Can you hear me now? Using online tools to connect with adjunct faculty.
by
Ann E. Shelley
Ann has been working as a California Community College adjunct instructor teaching English as a Second Language since August 2003. She is currently shuttling between Gavilan College in Gilroy and Cabrillo College in Aptos. She is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in Online Teaching and Learning from California State University East Bay.
The number of adjunct faculty teaching in California Community Colleges (CCC) is currently estimated at 67% of the total CCC instructors (California State Audits 2000). There are many issues that part-time faculty face; inequity in pay, less than desirable teaching assignments and a lack of connection with their full-time colleagues (Tomanek et al. 2008). While wages and working conditions are problems that require systemic study and resolutions, integrating adjunct faculty with their full-time colleagues can be solved at the departmental level using the readily available tool of a Course Management System (CMS). This can be accomplished with little, to no, cost to the department.
Much of the development of the social capital of an academic department takes place in the departmental meetings. Social capital is the accumulation of benefits that come from who we know and how we interact with each other. These benefits include information exchange resulting in shared knowledge, shared resources, and a shared collective identity (Resnick 2001). Adjuncts are often unavailable to attend departmental meetings. Reasons include the need to be teaching at multiple institutions and the lack of compensation for their time. This is unfortunate for both the adjunct and the department. Issues that directly effect adjuncts and their assignments or working conditions are often made at the departmental level. In many instances, adjuncts do the work that full-timers do not want to do and so they often work in remedial or introductory courses, teach in the evening or off-site. As a result, adjuncts have unique and valuable information that the department needs in order to make well-reasoned decisions. Adjuncts are at a disadvantage being unable to take part in these meetings and the department misses out on their expertise.
A quick and easy fix for this situation can be found in online tools. Most colleges offering distance education use a Course Management System (CMS). The collection of tools found in the typical CMS can be adapted to build intra-departmental community and to connect all the members of a department. I will base my model on the Moodle CMS, but these ideas are easily adaptable to whichever system the college uses.
As mentioned previously, course management systems come in a variety of configurations, but there are a couple of things they all have in common, controlled access and a discussion board or “Forum” as it is known in Moodle. These are key to the building of a departmental community. Controlled access, that is a website that is password protected, can help build community by establishing a bounded space which in turn, develops a group identity and facilitates participation (Resnick 2001). Faculty must be “enrolled” in the CMS to gain access. If an instructor leaves, they can be removed from the departmental CMS.
Discussion boards are the mechanism by which every member of the community can speak and be heard. They also help build and archive the history of the community within the CMS/department. Using the “topic” configuration, departmental meeting minutes can be posted to a discussion board. Using threaded discussions, every member of the department can comment or ask questions regarding the minutes. These discussions can be accessed at anytime, giving adjuncts time and space to contribute to the group beyond the 2-3 hours set aside every month for department meetings.
Other aspects of a CMS can be used to increase participation and integration of adjuncts. The minutes themselves can be written co-operatively using a wiki, a collaborative writing tool.
Small group collaboration is another staple of distance education; therefore most CMS have the ability to make small/private spaces for this work to be done. If adjuncts were able to work online asynchronously, they could serve on committees.
There is also the departmental-institutional history that adjuncts have no knowledge of. Their knowledge begins with their first day; they are unaware of the issues already resolved or continually being fought within the department-institution paradigm. Having a place to archive these interactions could give adjuncts the bigger picture; a sense of where the department has been and where it is going. Adjuncts could catch up on this history without hindering any ongoing work of the department. These archives would help further a sense of inclusion for the adjuncts.
Another use of a CMS for departmental communications is the ability to quickly poll the members of the group about a specific topic or decision. For example, one of the institutions I work at is using bond money to upgrade facilities. Decisions had to be made quickly regarding classroom configurations, boards (chalk or dry-erase), technology etc. The department head sent out e-mail to all the instructors asking for input and waited for an e-mail response and then figured out the results. It would have been easier and quicker to send out a poll that would tabulate the results as they came in.
Further integration of adjuncts can be achieved by using the small group spaces of CMS to mentor adjuncts. Specific procedures of the department could be collected into a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document. Places can be carved out to provide a space to share created activities and collaborate with other instructors teaching the same courses. Tutorials can also be appended to a CMS and links to the college community at large can be located in document posted to the site.
In these times everyone is pressed for time. Course management systems using asynchronous communication can enable adjuncts to contribute to their department in short but directed interactions. Discussion boards can be used to foster interaction. Wikis can be used to build the minutes of meetings or other departmental documents, collaboratively. Small group spaces can be used for committee meetings and mentoring. FAQs and archives of minutes can help collect and convey the history of the group. Resources can be collected and shared. Using survey tools, decisions can be made communally and quickly. Additionally, access can be controlled, helping to solidify the identity the group.
This brief discussion is just a beginning of what could develop given the chance. Using tools readily available to most college departments and requiring minimal maintenance after initial set-up, everyone in the department can be a contributing member of the community.
Can you hear us now?
References
Resnick, P. (2001). Beyond bowling togther: SocioTechnical capital. In J. M. Carroll (Author), Human-Computer Interaction in the New Millennium. New York: Addison-Wesley Longman, Limited. Retrieved July 22, 2008.
State of California. State Auditors. (2000). California Community Colleges: Part-time faculty are compensated less thatn full-time faculty for teaching activities (Rep.). Sacremento: Author. Bureau of State Audits. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http://www.bsa.ca.gov/bsa/
Tomanek, J., & VanWagoner, R. (2008). Taking Learning Seriously: A Comprehensive Adjunct Faculty Support System. Adjunct Advocate. Retrieved July 23, 2008, from http://www.adjunctadvocate.com/magazine/article/694/orb!esli96vengkk5ox7ojy1ykpfe!88/
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