assessment, by measure of faculty, and by measure of students, he failed spectacularly, he failed miserably, and he failed embarrassingly.

My point to you is that an impossible task should not be met with enthusiasm. You meet the school where it is. This means, don't try any harder than the students, don't try any harder than the CC, and don't try any harder than the community & state entities that support the CC. Take the money and run, with no intention of ever teaching again at a place that expects you to lay down as a martyr and work miracles. They don't deserve you, nor anyone else.

[hester]

That story sounds vaguely familiar. I'm sure the occasional admin critter jumps in to show us serfs how easy our job is. Only to be doused by reality.

 Thanks for the reaffirmation. I do think it's possible to use material required. However, it's going to be close to a ft job in order to accomplish. As least the first or 2nd time teaching with said material.

 A perfect example of when being ft and teaching a 4/4 load of same course provides a real advantage over adjunct teaching the occasional course.

Thanks

[Caracal]

That story sounds vaguely familiar. I'm sure the occasional admin critter jumps in to show us serfs how easy our job is. Only to be doused by reality.

 Thanks for the reaffirmation. I do think it's possible to use material required. However, it's going to be close to a ft job in order to accomplish. As least the first or 2nd time teaching with said material.

 A perfect example of when being ft and teaching a 4/4 load of same course provides a real advantage over adjunct teaching the occasional course.

Thanks

Yeah, so the question is whether you think that the experience teaching this course is likely to be useful, either for teaching similar courses in the future, or for getting courses in the future, either at this school or somewhere else. Obviously those questions get back to the question of whether you want to keep looking for adjunct positions long term.

If you're in the right geographical location, it can be possible to secure regular adjunct work. I've been teaching a 4/4 for more than 7 years at the same place. Some of that is luck, but it is also partly because of some of the weird classes I picked up at various places which makes me useful to chairs who never have enough full time faculty but whose needs are constantly shifting. There are worse gigs, but there are much better ones too, and it could all go away if something changes with funding or demand.

If you're feeling embittered about adjuncting, I think that's a sign to get out. Even if you are still in a position to pursue FT positions, you can do that while working a retail job...