New lecturer - feeling overwhelmed!

gutenberg

Hi all,
I am a few weeks into a temporary lecturing job, and I am feeling completely overwhelmed. It seems like there is an endless amount of things to prepare, and I am so scared of falling behind once the first big load of marking arrives next week. Since it's only a one-year job, the department have of course dumped a huge amount on my plate and I'm feeling very stressed by it all.
I just finished my PhD over the summer, and so didn't have a huge amount of time to 'detox' from the stress of finishing the thesis and passing the viva, before jumping into a huge amount of teaching prep, admin etc., and I think I am a bit burned out if I am being honest. I also know I am very, very lucky to have a decent-ish job straight after the PhD (unlike a lot of temporary teaching posts, it has a proper salary & benefits rather than being paid by the course/hours), but at times I almost wish I had time to get my head straight after finishing the doctorate!
I have taught before during my PhD, but only a relatively small amount and so I'm finding the idea of being in charge of my own courses, marking, assessment and so on a bit daunting. Absolutely no training was provided, and we are learning on an ad hoc basis how various things work: for example, all student work is marked online and returned to them online, so my usual techniques of marking on a printed essay will have to shift, for example.
I am also balancing a quite lengthy commute on top of all this, as my partner is still based in the city where I studied for my doctorate. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to stay with relatives who live much, much closer to the new uni during busier times, so that does take the strain off a bit, but it's still something to adjust to. Owing to the nature of the job I don't have to be in my office every day, and I usually work from home on days when I don't have teaching, doing my prep etc., also as a cost-saving mechanism.
I guess I'm looking for advice from people about how they coped with their first lecturing/teaching job and balancing the demands of preparation, marking, admin, plus applying for other jobs as well! On the one hand I would like to do everything as well as possible, but on the other hand people keep telling me to remember it's a 1-year job and so not to absolutely kill myself when there is zero chance my contract will be renewed or made permanent. Any & all advice welcome!

judeboy101

Remember everyone in the room is probably summer Tha you and more nervous than you and deflect any questions you cant answer by saying "good question,I'll post that in the online tutorial later"

Avatar MIA

gutenberg wrote: »

but on the other hand people keep telling me to remember it's a 1-year job and so not to absolutely kill myself when there is zero chance my contract will be renewed or made permanent. Any & all advice welcome!

Will you be looking for a reference? One full year of lecturing has the potential to significantly improve your CV.

Yes, there's a lot of prep work, but even for one year you can possibly reuse the work. Is it possible to liaise with a previous lecturer to see if they can pass on some work?

You're also at risk of putting yourself in a position where you're half hearted and will end up thinking you hate lecturing.

If a life of academia is for you, now is your time to put in the extra work. Remember you paid thousands to do your PhD, you are finally getting paid. Don't NOW let all the hard work slip away.

Tom Dunne

I think you need to forget about other jobs for now, whether it is the fact that you are only on a one year contract or seeking another.

First things first - make sure you are clear on the key dates of the academic year - when exam papers are due, when assessments are due, breaks, etc.

And I would agree with other posters in that you should get resources from other lecturers, unless it is a brand new course, there has to be material available.

It really does sound you could have done with a break after your viva, but the flipside is these kind of jobs only come up once in a while, so you were right to take it. Make sure you are getting plenty of exercise, its a good release if you are feeling overwhelmed.

TOEJOE

Its a difficult position for you to be in .The advice given to you by the other board members is correct. Put the head down and do your best can you mark papers on your commute? There must be some member of staff who would put you on the right track.Many new lecturers experience what you are experiencing.
Good luck

Red Alert

OP I'm not sure whether you're in a university or an Institute of Technology, I did 2 years in a university and now work in an IoT. The teaching workloads are quite different, but nevertheless strenuous if you're new. I certainly found my first term in the IoT an endurance test, despite having previous lecturing experience.

If you're in charge of your own courses you could always shift things like marking to suit yourself. I love the online marking, but many friends and colleagues don't. Students are very accepting of any teaching/assessment methods once they know why you're doing it and that you're fair I find.

Some useful stuff from Richard Felder (who's really into active learning):
How to prepare new courses while keeping your sanity:
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Newprep.pdf

An Bradán Feasa

I'm not sure what university you're in but something like this might be of help.

http://www.ucd.ie/teaching/academicdevelopment/universityteachingqualification/

Avatar MIA

An Bradán Feasa wrote: »

I'm not sure what university you're in but something like this might be of help.

http://www.ucd.ie/teaching/academicdevelopment/universityteachingqualification/

By adding to their workload?!?

JohnnyJohnJohns

I started lecturing on a 1 year contract in 2012 and have been lucky to have found similar posts since then and I'm hopefully approaching a more long term contract in the next year.

My first year was really tough as I was juggling a commute and the workload of course prep. You WILL give lectures that you think aren't up to scratch, you WILL forget minor things and you WILL NOT know what you're doing at various stages. The reality is that as a new lecturer your teaching load is huge and you're starting from zero. There are all sorts of pressures and wanting to make a good impression, keeping an eye out for jobs and self doubt. If lecturing is the job for you this will all pass and you'll develop a rhythm and voice and your content will match your goals (most of the time).

By now I'm much more confident and feel I've developed as a lecturer. I did a teaching and learning course a year ago and I would advise teaching a few years before doing it so that you have some perspective.

You never know what's next and hopefully you'll have some time in the summer to re-evaluate. For now this will be a difficult year but it gets easier!

An Bradán Feasa

Avatar MIA wrote: »

By adding to their workload?!?

By getting training to teach at third level. When you have a better idea what you're doing, things won't seem so stressful.