There are many time pressures early on in one’s teaching career. This can include time pressures from preparing new courses, learning about policies in different departments at various institutions, administrative or service duties, professional development activities, projects involving scholarship of teaching and learning, and more. Much of what you do may also not formally be recognized for hiring or for promotion and tenure but is still a valuable part of the job, such as writing reference letters for students or training Teaching Assistants. In addition, many folks early on in their careers may be in the midst of applying for various employment opportunities, which can take a considerable amount of time. All of this can feel like a mountain of work and can weigh heavily on early career professionals’ well-being. Therefore, developing a set of strategies for making our workload more efficient can make us more effective at responding to the various demands of our jobs and achieving our career goals. Below, the members of the ECP committee share some strategies they use to automate their work that has helped cut down the time it takes to complete various tasks.
Maria: I teach large classes and receive a lot of emails from students, particularly around certain times of the semester, such as exams or assignment due dates. I can anticipate some common emails I get from students, such as extension requests. To help decrease the amount of time I’m spending retyping emails from scratch to students, I keep a document for each course I teach where I have a template with responses to common emails. This allows me to cut and paste the template emails when responding to students. Then, all I need to do is slightly modify the email to each student as needed (e.g., adding in their name).
Vishal: As an ECP, it can be very hard to keep up with all the various responsibilities and learning new things along the way. I have learned that we have to make time and force ourselves to stick to something we are trying to achieve. To that end, I have begun blocking one hour per weekday on my work calendar for reading and writing tasks (e.g., writing part of a manuscript, reading a new journal article) and another hour for skills development (e.g., learning R so I can teach it in my class). While I have not been perfect at using that time all the time, it has helped me protect my schedule a little bit more and be efficient with getting certain tasks done.
Ciara: I teach fully online and it often seems like students forget that they can meet with you virtually, or that it's a major hassle to set up a time to meet. I leverage the tools available to me to allow students to book an appointment with me without having to email back and forth. Instead, students follow a link that says “Meet w/Dr. Kidder” right on the course home page that takes them to a scheduling page that interfaces with my email calendar, sends reminder emails to the student and myself, and generates a meeting link. There are lots of apps available depending on your institutions’ software. For instance, I use Microsoft’s “Booking” app that is part of my institution's Microsoft 360 plan which integrates with Outlook and Teams. A quick google search shows paid and free options through apps like Zoom Scheduler, You Can Book Me, Book Me, and Calendy. This is so easy to implement and help both you and your students!
Amanda: I teach both a large enrollment (350 students) and small enrollment courses each semester. I have embraced google forms as a way to make administrative tasks easier. For instance, students can submit a google form to receive an extension on assignments. This auto populates a spreadsheet that makes it easier to see the requested due dates, the TA for the students’ section, and any other required information. It also sends students a reply with their responses, and automated text about how to schedule office hours, should they have additional questions. In addition, I use google forms to help me check in with research assistants, grade participation assignments, and keep records for my courses.
Winner Announcement
In other news, Shaina F. Rowell is this year’s winner of the Best Poster Award by an ECP at the Annual Conference on Teaching Online that was held in February! Feel free to visit the poster, entitled “Evaluating Measures of Study Strategies”. Congratulations from the ECP committee on your award-winning poster, Shaina!
