Who is supposed to clean the board?

[doc700]

Yes, my preference is a clean board.  We have 15 minutes between classes and so far the class before me has run over between 10-14 minutes and left the material all over the board in multi-color chalk.  This situation is not what I want...but wondering if I can say something to person before me about cleaning the board?  I am tenure track but an assistant professor.  The instructor before is a long time lecturer (non-tenure track) so I didn't know if I am out of line to make a request or if the norm is to leave the board covered.

I teach a science class with a lot of writing on the board. There are classes directly before and after me. I'm curious what the etiquette is for board erasing. Is the prior class professor supposed to erase the board and leave it clean for the next instructor? Or should the entering professor clean the board for their lecture?  The room has the boards that move up when you are done so you often don't need to erase during a 75 minute class but there is a lot to erase at the end and colored chalk available in the room.

How would you prefer to see the boards when you enter class?

Then, do that for the next person.

[Langue_doc]

Yes, my preference is a clean board.  We have 15 minutes between classes and so far the class before me has run over between 10-14 minutes and left the material all over the board in multi-color chalk.  This situation is not what I want...but wondering if I can say something to person before me about cleaning the board?  I am tenure track but an assistant professor.  The instructor before is a long time lecturer (non-tenure track) so I didn't know if I am out of line to make a request or if the norm is to leave the board covered.

I teach a science class with a lot of writing on the board. There are classes directly before and after me. I'm curious what the etiquette is for board erasing. Is the prior class professor supposed to erase the board and leave it clean for the next instructor? Or should the entering professor clean the board for their lecture?  The room has the boards that move up when you are done so you often don't need to erase during a 75 minute class but there is a lot to erase at the end and colored chalk available in the room.

How would you prefer to see the boards when you enter class?

Then, do that for the next person.

Ask your chair or one of your colleagues. Rank or length of service has nothing to do with leaving the blackboard clean and also for not encroaching into the next professor's class time. As one of the posters noted upthread, students have been taking photos of the information on the boards. I recall mine taking photos even before the pandemic.

[Biologist_]

Yes, my preference is a clean board.  We have 15 minutes between classes and so far the class before me has run over between 10-14 minutes and left the material all over the board in multi-color chalk.  This situation is not what I want...but wondering if I can say something to person before me about cleaning the board?  I am tenure track but an assistant professor.  The instructor before is a long time lecturer (non-tenure track) so I didn't know if I am out of line to make a request or if the norm is to leave the board covered.

You need time to set up for your class. If there are 15 minutes between classes, give the instructor who teaches before you a minute or two extra and then walk in and start setting your stuff up on the front bench. Scoot their stuff out of the way as needed. Then ask them that to start erasing the board so that you're ready to go at the designated start time for your class. I guess you could discuss it with them in a different setting first, but they are definitely out of line. Depending on the time of day, they probably have students who are annoyed that they have to sit there for an extra ten minutes and race to their next class, so you will do them a favor by drawing the line.

We have ten minutes between classes. I sometimes run over by one minute, but then I make sure to move my stuff out of the way so the next person can set up while I pack up. I don't usually write a lot on the board, but I make sure to erase it unless the other instructor beats me to it. If the person before me goes over by more than two or three minutes, I just walk in to the classroom and start getting ready.

[AJ_Katz]

+1 to clean up after yourself!