I just realized something that I do. I use words that I don't think the students know. Is this proper communication? Example: I told the students in our last class that I would send them a PDF that would not be assigned reading at this time. But it would be theirs to delve into should they wish to. I did this because I have to teach to the median level of the class, which means one or two are not strongly challenged. They will complete the assigned work easily.
My email included the message "attached: two PDF's. Not assigned at this time. For your perusal." And then I repeated in the email what the specific assignment is for this week.
I could type 'perusal means...' but then I might be condescending.
When I was a student and I heard a word I didn't know I looked it up. At least I think I did that. It's been a few years. I do that now. The way other faculty at the school would talk would be ''check this out. You might find it interesting." Some of them don't even use phrases such as 'you might find it interesting.'
This school does not have a tenure system and a smaller minority of the faculty are PhD. The other faculty are either less interested in words than I am or probably just more pragmatic. Their approach seems to be to go out of their way to speak like the students do. Of course, as I go along, more and more of the faculty are younger than I am, so maybe I'm odd man out.
Competing with my interest in using, not words that only the super educated know, but merely what I consider common grown-up vocabulary as a matter of teaching in a way that elevates as opposed to 19 year old person dialect is the problem that it's part popularity contest. If your classes don't populate they don't run. This happens to all of us (majority) part-timers from time to time. So it's absolutely a popularity contest.
Since I began long ago I have always been conscious of this dilemma. I try to guard against what I consider slippage in quality/rigor that I see as resulting from lack of job security and consistent income.
I don't have a problem feeling that the students like me, but that doesn't always translate into the fuller schedule that I prefer.
Oh, BTW, writing is not my field. So knowing more words won't get them a better grade. It's just a fun hobby that I have so I like to encourage it.
At the same time, the nomenclature in our field is being sadly neglected. Whatever terms students use for things is too often acquiesced to in the interest of making a personal connection. Or maybe just lack of interest in words on the part of the teacher.
I almost never say 'awesome' or 'amazing' because very few things are.
Perhaps what I need is recommended reading.
Or maybe I'm just a snob and I need to accept it.
To be honest, perusal is the sort of word that I don't usually use in academic writing, never mind in an email. It's just a slightly antiquated word. In this context, I'm not even sure it is really that helpful in conveying your meaning. "You might find this interesting" tells students why you are putting up a non required reading. For your perusal just means "for reading" or possibly "for your skimming over."
I don't try to dumb down my language for the classroom. If there's a word or term that's important for students to understand, I use it and we talk about what it means. That's often useful because even if students have a general sense of what a word means, the particular context can be important to understand. It would be embarrassing if I tried to talk like a young person, but I do use a fairly colloquial register in the classroom. That feels normal and natural to me. I use a slightly different colloquial register when I'm discussing my work at a seminar or answering questions at a conference. I don't really think it makes sense to equate bigger words with intellectual rigor.
Assuming that the point of this post is not to stroke your ego about how you know more than your students, I am not sure that the use of the word "perusal" signifies quality or rigor. Perusal means to read, especially with an eye to finding the part(s) you find interesting. So what you are telling students is you are sending them an article that they can read.
I, too, sometimes send articles out to students relevant to the class but not required. (Usually these are newspaper articles about relevant subjects.) I usually say something like, "I thought you might be interested in the following article in today's newspaper about basketweaving."
But from a perusal of your post, it is not clear what your problem is. Do students complain you are sending too much to read? Are they reading the material, and then complaining it's not on the exam? Are they asking what "perusal" means? Do you actually have any indication that students do not understand your email?
In terms of cancelling underenrolled sections. This may be a popularity contest. If your sections are the only ones that are not getting enough students while others at the same time are, then maybe people don't like you (your reading, your voice, your attitude, your clothing, your gender, etc). This might mean you are doing something wrong, or that you are doing something right. Are your classes consistently underenrolled no matter what subject or time? My experience is that assuming most of your students are ignorant or stupid will not result in being popular.
But as somebody who has had a hand in course scheduling, I can also say that time and subject have a bit to do with this and not just instructor. A class at 8am on Friday will almost always be underenrolled compared to one at 11am on Tuesday. A hard class (whatever that means) will often be underenrolled compared to an easy class (whatever that means).
I am going to wager that you're probably at a community college, a for-profit university, or an otherwise non-selective institution.
At these types of institutions, mean student literacy rates tend to be much lower than what many professors were accustomed to from their alumni undergraduate and graduate institutions. Most all of us started out at selective institutions, and virtually all of us completed our graduate work at those types of institutions.
Open enrollment places are often much more like Grade 13.
So yeah, you'll start learning that there are a lot of "basic" vocabulary words that many of your students will not know. Likewise, there will be a lot "basic" math, science, history, (insert anything) that many students will not know. Most of us went through U.S. high schools' "college prep" or honors or AP programs. Similarly, most college students attending R2's or higher would have been through those programs. But the typical community college student? No, they probably were on a lower academic track at their high schools; one that was not intended or designed for college.
For incoming professors, it can be a surprising. But as PhD holders, we are masters of reading and writing. Given enough classroom observation and assessment analysis, we can adapt our lesson plans and assessments to make them more "readable" for our students. It just takes time.
+1 to jerseyjay's and Aster's posts.
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 07, 2022, 07:47:18 AM
[...]
But from a perusal of your post, it is not clear what your problem is. Do students complain you are sending too much to read? Are they reading the material, and then complaining it's not on the exam? Are they asking what "perusal" means? Do you actually have any indication that students do not understand your email?
[...]
I had the same questions. You say you use words you don't "think" students know, but do you have reason to believe students are reacting negatively to this or are you speculating?
Depending on your student population, it may be true that they have a more limited vocabulary than you did when you were an undergrad. It may also be true that they lack certain study habits like independent use of reference material when they encounter a word or concept they don't know.
But if you are conveying an attitude of disdain for your students and their other professors, that might be more of a contributor to 'unpopularity' than using words (you think) they don't know.
Your post as a whole gives the impression you view yourself as the lone defender of intellectual rigor and academic integrity at your university. Consider that some of the statements in your post here ("The other faculty are less interested in words than I am...") might come across as a touch arrogant.
If there actually is an issue with students avoiding your courses because they don't like your communication style, seriously consider whether refusal to 'dumb down' your language is the
only possible explanation.
I've also found it challenging to balance between my desire for more precise, elevated language and the students' reasonable need to get what I'm saying. I'm in a language field and will not confine myself to the vocabulary range of most students (and the 18 year-old me, for that matter).
When I use a "big word" now, I try to phrase it in a simpler way immediately after, in a verbal parentheses. It's kind of like code-switching and seems to work.
Quote from: lilyb on February 07, 2022, 09:17:10 AM
I've also found it challenging to balance between my desire for more precise, elevated language and the students' reasonable need to get what I'm saying. I'm in a language field and will not confine myself to the vocabulary range of most students (and the 18 year-old me, for that matter).
When I use a "big word" now, I try to phrase it in a simpler way immediately after, in a verbal parentheses. It's kind of like code-switching and seems to work.
Yes, part of the point of higher education in
any field is making students understand the importance of specific vocabulary within that field that has precise meaning (sometimes different than common usage of the terms) which makes communication more clear and efficient. This should help them to understand the value of expanded vocabulary in general, since there is much more to life than just informal conversation with peers.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 05:36:59 AM
I just realized something that I do. I use words that I don't think the students know. Is this proper communication? Example: I told the students in our last class that I would send them a PDF that would not be assigned reading at this time. But it would be theirs to delve into should they wish to. I did this because I have to teach to the median level of the class, which means one or two are not strongly challenged. They will complete the assigned work easily.
My email included the message "attached: two PDF's. Not assigned at this time. For your perusal." And then I repeated in the email what the specific assignment is for this week.
Why are you sending extra readings anyway? Completing the assigned work is all the students need to do in your class. If they aren't challenged in your class, it's fine. They have many other responsibilities and might be happy to have a relatively easy course.
You could always say "If anyone wants to read more on [topic], let me know. I have lots of interesting articles/poems/etc. that I can share".
I'd bet good money that no one will ASK for extra.
You sound like an arrogant jerk. Teach the students you have, don't make life more difficult for the students you think ought to be "strongly challenged".
Quote from: lilyb on February 07, 2022, 09:17:10 AM
I've also found it challenging to balance between my desire for more precise, elevated language and the students' reasonable need to get what I'm saying. I'm in a language field and will not confine myself to the vocabulary range of most students (and the 18 year-old me, for that matter).
When I use a "big word" now, I try to phrase it in a simpler way immediately after, in a verbal parentheses. It's kind of like code-switching and seems to work.
This is a good example of why it's worth considering how to 'speak student.' it allows the use of language they already understand to help them learn new terms.
As people here have pointed out, the 'perusal' example isn't clearly related to academic rigor as replacing the word with more straightforward language does not result in loss of meaning.
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 07, 2022, 09:48:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 05:36:59 AM
I just realized something that I do. I use words that I don't think the students know. Is this proper communication? Example: I told the students in our last class that I would send them a PDF that would not be assigned reading at this time. But it would be theirs to delve into should they wish to. I did this because I have to teach to the median level of the class, which means one or two are not strongly challenged. They will complete the assigned work easily.
My email included the message "attached: two PDF's. Not assigned at this time. For your perusal." And then I repeated in the email what the specific assignment is for this week.
Why are you sending extra readings anyway? Completing the assigned work is all the students need to do in your class. If they aren't challenged in your class, it's fine. They have many other responsibilities and might be happy to have a relatively easy course.
You could always say "If anyone wants to read more on [topic], let me know. I have lots of interesting articles/poems/etc. that I can share".
I'd bet good money that no one will ASK for extra.
You sound like an arrogant jerk. Teach the students you have, don't make life more difficult for the students you think ought to be "strongly challenged".
I was reading this as OP sending additional readings more as friendly suggestions in case the students were interested in exploring the topic further?
Quote from: smallcleanrat on February 07, 2022, 10:01:03 AM
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 07, 2022, 09:48:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 05:36:59 AM
I just realized something that I do. I use words that I don't think the students know. Is this proper communication? Example: I told the students in our last class that I would send them a PDF that would not be assigned reading at this time. But it would be theirs to delve into should they wish to. I did this because I have to teach to the median level of the class, which means one or two are not strongly challenged. They will complete the assigned work easily.
My email included the message "attached: two PDF's. Not assigned at this time. For your perusal." And then I repeated in the email what the specific assignment is for this week.
Why are you sending extra readings anyway? Completing the assigned work is all the students need to do in your class. If they aren't challenged in your class, it's fine. They have many other responsibilities and might be happy to have a relatively easy course.
You could always say "If anyone wants to read more on [topic], let me know. I have lots of interesting articles/poems/etc. that I can share".
I'd bet good money that no one will ASK for extra.
You sound like an arrogant jerk. Teach the students you have, don't make life more difficult for the students you think ought to be "strongly challenged".
I was reading this as OP sending additional readings more as friendly suggestions in case the students were interested in exploring the topic further?
Yes. There's no textbook for the course so no one can look ahead if they're done with the assignment and feel enticed. All of the materials are supplied by the instructor.
Also, I teach other things in the department, so it's a way of advertising myself and my knowledge to get those populated. This what many adjunct faculty feel that they have to do when there are too many pigs in the same trough. And of course, some of them have gotten very good at it. In the department meetings the chair stresses the importance of getting the students to know individual faculty and their specialties.
Adjunct faculty in this school are not subjected to the insulting term 'adjunct' that is standard in tenure granting schools. We are known as 'part-time' faculty. We are considered
attractions, not temporary stop-gap solutions.
And these students have already either borrowed heavily, maxxed out they scholarship eligibility, or both, so I don't envision them being able to buy books. I have have a vast library at home which I'm happy to share. And people do ask for extra. Why they don't use the library more I don't know. I'm sure they use it some.
ETA:
Quote from: Caracal on February 07, 2022, 07:06:50 AM
To be honest, perusal is the sort of word that I don't usually use in academic writing, never mind in an email. It's just a slightly antiquated word.
i don't see anything in either dictionary.com or merriamwebster about it being archaic. That's part of what I'm ruminating about here. Words fall out of fashion, certainly. How does that happen? Are teachers unwittingly decreasing our knowledge of words by trying to blend in with younger folks on campus?
QuoteAssuming that the point of this post is not to stroke your ego about how you know more than your students, I am not sure that the use of the word "perusal" signifies quality or rigor.
Why would that be an ego boost? That would just be like saying I have more seashells in my collection because I moved to the oceanside five years before you did.
I grew up in a small blue-collar community, spent 14 years in an urban university setting, and am now back in a small blue-collar community. Learning to code switch as needed is a very helpful skill.
As far as trying to stimulate interest in exploring a topic further--the thing that most stimulates interest in a topic is relating it to people in a way that involves something that matters to them. What matters to these students? What features of your topic can be related to these?
Light-hearted humor over non-threatening issues (i.e., don't tease someone about being, say, bald or something!) as well as sometimes-simpler words (or both the more precise words plus a simple translation the second time you repeat the phrase, because one often ends up repeating phrases) and a more-equal tone all help with this, I think.
Possibly I get along so well with my middle-schoolers (and have gotten along with kids in general, always) because I take them seriously, don't demean their ideas or feelings, don't feel like I need to prove anything, and am absolutely open to learning from everyone, whether older or younger than I am.
About the subject matter, no, not usually (although I have some heavy readers who can spin rings of logic around me at times, and it's fun) and I do have to sometimes reclaim a certain degree of control of the topics under discussion when we're close to the end of the class, but we do get through it all, and they seem to be learning, so....I think it's working.
I realize it's harder with some older students, who are dealing with more difficult issues, whether of their own making to some degree (drugs, drink, etc.) or not (family support issues, etc.) but even there, a blend of Socrates and Aristotle goes a long way...
In other words, when asking questions, don't play the "match game," with only one possible 'right' word or phrase all the time (sometimes there will be, but getting concepts across first will help them see how the word choice also matters) and let experiential learning be combined, where possible, with more conceptual/cognitive processes.
For an 'experiential' example, we start many classes with an online tone/interval/chord/chord progression/cadence game that they really like: they have to all agree on the answer before I'll enter it, and I don't do more than very vaguely guide them if they're off-track, but they've gotten very good at ear training from that work.
So, when we get to discussing chords more conceptually, they're hearing them internally (a goal of music theory teaching, anyway) and thinking about them in terms of what notes they actually contain, and what a change of a single tone would sound like--making the discussion easier for me to conduct because they're 'with me' more.
For something like chemistry, say, I recall one instructor doing a kind of silly 'call out' of the elemental valences for the first few minutes of class--pointing to the Periodic Table and then to two students: they had to as a team agree on the valence and say it. This took just 5-8 min. while people were coming into class, and actually seemed to get them there faster because the call-outs were interesting.
it also served as an ice-breaker, and--while the teacher was still fully in control of the class--gave them input as people who knew something as well.
Setting the tone in a French or art history class by starting with dances from the region or period we're studying has also worked for me, as I know I've said before.
I realize a lab-based class might not have the same options, but that's the mindset I'd be aiming for--"Mr. Chips" and "Dead Poets' Society" also come to mind....
M.
Quote from: marshwiggle on February 07, 2022, 09:30:25 AM
Quote from: lilyb on February 07, 2022, 09:17:10 AM
I've also found it challenging to balance between my desire for more precise, elevated language and the students' reasonable need to get what I'm saying. I'm in a language field and will not confine myself to the vocabulary range of most students (and the 18 year-old me, for that matter).
When I use a "big word" now, I try to phrase it in a simpler way immediately after, in a verbal parentheses. It's kind of like code-switching and seems to work.
Yes, part of the point of higher education in any field is making students understand the importance of specific vocabulary within that field that has precise meaning (sometimes different than common usage of the terms) which makes communication more clear and efficient. This should help them to understand the value of expanded vocabulary in general, since there is much more to life than just informal conversation with peers.
Thank you both. You get it. Apropos of my noticing that field nomenclature is being neglected by some, including faculty, and that as language becomes more compressed, generally, life becomes less vivid. Must we take all of our cultural cues from young people and their culture? I love them but I love older people too. If we don't even learn from the presence of older people, what the hell are we doing studying dead people?
As you will have noticed, I'm not an expert in language at all. I'm just interested in it. Anyone can be. Saying a word is antiquated may just be an indication that someone is losing the confidence to speak as an adult who's been around and knows some things.
'Rigor' was the wrong word for me to use regarding using a word I'm not sure everyone knows. It's more like 'richness.'
ETA: 'Forsooth' OTOH is considered archaic by dictionary.com
'forsooth
[ fawr-sooth ]SHOW IPA
📓 High School Level
adverb Archaic.
(now used in derision or to express disbelief) in truth; in fact; indeed.'
'Awesome' has been saved from extinction but its meaning has changed. It was youth culture that did this, and we now imitate them. It's as if the word fell back into use because people that it was funny word. But the new meaning is more commonplace than the original one.
I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm just noticing.
You still haven't really described any direct reason to think your use of language is even a problem for your students.
Has any student or colleague directly told you to stop using certain words? Do students complain that you use words they don't know?
Unless it seems that your students frequently can't understand you, why not just keep doing what you're doing?
You say you don't want to restrict your vocabulary, but is anyone pressuring you to do this?
Or is it more a series of inferences: your colleagues restrict their own word use, their classes seem popular, so you are guessing it is the lack of such restriction that makes your classes less popular?
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 10:19:08 AM
Quote from: Caracal on February 07, 2022, 07:06:50 AM
To be honest, perusal is the sort of word that I don't usually use in academic writing, never mind in an email. It's just a slightly antiquated word.
i don't see anything in either dictionary.com or merriamwebster about it being archaic. That's part of what I'm ruminating about here. Words fall out of fashion, certainly. How does that happen? Are teachers unwittingly decreasing our knowledge of words by trying to blend in with younger folks on campus?
I think technically archaic means a word or a sense of a word that is no longer used in contemporary writing or speech. Peruse obviously doesn't meet that standard, but it is a word that was used more in the past. Words go out of fashion all the time. That's just how language works. Eventually some of those words fall entirely out of use. Others hang around but fall out of normal speech. If on your way to class, a student bumps into you on a skateboard, you aren't going to shout after him "be careful you knave!" It doesn't mean language is being dumbed down.
Quote from: Caracal on February 07, 2022, 06:02:44 PM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 10:19:08 AM
Quote from: Caracal on February 07, 2022, 07:06:50 AM
To be honest, perusal is the sort of word that I don't usually use in academic writing, never mind in an email. It's just a slightly antiquated word.
i don't see anything in either dictionary.com or merriamwebster about it being archaic. That's part of what I'm ruminating about here. Words fall out of fashion, certainly. How does that happen? Are teachers unwittingly decreasing our knowledge of words by trying to blend in with younger folks on campus?
I think technically archaic means a word or a sense of a word that is no longer used in contemporary writing or speech. Peruse obviously doesn't meet that standard, but it is a word that was used more in the past. Words go out of fashion all the time. That's just how language works. Eventually some of those words fall entirely out of use. Others hang around but fall out of normal speech. If on your way to class, a student bumps into you on a skateboard, you aren't going to shout after him "be careful you knave!" It doesn't mean language is being dumbed down.
Field-specific nomenclature also changes over time, New terms are coined, some catching on others not. Some terms fall into disuse. This might or might not mean the field is poorer for it. It really depends on the specifics.
If people in mahagonny's field are regularly chucking any expectations for students to learn the field-specific terminology, that does seem strange. Without knowing specifics, it's hard to know what this does to the student's ability to develop their understanding of the field and to communicate professonally.
If it's just a matter of 'richness', you may very well be contributing to expanding your students verbal horizons by expressing yourself as you will. If a prof had sent me recommended reading with the phrase "for your perusal," I would have thought it added character. But, of course, that's going to depend on the student.
Context will matter a lot when it comes to whether or not use of such words comes across as 'snobby.'
Quote from: smallcleanrat on February 07, 2022, 06:53:07 PM
If it's just a matter of 'richness', you may very well be contributing to expanding your students verbal horizons by expressing yourself as you will. If a prof had sent me recommended reading with the phrase "for your perusal," I would have thought it added character. But, of course, that's going to depend on the student.
Of course you would have reacted, as a student, as I did, positively. But you were well above average, not typical.
Words are never for ornateness, only clarity, I was taught. But the more words you know the more thinking you have, probably.
Part of it is identity crisis I guess. How to make getting older an attraction to students or at least not a liability. The USA is very youth-oriented. Why they sell toupees.
I suspect people who have a guaranteed workload (full-time contract) may forget that for some your popularity contest is not just a side issue. It can affect your income. Being the anonymous adjunct who can always get work as long as he's not a problem is not the situation here. We part-timers are not second class educators that the tenured community would just as soon hide. There's no tenure and we are hired not just for basic competency but ability to attract students. It's probably time for me to put more time into publishing and self-promoting.
No one has it as tough as me...;-)
I find that I have an annoying habit, when I am trying to make a point, saying it twice in two different ways. I can only think that I developed this habit (which is annoying to me, I have no idea if it is annoying to anybody else) because when I am teaching, I have a tendency to say something, and then rephrase it and say it again. This is because I am never sure if when I say something in the classroom, students have understood (or even heard) it the first time, so I repeat myself using slightly different words. I am curious if anybody else does this.
I bring this up because it is common that my vocabulary is more advanced than my students. As Mahogany points out, this is almost inevitable when you have a middle aged PhD holder lecturing to a bunch of youngsters. (Back in the day when I used to give more objective tests, my experience was that the difference between a "hard" and an "easy" question was often not the content material but the vocabulary of the question.)
Regarding the word "perusal": I am not sure I would call it archaic, but it is a word that doesn't really say much. In my writing, I would use "read" instead of "peruse" (based on Orwell's advice to use a short Germanic word instead of longer French word); or i would write, "read closely," "study," "skim," etc. "Peruse" has the effect of signaling that I know the fancy post-1066 word (Norman French, peruser: examine) without adding much nuance. (Nuance is also a French word, but I would want my students to know what it means, because it means something useful.) In fact, I find "peruse" confusing: does it mean to read carefully or to read superficially? Well, sort of both, which renders the word less useful. So I don't think that there is anything wrong in using "peruse," but I also think it is more a signifier of being middle-class than inherently useful.
QuoteI bring this up because it is common that my vocabulary is more advanced than my students. As Mahogany points out, this is almost inevitable when you have a middle aged PhD holder lecturing to a bunch of youngsters. (Back in the day when I used to give more objective tests, my experience was that the difference between a "hard" and an "easy" question was often not the content material but the vocabulary of the question.)
You don't have be PhD for this to be true. All you to be is older and a little more well read.
QuoteI find that I have an annoying habit, when I am trying to make a point, saying it twice in two different ways. I can only think that I developed this habit (which is annoying to me, I have no idea if it is annoying to anybody else) because when I am teaching, I have a tendency to say something, and then rephrase it and say it again. This is because I am never sure if when I say something in the classroom, students have understood (or even heard) it the first time, so I repeat myself using slightly different words.
I understand why you do this. You could be working in the prison of no feedback. Better to know something wasn't understood now than to have to give low grades later.
Mid-lecture I will ask if there are any questions. Usually there are none. This is not reassuring. It means (pick one or more, but you're only guessing)
1. Some have questions but suspect that asking them will reveal they were not listening closely
2. Asian students in the classroom have been taught that asking questions is insolent as it suggests you are inarticulate
3. Students from another country with English as a second language are embarassed to ask for a repetition
4. My teaching style has become so bland it's not working
5. 'Unknown unknowns' (Donald Rumsfeld's term)
6. Everything's fine
The course I'm teaching is not part of a tracked sequence. The department runs a good share of its offerings more like a flea market. So you get a mix of levels.
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 08, 2022, 04:18:50 AM
I find that I have an annoying habit, when I am trying to make a point, saying it twice in two different ways. I can only think that I developed this habit (which is annoying to me, I have no idea if it is annoying to anybody else) because when I am teaching, I have a tendency to say something, and then rephrase it and say it again. This is because I am never sure if when I say something in the classroom, students have understood (or even heard) it the first time, so I repeat myself using slightly different words. I am curious if anybody else does this.
I bring this up because it is common that my vocabulary is more advanced than my students. As Mahogany points out, this is almost inevitable when you have a middle aged PhD holder lecturing to a bunch of youngsters. (Back in the day when I used to give more objective tests, my experience was that the difference between a "hard" and an "easy" question was often not the content material but the vocabulary of the question.)
Regarding the word "perusal": I am not sure I would call it archaic, but it is a word that doesn't really say much. In my writing, I would use "read" instead of "peruse" (based on Orwell's advice to use a short Germanic word instead of longer French word); or i would write, "read closely," "study," "skim," etc. "Peruse" has the effect of signaling that I know the fancy post-1066 word (Norman French, peruser: examine) without adding much nuance. (Nuance is also a French word, but I would want my students to know what it means, because it means something useful.) In fact, I find "peruse" confusing: does it mean to read carefully or to read superficially? Well, sort of both, which renders the word less useful. So I don't think that there is anything wrong in using "peruse," but I also think it is more a signifier of being middle-class than inherently useful.
Not annoying, but good pedagogy.
"Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you've told them," is the standard I always heard.
Preface, body, summary, in written terms.
Rephrasing things in different ways also helps those who absorb information differently.
While I don't adhere to the old "learning styles" thing very rigorously, I have had students who didn't understand something until I drew a visual representation--Venn diagram, pie chart, graph, landscape vs. portrait sketch, etc.--on the board, because they absorb visual input more readily than verbal. Likewise, rephrasing in a 'language' the other person speaks may well be useful--as someone mentioned, several different kinds of code-switching happen for different students in different settings.
We all need to be able to communicate and understand visual and verbal as well as visceral input better, so becoming more fluent in those modes of expression behooves both instructors and students: no one form should leverage another.
M.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
There is no need to use complicated wording when simple wording will suffice. However, peruse is common language and I don't see any issue at all. Even if they don't know the word, they should be able to figure it out based on context and look it up if that fails.
It is a sad state of affairs if you need to dumb down your writing that much in an academic setting. This level of vocabulary should be fine in high school.
Quote from: Aster on February 07, 2022, 08:28:18 AM
I am going to wager that you're probably at a community college, a for-profit university, or an otherwise non-selective institution.
At these types of institutions, mean student literacy rates tend to be much lower than what many professors were accustomed to from their alumni undergraduate and graduate institutions. Most all of us started out at selective institutions, and virtually all of us completed our graduate work at those types of institutions.
Open enrollment places are often much more like Grade 13.
So yeah, you'll start learning that there are a lot of "basic" vocabulary words that many of your students will not know. Likewise, there will be a lot "basic" math, science, history, (insert anything) that many students will not know. Most of us went through U.S. high schools' "college prep" or honors or AP programs. Similarly, most college students attending R2's or higher would have been through those programs. But the typical community college student? No, they probably were on a lower academic track at their high schools; one that was not intended or designed for college.
For incoming professors, it can be a surprising. But as PhD holders, we are masters of reading and writing. Given enough classroom observation and assessment analysis, we can adapt our lesson plans and assessments to make them more "readable" for our students. It just takes time.
I had grade 13, and it was quite challenging. What the OP is describing is far below that...
Quote from: Kron3007 on February 08, 2022, 09:25:37 AM
There is no need to use complicated wording when simple wording will suffice. However, peruse is common language and I don't see any issue at all. Even if they don't know the word, they should be able to figure it out based on context and look it up if that fails.
It is a sad state of affairs if you need to dumb down your writing that much in an academic setting. This level of vocabulary should be fine in high school.
But
is this a 'need-to' situation? The original post makes it sound more like 'This is something I do. I wonder if it's a problem.'
I should clarify that I find my habit annoying when I do it outside of pedagogical contexts, i.e., in conversations with my wife or friends. Nobody has complained to me, though.
I am still confused what the OP´s actual problem is. Are their students confused? And if so, is it because of the word peruse, or because they are confused with getting more readings emailed to them? If there is an article in the paper about a topic I am teaching, I usually post it on Blackboard with a note saying they might be interested and the students are not required to read it. I am not sure whether students know the word peruse--they should, but they should also read the daily newspaper, which they don´t--but even if they did, the word itself does not indicate what one should do with the reading. (¨Not assigned at this time¨ is unclear: does it mean students don´t need to read it now, but will need to read it later?)
In regards to Kron3007: the problem might not be the word itself, but that there is no context. Even if the OP replaced peruse with read, this still doesn´t let the students know how to read it. Read it for a quiz? Read it because it is interesting? That is, I am not sure the problem is peruse itself.
But I am not actually sure there is a problem, since the OP hasn´t said what their students did in response to his email.
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 09:13:17 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
It helps when you have more discussion in general. If you engage students regularly as you go and make it clear you like it when they have comments or questions, they are more likely to also raise their hands and tell you they aren't sure exactly what you mean.
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 08, 2022, 09:56:09 AM
[...]
(¨Not assigned at this time¨ is unclear: does it mean students don´t need to read it now, but will need to read it later?)
[...]
Yes, this part is far more confusing than the word 'peruse,' as this cannot be resolved with a dictionary.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 05:23:57 AM
QuoteI bring this up because it is common that my vocabulary is more advanced than my students. As Mahogany points out, this is almost inevitable when you have a middle aged PhD holder lecturing to a bunch of youngsters. (Back in the day when I used to give more objective tests, my experience was that the difference between a "hard" and an "easy" question was often not the content material but the vocabulary of the question.)
You don't have be PhD for this to be true. All you to be is older and a little more well read.
[...]
You don't even have to be older...
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 08, 2022, 04:18:50 AM
Regarding the word "perusal": I am not sure I would call it archaic, but it is a word that doesn't really say much. In my writing, I would use "read" instead of "peruse" (based on Orwell's advice to use a short Germanic word instead of longer French word); or i would write, "read closely," "study," "skim," etc. "Peruse" has the effect of signaling that I know the fancy post-1066 word (Norman French, peruser: examine) without adding much nuance. (Nuance is also a French word, but I would want my students to know what it means, because it means something useful.) In fact, I find "peruse" confusing: does it mean to read carefully or to read superficially? Well, sort of both, which renders the word less useful. So I don't think that there is anything wrong in using "peruse," but I also think it is more a signifier of being middle-class than inherently useful.
Right,
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=7&case_insensitive=on&content=peruse&direct_url=t4%3B%2Cperuse%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bperuse%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BPeruse%3B%2Cc0#t4%3B%2Cperuse%3B%2Cc0%3B%2Cs0%3B%3Bperuse%3B%2Cc0%3B%3BPeruse%3B%2Cc0
I suspect that's the reason the word has declined in popularity so much. It was probably always a sort of high falutin word, but it had a fairly clear meaning of read carefully with an eye to the details. At some point, it then also acquired this meaning of skim. Words sometimes do this, but peruse also never really fully lost the previous definition, which left it as a fancy way of saying read that might or might not imply that you are going to read something carefully or less carefully.
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 09:13:17 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
We are talking about different types of classroom settings, I suspect. I could explain more about mine, but I prefer not to.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 03:59:52 PM
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 09:13:17 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
We are talking about different types of classroom settings, I suspect. I could explain more about mine, but I prefer not to.
I can't imagine any classroom setting where it would be appropriate to ask for questions only half way through a lecture.
But apparently you aren't actually interested on help answering your own question in this thread, just validation.
Given that there still has been no mention of anyone (student, colleague, university higher-up) explicitly making an issue out of OP's vocabulary use or failure to talk like a teenager, I'm beginning to suspect the claim 'They don't like me because I talk like a grown-up' doesn't have a lot of strong evidence to support it.
OP has implied that their courses are not as 'popular' as those of some of their colleagues. It's becoming difficult not to wonder whether OP just wants an explanation that portrays them as the hapless victim of an increasingly anti-intellectual society rather than someone who might genuinely have room to improve as an instructor.
Maybe I'm being too cynical, but we're on page three and there still hasn't been a direct explanation of how sending an email with a word OP thinks (not knows) students don't know has led to any real problems with communication or with the students' attitudes towards OP.
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 04:04:47 PM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 03:59:52 PM
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 09:13:17 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
We are talking about different types of classroom settings, I suspect. I could explain more about mine, but I prefer not to.
I can't imagine any classroom setting where it would be appropriate to ask for questions only half way through a lecture.
But apparently you aren't actually interested on help answering your own question in this thread, just validation.
Well then, you are not needed.
Different kind of school from your stomping grounds. Take it easy! Have a nice day.
I'm not going to out myself here. Not worth it.
There's an even chance that if I knew you better I would decide I don't need to be valid by your definition. Let's not bother ourselves.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 05:44:59 PM
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 04:04:47 PM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 03:59:52 PM
Quote from: Puget on February 08, 2022, 09:13:17 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 08, 2022, 06:55:11 AM
Quote from: Ruralguy on February 08, 2022, 06:42:47 AM
Many students just get used to making up for deficiencies later, rather than asking (only partially formed) questions in the moment.
Sometimes the chasm is great, but a couple of in class questions may just make it worse.
I can also see where that would be true, but we have our adjunct students evaluations of instructor performance so I think not explicitly welcoming questions makes us vulnerable. In this course we are not working from a textbook.
If you're only asking "any questions?" half way through the lecture that's not really welcoming questions. You need to be checking in much more frequently than that, and really signaling that you *expect* them to have questions. Instead of "any questions?" try "what are your questions?". Then give them time to think of them, don't just plow on if there isn't an immediate response.
We are talking about different types of classroom settings, I suspect. I could explain more about mine, but I prefer not to.
I can't imagine any classroom setting where it would be appropriate to ask for questions only half way through a lecture.
But apparently you aren't actually interested on help answering your own question in this thread, just validation.
Well then, you are not needed.
Different kind of school from your stomping grounds. Take it easy! Have a nice day.
I'm not going to out myself here. Not worth it.
There's an even chance that if I knew you better I would decide I don't need to be valid by your definition. Let's not bother ourselves.
You honestly sound like a terrible instructor. Not asking for any student interaction until halfway through class? Assuming that your students are beneath you since you flaunt your vocabulary?
I hope you find a new career path. Your students deserve better.
I was really primarily interested in hearing from other part-time faculty.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 09, 2022, 04:55:07 AM
I was really primarily interested in hearing from other part-time faculty.
I have some of the same anxieties about classes filling and it does come with the territory. I don't really think being older or using fancier language is particularly off putting to students. I think students react better to me as middle aged (gulp) guy than they did when I was younger. What used to be read as weird and off-putting now comes across as charmingly eccentric.
I know you mentioned you mostly wanted to hear from other part-timers, which I am not, but I'd like to offer a suggestion or two that may be helpful based on what you described as a primary challenge in encouraging students to ask questions and interact during class.
I find that if I give students the opportunity to talk to a buddy or a small group prior to opening a broader discussion, I am more likely to get some engagement and answers to questions, or to get questions. I might ask them at the beginning of class to get together and identify a question about the week's topic that their small group still has and to have a group spokesperson share that question with the class during our broader discussion.
I noticed during pandemic remote instruction that some of my quietest students were active in the chat, so giving them ways to engage without speaking up in a larger group might be valuable. I've created a g-chat room for my classes where students can post questions and comments about class topics in the chat when we have a class discussion and/or I open up the room for their input. I also use the menti.com tool (and this is possible with a free account, although I have a basic account for a little more functionality) to do an anonymous question posting at the end of class.
I am not a part-time instructor, but I was one for more than a decade.
I am still not entirely sure what your concern is. Having perused your post several times, here is what I take from it:
You are worried that you have a bigger vocabulary than your students because you are older and you refuse to dumb down your vocabulary, hence you do not relate to your students, and hence you will be unpopular, and hence your courses will be cancelled and you will not be employed.
Other than the fact that you are older than your students, you are part-time, and you have a bigger vocabulary--all of which I assume to be true--, is there any evidence for this?
If they are cancelling sections in your department, is there evidence this is based on popularity with the students (as opposed to popularity with the administration/chair, etc)? Is there evidence that you are unpopular with the students? Is there any indication that your vocabulary is the cause of your unpopularity?
Some thoughts:
(1) After reading this and other posts, there may be some other reason you are unpopular with students (if in fact this is the case). Your posts seem to evince a sense of superiority over your students, which sometimes borders on disdain. My guess is they can sense this.
(2) Students may in fact understand what you mean by peruse. But they may think it strange you are sending them extra readings, or not know what to do with them. Or they may not respond, not because they don't understand what peruse means, but because they don't care.
(3) In my experience, whether a particular part-time instructor is offered a course next semester depends on various things. If there are no union rules, a professor who is unpopular with students may not be offered a course. On the other hand, popularity with the administration and full-time faculty might be more important. (That is, you can annoy students, but don't annoy the dean or chair.)
(4) Regular poor evaluations may be a reason to not have a course offered. Or it may not mean anything.
(5) Once a course is listed, it may be cut for poor enrollment. Instructor popularity plays a role, but so does time, location, and subject. If there are two sections of the same course being offered at the same time, and yours has 3 students and another instructor has 20 students, your popularity may (or may not) be a factor.
(6) You can be the most popular professor at the school, but still have a course taken away from you if a full-timer needs to make load. Even if that full-timer is the least popular professor at the school.
So to conclude: your age, personality, and vocabulary may play a role in your employment (especially if there is no union). Or they may not.
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 09, 2022, 10:00:24 AM
So to conclude: your age, personality, and vocabulary may play a role in your employment (especially if there is no union). Or they may not.
No, my personality plays a role. If I were not liked by both students and faculty, I'd have been out the door years ago.
Thefora.org may not like me very much. I have my issues with higher ed culture in 2022.
You've never been an older adjunct, and now you're tenured or at least full time, so you think part-time faculty need to mind you when you speak.
Well, we went from "here's this thing I'm doing" to "you're a horrible instructor" pretty darn quick. I'm not even sure where that came from, in this case. I mean, I've had my disagreements with mahagonny in the past, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to deal with a department full of mahagonnys (mahagonnies?). But he's showing a) interest in his students, and 2) at least a willingness to consider trying something a little different. I would say that already qualifies him as, at the very least, non-horrible.
I was also an adjunct for a butt-ton of years before getting lucky with the full-time stuff. I absolutely do NOT think that part-time faculty need to mind me when I speak, because they don't work under me. (We also haven't had adjuncts around in quite some time.) But if I ran into someone part-time, and I had what might be some useful information for them (if they asked), I'd pass it along, no minding required.
I'm not getting 'OP is a terrible instructor' from this thread, but neither am I seeing an indication of interest in the students or willingness to consider trying something different.
I'm seeing much more speculating about why the students might be the source of a problem (they may or may not prefer a professor who doesn't use an 'educated' vocabulary) and bristling at or simply ignoring anyone suggesting that the situation could be considered differently (let alone suggesting they try doing something different).
Essentially: 'I think students don't like the fact I refuse to dumb down my language.'
It gave the initial appearance of a 'how can I approach this better' thread, but the real purpose seems to be venting. Nothing wrong with a vent. It just wasn't immediately apparent that's all this thread was about.
Notice OP has only really been receptive to posts in the vein of 'You are doing nothing wrong. Expectations for you to do anything different are unreasonable.'
Quote from: mahagonny on February 09, 2022, 02:36:26 PM
No, my personality plays a role. If I were not liked by both students and faculty, I'd have been out the door years ago.
I do not know Mahagonny personally, and have no idea if they are popular. If, however, the OP is popular with students who keep signing up for their class, I don't understand the point of this thread.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 09, 2022, 02:36:26 PM
You've never been an older adjunct, and now you're tenured or at least full time, so you think part-time faculty need to mind you when you speak.
I taught part-time or as a non-permanent lecturer for 20 years, at least a dozen schools including research universities and community colleges. (Some of this time I also held non-academic jobs.) I am now tenured but I also teach part time at a different school.
The OP's assumption that "part-time faculty need to mind [me] when they speak" to me is both untrue and a reflection of what seems to be a mixture of arrogance and victimization that pervades many of their posts. I am genuinely happy that the OP is popular. However, if they were not popular, I would think it would not be because students do not know what peruse means.
Good points as usual, smallcleanrat. Thank you for your contributions--they do help to make this place a true resource.
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 10, 2022, 09:58:52 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 09, 2022, 02:36:26 PM
No, my personality plays a role. If I were not liked by both students and faculty, I'd have been out the door years ago.
I do not know Mahagonny personally, and have no idea if they are popular. If, however, the OP is popular with students who keep signing up for their class, I don't understand the point of this thread.
There's probably something to the idea that it can be harder for adjuncts to attract students to their classes. It isn't that students have prejudices against adjuncts. Most of my students are totally unaware that I'm an adjunct. However other factors can play a role.
Adjuncts don't have advisees who are probably more likely to take classes with their advisors.
Adjuncts often are teaching more than tenure track faculty and that can make it harder to interact as much with students. It also might mean you can't get things back to students as quickly or spend as much time on each class.
If fewer of your colleagues know you, they are probably less likely to recommend your class to other students.
You are more likely to get plugged into weird time slots. That's probably true even if you have a chair who is trying to do things equitably. More things are locked in with full time faculty schedules. You have to leave times open for department meetings, the thesis seminar might need to be taught at a certain time etc. That might leave various holes that adjuncts plug, but it can result in teaching at times many students find unappealing.
Quote from: Caracal on February 10, 2022, 10:30:55 AM
Quote from: jerseyjay on February 10, 2022, 09:58:52 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 09, 2022, 02:36:26 PM
No, my personality plays a role. If I were not liked by both students and faculty, I'd have been out the door years ago.
I do not know Mahagonny personally, and have no idea if they are popular. If, however, the OP is popular with students who keep signing up for their class, I don't understand the point of this thread.
There's probably something to the idea that it can be harder for adjuncts to attract students to their classes. It isn't that students have prejudices against adjuncts. Most of my students are totally unaware that I'm an adjunct. However other factors can play a role.
Adjuncts don't have advisees who are probably more likely to take classes with their advisors.
Adjuncts often are teaching more than tenure track faculty and that can make it harder to interact as much with students. It also might mean you can't get things back to students as quickly or spend as much time on each class.
If fewer of your colleagues know you, they are probably less likely to recommend your class to other students.
You are more likely to get plugged into weird time slots. That's probably true even if you have a chair who is trying to do things equitably. More things are locked in with full time faculty schedules. You have to leave times open for department meetings, the thesis seminar might need to be taught at a certain time etc. That might leave various holes that adjuncts plug, but it can result in teaching at times many students find unappealing.
There
definitely is something to that. That is the
whole story in this department. It is essential for adjunct faculty to attract students. Any adjunct faculty member can propose any course in this particular category if they can get it populated.
I repeat, these particular courses are not tracked in sequence. It is very different from a tenure granting research university. If you are not attracting students, you barely get work. So how students are attracted to the offerings you get to teach and are identified with in the mind of a twenty year old is a very ponderous, big deal.
Since part-timers are relatively cheaper and can propose new courses, the department is incentivized to over-hire.
When I first started teaching here years ago almost the first professor I said hello to was Mike English. I was delighted to see him as he had taught me. Shortly after that I heard students talking just before class began. One said, 'I'm studying with this
really old guy, Mike English. I don't know how I ended up in that section. Never again.' He was full time though so he got salary.
I told the kids 'wow! Imagine the amount of experience Mike English has had in his career! There is a lot you could learn from a guy like that.'
Silence.Honestly I'm ready to do something else anyway. The faculty and the students are beginning to resemble each other more and more. I am happy being my arrogant self, of course, as always, when it works. But this is where the money is.
QuoteI mean, I've had my disagreements with mahagonny in the past, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to deal with a department full of mahagonnys (mahagonnies?)
We'd get along great. I'm quiet as a mouse. I don't mean mahagonny's quiet. Mahagonny's a pain in the ass.
I'm quiet. And professional, down to my tieclip.
take me out drinking though, and it's on you. You asked for it.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 08:22:07 PM
Of course you would have reacted, as a student, as I did, positively. But you were well above average, not typical.
Words are never for ornateness, only clarity, I was taught. But the more words you know the more thinking you have, probably.
Agree with first statement above.
Disagree respectfully with second (not that you were taught that, just don't think it's true). In fiction think Stephen King or Elmore Leonard. They always seem(ed) to me to be trying for correct word usage and clarity but are never ornate. Both very readable in contrast to many authors I enjoy, who I would argue are using words aimed at correct usage but not clarity. I try to communicate with my students in the same way King and Leonard communicate with me, the reader.
I think that doing that might be better in the way of promoting your classes also.
Apropos of nothing, my Mother always did what you describe with me and my siblings. We were constantly looking things up. We were clearly advantaged by this when we went to college.
Quote from: jimbogumbo on February 10, 2022, 12:07:27 PM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 08:22:07 PM
Of course you would have reacted, as a student, as I did, positively. But you were well above average, not typical.
Words are never for ornateness, only clarity, I was taught. But the more words you know the more thinking you have, probably.
Agree with first statement above.
Disagree respectfully with second (not that you were taught that, just don't think it's true). In fiction think Stephen King or Elmore Leonard. They always seem(ed) to me to be trying for correct word usage and clarity but are never ornate. Both very readable in contrast to many authors I enjoy, who I would argue are using words aimed at correct usage but not clarity. I try to communicate with my students in the same way King and Leonard communicate with me, the reader.
I'm not following. It sounds like we
do agree that clarity should be the priority. Or maybe you're saying something more complex that I would understand if I really knew anything about language and writing.
As a teacher, if you're not communicating, you're losing. There's no point in asking whose fault it is. Maybe society is getting dumber. So what. Whatever the truth is about that, you have to make your way through it.
At the same time, using a more uncommon word on occasion makes me feel like I've got style. Like I wore a suit and tie even though no one required it. I'm not trying to be cryptic, just having a little fun. I thought the students might catch the bug.
I guess the other piece of this tedious soul searching that I do is the question, can I be myself and remain popular enough to get work, as a person who's not young?
I did get some interested looks of, hopefully, approval, when I announced to the class in September that I am gender non-binary. But I think they quickly forgot.
Maybe I'll work on my wardrobe.
Quote from: Caracal on February 10, 2022, 10:30:55 AM
There's probably something to the idea that it can be harder for adjuncts to attract students to their classes. It isn't that students have prejudices against adjuncts. Most of my students are totally unaware that I'm an adjunct. However other factors can play a role.
Adjuncts don't have advisees who are probably more likely to take classes with their advisors.
Adjuncts often are teaching more than tenure track faculty and that can make it harder to interact as much with students. It also might mean you can't get things back to students as quickly or spend as much time on each class.
If fewer of your colleagues know you, they are probably less likely to recommend your class to other students.
You are more likely to get plugged into weird time slots. That's probably true even if you have a chair who is trying to do things equitably. More things are locked in with full time faculty schedules. You have to leave times open for department meetings, the thesis seminar might need to be taught at a certain time etc. That might leave various holes that adjuncts plug, but it can result in teaching at times many students find unappealing.
I agree with this. Adjunct professors are more likely to have the "ears and snouts" classes that full-timers don't want, are less likely to have a "following" among students, and are more likely to get bounced from a class. (Because full-timers need to make load, they will bump an adjunct.) Adjunct professors are also more likely to teach intro level classes to students who are not really into the material. Adjunct professors are more likely to come to class and then leave, since they don't have an office and have to be at another campus. By definition, "adjuncts" are not seen as central to the institutions they work at.
All of this is true. But I still don't understand the point of this thread, since none of this seems to have anything to do with an adjunct professor's vocabulary. But maybe I need to read the OP more carefully instead of just perusing it.
Quote from: little bongo on February 10, 2022, 10:05:05 AM
Good points as usual, smallcleanrat. Thank you for your contributions--they do help to make this place a true resource.
Aw, shucks. Thanks, little bongo.
Quote from: mahagonny on February 10, 2022, 05:21:02 PM
[...]
As a teacher, if you're not communicating, you're losing. There's no point in asking whose fault it is. Maybe society is getting dumber. So what. Whatever the truth is about that, you have to make your way through it.
At the same time, using a more uncommon word on occasion makes me feel like I've got style. Like I wore a suit and tie even though no one required it. I'm not trying to be cryptic, just having a little fun. I thought the students might catch the bug.
I guess the other piece of this tedious soul searching that I do is the question, can I be myself and remain popular enough to get work, as a person who's not young?
[...]
As an exercise in basic soul searching, you might ask yourself whether your actions are consistent with your stated values.
You say clarity should be top priority. If this is so, how is your choice of words serving this priority?
jimbogumbo pointed out that clarity
can be achieved with simple, straightforward language. 'Elevated' vocabulary isn't required, and may even make communication less effective if thoughtlessly applied.
If you are just using a word so you can feel good about having 'style' then are you not prioritizing ornament (if not quite ornateness) over clarity?
jerseyjay and Caracal have pointed out that "peruse" is an ambiguous term as it has two common uses with contradictory meanings. jerseyjay further pointed out the ambiguity of "not assigned at this time," as this leaves open the question of whether it
will be assigned at a later time or if it is entirely optional.
How does ambiguous language support clarity?
Adjusting your communication style for your students doesn't have to rob you of your identity as someone who 'cares about words.' You can still be someone who cares about words even if you are prioritizing clear communication over 'richness' of language.
'Code switching' of the type people have described earlier in this thread is a verbal skill of its own.
As someone who also loves books and words in general, I reconcile this part of my identity with the practical need for code switching by considering it a type of creative challenge (like when people write stories using only six words). With this mindset, finding ways to communicate a message within the limits relevant to whoever it is I want to communicate with is just another way to explore the possibilities of language.
Quote
All of this is true. But I still don't understand the point of this thread, since none of this seems to have anything to do with an adjunct professor's vocabulary. But maybe I need to read the OP more carefully instead of just perusing it.
Perhaps.
QuoteBy definition, "adjuncts" are not seen as central to the institutions they work at.
see 'asides' thread
Quote from: mahagonny on February 10, 2022, 05:21:02 PM
Quote from: jimbogumbo on February 10, 2022, 12:07:27 PM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 07, 2022, 08:22:07 PM
Of course you would have reacted, as a student, as I did, positively. But you were well above average, not typical.
Words are never for ornateness, only clarity, I was taught. But the more words you know the more thinking you have, probably.
Agree with first statement above.
Disagree respectfully with second (not that you were taught that, just don't think it's true). In fiction think Stephen King or Elmore Leonard. They always seem(ed) to me to be trying for correct word usage and clarity but are never ornate. Both very readable in contrast to many authors I enjoy, who I would argue are using words aimed at correct usage but not clarity. I try to communicate with my students in the same way King and Leonard communicate with me, the reader.
I'm not following. It sounds like we do agree that clarity should be the priority. Or maybe you're saying something more complex that I would understand if I really knew anything about language and writing.
As a teacher, if you're not communicating, you're losing. There's no point in asking whose fault it is. Maybe society is getting dumber. So what. Whatever the truth is about that, you have to make your way through it.
At the same time, using a more uncommon word on occasion makes me feel like I've got style. Like I wore a suit and tie even though no one required it. I'm not trying to be cryptic, just having a little fun. I thought the students might catch the bug.
I guess the other piece of this tedious soul searching that I do is the question, can I be myself and remain popular enough to get work, as a person who's not young?
I did get some interested looks of, hopefully, approval, when I announced to the class in September that I am gender non-binary. But I think they quickly forgot.
Maybe I'll work on my wardrobe.
I think I do agree with you (I sacrificed clarity for speed, heh), but was trying to say my Mom's strategy and what I think you are doing don't contribute to clarity for your students.
So much depends on where you work, what you teach, and how many other professors teach the same course.
Because at larger universities, students can and will shop around looking for the easiest professors.
In my experience, the most "popular" professors are almost always the ones who dole out the most A's and B's.
I'd like to state that this a universal truth at Big Urban College, but there are a tiny handful of "popular" professors who buck that pattern. But nearly all of them are the sole instructor for that course type.
My advice: Teach a class that nobody else at the university teaches. Be the sole instructor. You'll see your popularity pop up pretty fast.
Or: Give 90% of your classes A's and B's. Your classes will be the first ones to fill up every semester.
I generally find my main goal is to try to scare away bad students from my courses in the first week, so long as I have enough students for the course to run.
Assign them a book to summarize the day before add/drop finishes.
Quote from: Aster on February 11, 2022, 12:44:17 PM
So much depends on where you work, what you teach, and how many other professors teach the same course.
Because at larger universities, students can and will shop around looking for the easiest professors.
In my experience, the most "popular" professors are almost always the ones who dole out the most A's and B's.
I'd like to state that this a universal truth at Big Urban College, but there are a tiny handful of "popular" professors who buck that pattern. But nearly all of them are the sole instructor for that course type.
My advice: Teach a class that nobody else at the university teaches. Be the sole instructor. You'll see your popularity pop up pretty fast.
Or: Give 90% of your classes A's and B's. Your classes will be the first ones to fill up every semester.
What the heck? Give them
all A's, because numerical scoring is an instrument of white supremacy and must be neutralized.
Quote from: downer on February 11, 2022, 02:42:12 PM
I generally find my main goal is to try to scare away bad students from my courses in the first week, so long as I have enough students for the course to run.
Assign them a book to summarize the day before add/drop finishes.
Yeah, I've done that. Next Monday the knuckleheads are gone.
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Ah. #1 and #7
must have been written by the professor posing as a student.ETA: I have never done this, but hey...you're never too old to have new experiences.
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Why bother to look? Your administration and scheduling folks won't. If they want to know student views they'll look at your teaching evaluations.
Plus, it's like Yelp. Only students who earned As or Fs will bother to comment.
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 12, 2022, 07:59:11 AM
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Why bother to look? Your administration and scheduling folks won't. If they want to know student views they'll look at your teaching evaluations.
Plus, it's like Yelp. Only students who earned As or Fs will bother to comment.
A couple of reasons. You might look if you believed RMP is more reflective of how students talk to each other as opposed to how they talk to administrators on the faculty who solicit comments/ratings via teaching evaluations, comments that are not available to their friends (classmates). An administrator is not necessarily their confidante. The administrator can think you are a great teacher but it's your problem, not theirs, when your class doesn't make. Or more likely, the administrator doesn't give much a damn what you're doing unless someone walks into his office to complain about you or your eval's sink below the required numerical average, and neither does he worry that the best adjunct faculty are servicing the greater number of students if he doesn't want to promote notions of non-tenure track competence in the first place.
Also, students may see little point in putting any thought into teaching evaluations if they think tenure is the norm and that also means by their estimate, negative evaluations wouldn't have consequences.
This is why I let you know that I was primarily interested in hearing from people who currently live with the uncertainty of adjunct employment. These people tend to think of different aspects of the situation from what is commonly thought of by people who used to adjunct but are now guaranteed financial wealth for life through their academic position.
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 12, 2022, 07:59:11 AM
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Why bother to look? Your administration and scheduling folks won't. If they want to know student views they'll look at your teaching evaluations.
Plus, it's like Yelp. Only students who earned As or Fs will bother to comment.
You probably work at an institution that doesn't scrape the bottom of the hiring barrel to staff the administrative positions. At Big Urban College, over half our administration were pulled from the bottom of the barrel (or sometimes under the barrel), which I can confirm because I'm often on those hiring committees. And yes, and I can also state with certainty that many of these people do visit RMP for purposes of "thoroughly evaluating" the faculty. They do that because these administrators are that unqualified to believe that RMP is a valid metric. And no, they don't understand how Yelp works either. I have to use small words and fast food analogies to sometimes communicate basic college operations principles to a few of my administrators. Too many of them picked up insta-leadership doctorates at the local for-profit university in order to meet the minimum hiring qualifications.
So yeah, if you're at a crap school, RMP unfortunately might be something that your employers monitor and may use against you if you aren't "popular enough". Occasionally the overuse of RMP gets so bad at Big Urban College, that I've found myself chastizing *tenure track professors* in the hallways for boasting about using it. I mean come on? Tenure-track professors using RMP? Unless they're an utter nincompoop or noob, they should know better than this.
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 11:09:01 AM
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 12, 2022, 07:59:11 AM
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Why bother to look? Your administration and scheduling folks won't. If they want to know student views they'll look at your teaching evaluations.
Plus, it's like Yelp. Only students who earned As or Fs will bother to comment.
You probably work at an institution that doesn't scrape the bottom of the hiring barrel to staff the administrative positions. At Big Urban College, over half our administration were pulled from the bottom of the barrel (or sometimes under the barrel), which I can confirm because I'm often on those hiring committees. And yes, and I can also state with certainty that many of these people do visit RMP for purposes of "thoroughly evaluating" the faculty. They do that because these administrators are that unqualified to believe that RMP is a valid metric. And no, they don't understand how Yelp works either. I have to use small words and fast food analogies to sometimes communicate basic college operations principles to a few of my administrators. Too many of them picked up insta-leadership doctorates at the local for-profit university in order to meet the minimum hiring qualifications.
So yeah, if you're at a crap school, RMP unfortunately might be something that your employers monitor and may use against you if you aren't "popular enough". Occasionally the overuse of RMP gets so bad at Big Urban College, that I've found myself chastizing *tenure track professors* in the hallways for boasting about using it. I mean come on? Tenure-track professors using RMP? Unless they're an utter nincompoop or noob, they should know better than this.
Wow. That is horrible! RMP is even more biased and unreliable than the student evaluations.
Sorry, I had assumed that only students bothered to look at RMP.
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 13, 2022, 10:39:53 AM
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 11:09:01 AM
Quote from: the_geneticist on February 12, 2022, 07:59:11 AM
Quote from: Aster on February 12, 2022, 05:43:44 AM
Quote from: mahagonny on February 12, 2022, 05:26:02 AM
Bad students get their fifteen minutes of fame on 'Rate My Professor.'
Which type of entry on 'Rate My Professors' will get higher enrollment so your course will run? Which type will get you the right students, because you already have plenty?
1. Professor Mahag is a strict grader but a very fair one. I learned more than I ever have in this school with their course. Students who come here to complain just didn't put in the work.
2. Professor Mahagonny is a blast! Funny, and I missed two quizzes and still got an A.
3. Always available for extra coaching. Generous with his time. Best prof I've had.
4. Doesn't do office hours, takes 24 hours to answer email when he answers at all.
5. Tries too hard to be cool.
6. Finally the department has hired a couple of hot professors. Luv ya, stud muffin!
7. Uses words I didn't know previously, writes the definition on the whiteboard. Vocabulary is a fun thing to delve into.
8. I cant understand this dude talking. DO NOT TAKE.
9. So tired of looking at those bow ties. How can this man exist?
10. What are office hours?
For RMP, only one thing truly matters. The "Easy A".
Why bother to look? Your administration and scheduling folks won't. If they want to know student views they'll look at your teaching evaluations.
Plus, it's like Yelp. Only students who earned As or Fs will bother to comment.
You probably work at an institution that doesn't scrape the bottom of the hiring barrel to staff the administrative positions. At Big Urban College, over half our administration were pulled from the bottom of the barrel (or sometimes under the barrel), which I can confirm because I'm often on those hiring committees. And yes, and I can also state with certainty that many of these people do visit RMP for purposes of "thoroughly evaluating" the faculty. They do that because these administrators are that unqualified to believe that RMP is a valid metric. And no, they don't understand how Yelp works either. I have to use small words and fast food analogies to sometimes communicate basic college operations principles to a few of my administrators. Too many of them picked up insta-leadership doctorates at the local for-profit university in order to meet the minimum hiring qualifications.
So yeah, if you're at a crap school, RMP unfortunately might be something that your employers monitor and may use against you if you aren't "popular enough". Occasionally the overuse of RMP gets so bad at Big Urban College, that I've found myself chastizing *tenure track professors* in the hallways for boasting about using it. I mean come on? Tenure-track professors using RMP? Unless they're an utter nincompoop or noob, they should know better than this.
Wow. That is horrible! RMP is even more biased and unreliable than the student evaluations.
Sorry, I had assumed that only students bothered to look at RMP.
I accept your apology for not knowing what you were posting about.