Older Adjunct/Relating to Students

[smallcleanrat]

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.)

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...

[Caracal]

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.

[mahagonny]

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.

[Puget]

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.

[smallcleanrat]

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.

[mahagonny]

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.

[the_geneticist]

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.

[mahagonny]

I was really primarily interested in hearing from other part-time faculty.

[Caracal]

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.

[Istiblennius]

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.

[jerseyjay]

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.

[mahagonny]

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.

[little bongo]

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.

[smallcleanrat]

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.'

[jerseyjay]

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.

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.