Here we go again! Getting ready for a new semester. I think most teachers/professors/instructors feel a bit (or a lot) anxious as the new academic year is beginning. This will be my 20th year of teaching full-time in a Social Work program. I taught in a BSW program at Mississippi State University in Fall 1998 before moving to Valdosta and Valdosta State University.
Teaching has been one of the most rewarding and challenging things I’ve ever done, and it still intrigues me in so many ways. Teaching still feels brand new to me. There is always so much to learn and since I have been teaching–teaching online, teaching hybrid web and teaching face to face (as we call it here at VSU) how to present this information and utilize technology in a way to best fit what we are teaching, the skills we want to impart and the needs of the students has been daunting. Daunting, but fun!
There are so many moving parts to teaching–how to present the material, what to present, not presenting too much or too little, the Professor/student professional relationship, making sure your courses align with the curriculum, working with your colleagues to meet the goals of the department, managing the administrative parts of teaching (Attendance verification, meetings, addressing things that happen that are out of the norm, getting grades in on time), classroom management and . . .more.
And, then there are the students I teach–busy, hard working, conscientious, intelligent, critical thinkers, and unique. They want to succeed. They want to make a difference in this crazy and troubled and beautiful world. And, most are still in a place in their careers where failure is not welcome, not acceptable.
Right now one thing I am thinking about is how many assessments or assignment to give in the courses I teach. I need to assess student knowledge, skills, values and cognitive and affective processes. Not only is this a Council on Social Work Education requirement, but we want our students to be prepared–prepared for Masters level social work. As my colleague Michael Sanger says, “Social work isn’t rocket science, it is harder.”
After reading “How much should we assign? Estimating out of class workload” a blog from the Center of Teaching Excellence at Rice University http://cte.rice.edu/blogarchive/2016/07/11/workload — I found that this is even more complicated that I thought it was.
I even posted this link on my facebook page and a former student wrote, “Can I just say that I would take my grad school “work” load any day over the work load I had as a therapist. It seems like it’s a lot, but it definitely prepares us for what’s to come.”
Well, for now I’ll stop. I do plan to post weekly–at the beginning of each week. Next week I hope to be a little further along with the course preparation for Fall 2018.
Diane Holliman PhD, LCSW, MPH
Property of DHF Counseling & Consulting