The SCCList and Important Phone Numbers at Your Campus

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, FA New Member Program

By now you will have all received the official class cancellation from Mary Lou Araneo for Tuesday and Wednesday's classes. Some of you, if you're on the SCCList, will have been up-to-date on the reason why (Snowpocalypse '15!!) because of Professor Scott Mandia's useful updates regarding the impending inclement weather.

And some of you may be scratching your head right now, thinking, "SCCList?"

The SCCList is the official listserv for Suffolk through which its members may communicate unofficially . . . that is to say, it's a little more casual and democratic -- any member can post and use the listserv to speak to the SCCC Community at large. It's a place where you can discuss anything to do with Suffolk, from its internal policies to pedagogical issues. Or, you know, the weather.

If your email hasn't been made part of the SCCC distribution list already, you may want to sign up to be included. To subscribe to the SCCList, go to http://depthome.sunysuffolk.edu/Library/staff/scclist.asp. Once in a while you'll find a flurry of messages in your inbox via the listserv, but on the whole it's worth the storage space in your email account to be kept in the loop.

Also, with so much recent stress on where-to-go for information, I thought that this would be an opportune time to share some important campus numbers with you: those of The FA Office, Security, Health Services, Counseling, and Payroll. You might want to print this email out and post it on a wall somewhere near your office phone, or maybe even carry a copy with you to class if you’re teaching faculty -- sometimes, sadly or oddly enough, you need Security and/or the assistance of Health Services while you’re teaching class. (It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen  -- sometimes students try to attend class when they’re just too ill to make it through. And sometimes they faint, which is when you should call Health Services.)

Important Numbers  -- Ammerman

Faculty Association:  x4151

Security: x4242

Health Services: x4047

Counseling:  x4053

Payroll: x4204

Important Numbers  -- Eastern

Faculty Association:  x4151

Security: x3636

Health Services: x2510

Counseling:  x2524

Payroll: x4204

Important Numbers -- Grant

Faculty Association: x4151

Security: x6777

Health Services: x6709

Counseling: x6250

Payroll: x4204

Serenity Now!

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, Chair, FA New Member Program

Greetings, new-ish faculty! Congratulations on having survived your first semester of full-time employment at SCCC! You may be surprised to hear from me  . . . I have, after all, been fairly absent from this blog since the end of October, which wasn't intentional but certainly wasn't helpful, either. Teaching an online class for the first time in several semesters very nearly drove me insane (in addition to being a phenomenal time-suck) and all because of some road-blocks and problems that could have been avoided had I only done a couple of fairly small and simple things before the fall semester even began.

But I didn't, and so, as we used to say while waiting tables, I found myself in the weeds. I managed to get through it, but it certainly wasn't pretty.

And now, on the eve of our first semester of the 2015 year, I'd like to extend a few helpful hints and pointers that I picked up as I tripped my merry way through a Complete Disaster Semester in the fall of '14:

Mmmm . . . Canned Serenity

 

1. Using Technology is Good When it's Very Very Good, But When it is Bad, it is Horrid (Subtitle: Check Your Links and Files, Fool!) (Alternate Subtitle: Don't Reinvent the Wheel While the Wheel is Spinning)

Sometimes . . . well, a lot of times, technology doesn't act as you wish it would. This is more likely a result of Operator-Error than anything else, but regardless of the reason, it's really really inconvenient -- some might say, panic-inducing -- when you can't make it work the way you wish it would in the moment when you need it to work. Remember that post from last semester when I cried and whinged about Powerpoint for Macs? Yeah . . . that wasn't especially fun, for me OR the students I had waiting around for the stupid lecture to load. 

I won't rehash the details of that episode here (feel free to revisit my agony any time you like, though!), but it should suffice to say it wasn't my only problem with Blackboard Learn, or my online students, that semester. 

One of the best lessons I learned from last semester -- and this is something that I'm carrying over to my face-to-face (traditional) classrooms too -- is that it's almost impossible to be an effective teacher giving truly quality lectures and/or assignment feedback if you're prepping for your class at the same time you're teaching it. I know I've "known" this -- but I don't think it really hit me as concretely or viciously as it did last semester. 

It's not that I intended to be prepping while I was teaching -- it happened because of the following reasons:

• Like my nine year old daughter taking a test, I didn't check my work:  I'm pretty sure my daughter's interior life consists of a series of gorgeously overblown musical numbers, so I'm not surprised when she marks something on a map as NE instead of NW, despite having a compass rose right in front of her. I, however, don't have the same excuse. I too-confidently copied files from Desire2Learn (our former course management system) to Blackboard, and then set up my online course for the fall trusting that everything was hunky-dory. It wasn't. Lesson: Check your links. Check your files. Check your links and your files. And then check your links and files again. 
• A fresh start is not always the best start: In some ways, the beginning of a new semester is to an academic like the New Year is to the rest of the working world: A chance to start over. However, just because you have a great idea about restructuring your course or revamping its content doesn't mean that you should attempt the change RIGHT NOW. It's tempting -- I know. I did it last semester. I thought I'd make some innovative changes, but because I lacked the amount of time necessary to implement those changes thoroughly and/or effectively, my course ended up being FAR (far) (really far) from innovative.

I take the bulk of the blame for my lame online class last semester, but I will say this: Our system at SCCC for creating and changing online content is not the greatest. Faculty do not have ample amounts of time to "reinvent the wheel" -- even when we take "summers off" we spend most of that time catching up on all of the professional development and scholarship we've ignored during the school year. The result is depending on pre-packaged monstrosities from mercenary, thoroughly NON-academic publishing companies (despite their titles) for course content; or, rushing to get it all done in the few weeks before the course begins (. . . or even after it begins *cough*); or, paring down the content until it's a ghost of your traditional classroom. 

None of this, of course, is satisfactory. The obvious answer is to have the class mapped and as kink-free as possible before day one, and to do this WELL before the semester begins. (A little birdie tells me there's hope --and possibly paid time to work on revitalizing your DE classes -- on the horizon, but I'll wait to tell you more when I have concrete details.)

But wait, you're saying (if you're still reading, that is): Surely ALL of your classes didn't go poorly, did they? Funny you should ask! As a matter of fact:

2. Sometimes You DO Have Time to Plan Thoroughly and Those Plans Fail Anyway (Subtitle: Keep Calm and Change Your Course  . . . of Action)

For my face-to-face/traditional classes, I found that my preps were easy and completed well before the semester began -- I'd taught the classes before, made minor changes to the lecture/discussion agenda, updated my assignments to match updates in the texts, etc.

And then, you know, HUMANS happened.

My students know pretty well into the first month of a class that if they come to an office hour, I'll give them my full and undivided attention for as long as they need it. Unfortunately ("unfortunately" only in terms of time-management), quite a few of them -- a lot of them -- more than any previous semester -- took me up on this offer. That ate into my figure-out-that-darn-online-class time, which grew monstrously and then proceeded to eat into my grading time, which then ate into my sleeping time because any moment that isn't spent in service of my job these days is spent in service to my three young children (I know, I know, I did it to myself: the audacity of having babies while teaching! Not to mention that at least they were relatively healthy this fall, unlike in 2013, where even my contingency plans needed contingency plans).

Anyway, on the upside, I felt like my traditional-classroom students garnered a LOT of one-on-one help, and I believe it helped the classroom dynamic as well as their understanding of the material. On the downside, I felt thoroughly overwhelmed at how I was going to possibly respond to all of their assignments . . . assignments that in a "normal" semester (I know! Normal! I can hear you laugh!) would have seemed manageable. 

So I explained my dilemma. I was honest with them, apologetic to a point (I mean, I was still doing my JOB, I just wasn't doing it the way I'd outlined it at the beginning of the semester). Instead of hiding from my students in those final weeks, I scheduled MORE one-on-one conferences and made sure I looked each of them (most of them) in the face and reviewed the work, right in front of them, that they'd been waiting for so patiently.

And it seemed to work. At least, no one's lobbed fiery hate-mail at me yet. And it seems the old adage is true: You can't account for the actions of other people, but you CAN account for your response to people. 

Just try to make sure your response to other people isn't running at a full sprint from the room, wailing and tearing at your hair.

3. Your Most Important Duty is the One That Makes Your Job Title. All the Other Stuff is Frosting.

3.A. Okay, Not All of It is Frosting. Some of It is Definitely Not as Fun as Frosting. (This Blog is Frosting.)

In a week I'll archive the first of the presentations from our November New Member Discussion Series Event, and in it you'll read something to the tune of: "Only accept those tasks and committee memberships you feel truly excited about and/or invested in, because no matter what, you're going to feel overwhelmed."

I felt incredibly overwhelmed last semester. And by this point in my career, I only participate in those committees and activities to which I feel drawn and enthusiastic. So I felt very disheartened that I didn't have enough time to complete the primary responsibility of my job, let alone the secondary and tertiary responsibilities . . . like this blog, for instance, which I thoroughly enjoy writing (I don't know if you can tell); or my advising of the campus literary magazine; or my contributions to the planning of our annual creative writing festival.

So what does that mean? It means change! Something has to change. Either I change the way I do these tasks, or I relinquish some of these responsibilities, or I refashion my role(s). Will all of this change happen immediately? Um . . . NOPE! Of course not. Remember what I said earlier in this book-of-a-blog-post about big changes at the beginning of a semester: DON'T DO THEM. But I can tweak. And I can be more mindful of the way I approach these facets of my job that I love, and judge worthy of my time, but that ultimately MUST come second place to my primary job duty (TEACHING) and MUST come second to my family life and my health. (Because being this crazy takes a toll on you and your loved ones, believe me!)

* * *

So here are some suggestions for enabling this semester to run more smoothly -- and as a result, any subsequent semesters, too: 

• Do as much preparatory work as you can RIGHT NOW, during this last week before classes. Yes, the specter of last semester's final exams may still be haunting your office, and yes, you may not want to drag yourself into the office or over to your computer to dredge up any file other than your trusty course outline . . . and sure, it may be super tempting to either veg out on your couch with a Walking Dead marathon or book a last-minute mini-getaway to Connecticut . . . but if you haven't prepped your lectures/handouts/assignments/in-class exercises day-by-day, down to May 13, you're probably going to be swimming in a lot of grading backlog when May 13 actually arrives.
• Keep a notebook/journal/diary for notes about class sessions. Many of us teach two to five sections of the same course every semester, either by necessity or by virtue of a strategic decision to create LESS PREP. The problem with this is that it can become very difficult -- particularly in the middle of the semester -- to remember what the heck you said to which group of students. Crack the same lame jokes to a class for the second class in a row, and you'll virtually hear the WAH-WAH-WAAAAHHH of a distant trumpet as your students grimace politely with restrained disdain. Spend fifteen minutes covering the same territory you spoke about in the last 15 minutes of the previous class, and you'll find your name blazoned across all the Yik Yaks or Yahoos or Rate Yer Professors that span the vast interwebs, in "critiques" (always featuring perfect grammar and refined, impermeable logic, of course) that go something like this: "omigod Profesor X totaly doesnt haf her SH** togethr Y do I come to class oh Yeh its for that hottie in the Abercrombie tee LOL." Anyway . . . where was I? OH YEAH. Keep a notebook. Jot down the date and time of the class session, and take a full five minutes -- surely we can spare that, right? -- to jot down a few notes:
• Material covered (as expected -- because you prepped thoroughly, remember?)
• Material not covered (also as expected -- because each class is different and you know that sometimes discussion is derailed when students need more time to cover some topic or problem more thoroughly)
• Thoughts on the class: Did it go well? How do you know? Were students responsive? Were they engaged with the text? Did they read the text? How can you ensure they read the text next time? Some of these thoughts will lead to small innovations (pop quiz next time, suckers!) and some of these will lead, IN THE FUTURE AND CERTAINLY NOT THIS SEMESTER, to reshaping your course, changing the pace or sequence of material, and/or altering out of class or in class assignments. 
• Solicit informal student feedback once or twice during the semester. Not of the brown-nosing, "OH I LOVED THIS CLASS SO MUCH" variety -- but of the "Do you all feel comfortable moving to the next text/issue/problem/concept, or should we take another class period to cover this material?" vein. Sometimes, taking yourself out of lecturer mode (or discussion facilitator mode) and having an honest conversation can really help you gauge whether the pace of your class is the right one -- particularly if you're teaching a  course for the first time -- and before you collect a bunch of lousy, vague papers or lackluster-to-terrible midterm scantrons. 
• Be kind to your students, and you'll be helping yourself. This last suggestion I'm making comes from our lovely and on-top-of-her-game Adjunct Rep, Cynthia Eaton. You remember how last semester you introduced your students to the course and it took them forever to buy the books? Or the students went dutifully to the book store and it turned out the book store habitually NEVER BUYS ENOUGH TEXTBOOKS FOR THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE COURSE BECAUSE THEY'RE A BUSINESS AND BUSINESSES DON'T CARE IF SAMMY OR SHEILA FAILS THEIR FIRST QUIZ? Or the students came back and told you that the two books you'd ordered cost a total of $220 at the store, and they can't afford that yet because they don't get paid until next Friday/their financial aid hasn't come through, and also, oh yeah, they can get the same books on Amazon or at Powell's for $80 flat? Yeah . . . WELL! There's something you can do RIGHT NOW that might make your life easier in two weeks. Email your students and let them know what books you'll be using, and whether or not you mind them using ebook editions, or library copies, or secondhand copies sold on half.com. It's as simple as that: Let them know. It's not guaranteed, but it increases your chances of having prepared students in your first classes on January 20 and 21. 

Prepared faculty AND prepared students? That would be a fearsome thing to behold.

* * *

This post is dedicated to 

Carol Cavallo, 

Colleague and Friend Extraordinaire.

Happy Retirement, Carol!

On Being Open to the Mentoring Process

by Sarah Kain Gutowski, New Member Program Chair

This Friday, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Eaton's Neck Room of the Ammerman Campus, the FA and the Office of Faculty and Professional Development will host the second event in our FA New Member Discussion Series, titled "The Long View: Anticipating and Planning Your Career at SCCC."

This event -- featuring Dr. William Burns, Teri Morales, and yours truly -- will focus on presenting personal and anecdotal approaches to professional development. We hope to share practical and moderate approaches to work/life balance while at the college, along with advice on creating what I think of as "work/work balance" -- an equal (and desirable) distribution of time and energy among ALL facets of your career: the duties and responsibilities that come with your job title (as teaching/non-teaching faculty), service, and presentation/publication.

Isn't November supposed to be gray and damp?

Hopefully, you'll leave this event with very concrete ideas about how to navigate your first promotion and the years beyond, gaining the kind of advice, warnings, and inspiration that most of us mid-career types wish we'd been privy to when we began teaching at Suffolk.

One of the things I wish I'd known when I first began working at SCCC -- and was assigned my very own mentor through the New Member Program -- is the following: 

Mentoring is a reciprocal relationship. 

Most of us regard being mentored as a passive role, but it's much more dynamic than that if it's conducted appropriately and correctly. So I thought that this week, before we present our second installation of the discussion series in our mentoring program, I'd share something I learned a few years back at the “ELT (NYSUT’s Education & Learning Trust) Seminar on Mentors” co-sponsored by The Office of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and the Faculty Association.

The first three points come from a handout the ELT constructed, in which they quote Hal Portner, author of the book “Being Mentored: A Guide for Protégés” (Corwin Press). Portner asserts that in order to get the most out of mentoring, you should “be” the following:

Be ready – “Wholeheartedly accept the opportunity to be mentored”

Be willing – You need to “believe that you have an ongoing need to learn . . . When you are doing something you believe in – when what you are doing sits well with your set of values and is relevant to your life – you will do it better; you will do it with passion.” Additionally, you need to “have confidence that being mentored . . . can make a difference between success and failure.” And lastly, you must  believe that “being mentored can help you remain in the profession and have a satisfying and gratifying career.”

Be able – “Whether you have a mentor who offers little help or support, or a mentor who throws so much information and help your way that you are constantly overwhelmed, or a mentor who is . . . experienced [and] who understands how to work effectively with a protégé, you will still get more out of being mentored if you are ‘able’. Being able means having the knowledge, skills and understanding necessary to be proactive in the mentoring process. Being proactive means not only being ready and willing to access the resources available to you, but also being empowered to do so.”

I think these three points can be very eye-opening and valuable, if you attempt to put them into practice. Mentoring involves not just humility -- admitting that you don't know everything and could benefit from guidance -- but a willingness to make the relationship work by helping your mentor shape the process. Ask specific questions. Let him or her know what you need. Offer feedback about the help and advice you receive -- let your mentor know what works for you, what doesn't, and what could use tweaking or adjustment.

Finally, the ELT handout offered these “Principles for Success”:

• Take the initiative when it comes to having your needs met as a protégé.
• Avoid making assumptions about your mentor’s plans and expectations.
• Solicit feedback from your mentor as a way to improve.
• Receive feedback objectively.
• Attempt to construct ways to learn from seemingly untenable situations.
• Take responsibility for your personal well-being.
• Contribute to the learning of other educators.

 I look forward to seeing you at Friday's event!
 

NMDS Archive: Hindsight: What You Can Learn From My First Year, Part III

Editor’s Note:  This following is the last of the presentations from the very first FA New Member Discussion Series event, hosted in cooperation with the Office of Faculty and Professional Advancement, titled "Hindsight: What You Can Learn From My First Year," on September 12, 2014. Many thanks to Misty Curreli, Nick Giordano, and Jason Ramirez for their participation in the panel, and to Donna Krompinger and Chris Gherardi in the Office of Faculty and Professional Development for co-sponsoring this event with the FA. -- SKG

HINDSIGHT: WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM MY FIRST YEAR

By Jason Ramirez, Ph.D., Department of Communication and Art

I am extremely grateful to Sarah Gutowski for allowing me the opportunity to reflect on my first year at Suffolk County Community College. The Michael J. Grant campus is an incredible place to develop my pedagogy and to share scholarly activities with a talented and dedicated community of administrators, faculty and staff. I have decided to approach this discussion by “gifting” my three best pieces of advice to our newest fa[culty]mily members. I hope these “tidbits” might help ease your transition during this first year at Suffolk County Community College.

The author

1) Rely on experienced colleagues to help you instead of “having all the answers.”

• I was blessed with a wonderful Grant mentor in Bruce Seger. Though it took a bit of time for us to get together for lunch, I found our trip to the Premier Diner to be both enlightening and inspirational. Bruce had all the answers and his sage advice and easy-going demeanor allowed me to find footing during my first few months of employment.
• My academic mentors, Alyssa Kauffman, James DeSario, Ralph Williams, Virginia Horan, Jeff Epstein, Marc Fellenz and Ken Wishnia were always available. Their wisdom and cordiality helped me discover my place within the college and amongst my students. The encouragement they demonstrated allowed me to brainstorm innovative approaches to everyday methodology.
• I was lucky to have as my chairperson Dawn Tracy-Hanley. Dawn made it her mission to provide me with room to grow while steering a newly formed department.
• Reach across departments and divisions! I found collegiality alive and well at Grant by seeking out the wisdom of campus colleagues including the Association of Latin American Students (ALAS) advisor, Elida Buitron-Navarro.
• Finally, the ability to converse with our Executive Dean, Dr. James Keane and our Associate Dean of Academics, Dr. Donna Ciampa, with all of my (there are no) “dumb questions” made all the difference while navigating the treacherous waters of “new appointment.” Dr. Keane and Dr. Ciampa remain my greatest allies; and their generous sponsorship allows for innovative programming—like a recent visit by OBIE Award winning playwright Carmen Rivera.   

2) Start small, end BIG

• Beginning with the development of my course outlines, I realized that my most effective teaching would flourish with a concentration on clear goals and objectives. It was wonderful to easily access the sample syllabi made available on the SCCC website. Particularly helpful was the precision and clarity by which they had been vetted and compiled by the Theatre department, under the direction of Chairperson Charles Wittreich.
• I realized that it is necessary to allow for new technologies of instruction whenever possible. I attempted to make use of online resources, Blackboard, Suffolk Online, and the incredible knowledge and dedication of our library faculty. Professor Susan DeMasi singlehandedly set my student scholars on the right path early in the semester by providing a workshop on locating theatrical texts. My students still maintain that her brief seminar provided them with skills they could carry well beyond the gates of the West campus.
• I encourage you to search out like-minded individuals and committees for service. Within my first year I was able to become a part of the Grant Curriculum Committee, the Pedagogy Committee, and the Fine Arts Planning Committee. My desire to serve outside of the traditional classroom has given me the opportunity to meet magnificent colleagues and to assume positions of leadership within a very short time.
• Allow your students to bring their classroom to the rest of the campus. In my Acting I classes, the paralyzing stress of monologue and scene performance was greatly minimized by an open-door policy. It was energizing to have students in various acting classes view and comment on each other’s work. In the same vein, our Acting II class utilized the entire year’s training during a publicly attended “Ten Minute Play Festival.” The question and answer discussion which followed our program, aptly named “A Class Act,” allowed me an opportunity to “fine-tune” my methodology for the following year. If you build it…they will come!
• Become a club advisor and listen to your students. The dedicated students who re-certified the defunct Grant Theatre Club created a program entitled “Around the World Cabaret.” Working with Tara Fagan of the Office of Student Life, our small troupe of actors invited friends, family and community to a well-organized and extremely entertaining night of song, dramatic interpretation and spoken word poetry.
• Get out of your own way! The Assistant Chairperson of Communication and Arts, Alyssa Kauffman, asked me to run our departmental “Coffee and Conversation” program. As you already know, the first year of full-time employment allows you little time to create anything other than grading spreadsheets and exams. However, stepping outside of my comfort zone and taking on the facilitation of a program for my departmental colleagues was a great way to introduce my pedagogy and personal interests to veteran faculty members. Ask yourself, “What can I share, based on my expertise, with the classroom, campus, and college-wide community?”
• Reach out to the larger community whenever possible. I was ecstatic when I learned that Brentwood consisted of a large Latina/o community. Knowing that I could bring my own individual talents and scholarship to our neighbors, I discovered a local Spanish language theatre company minutes away from my classroom. Ironically, their Artistic Director sought me out at a national conference in Scottsdale, Arizona and we have begun plans to create an academic theatrical partnership in the near future.

3) Don’t neglect your own scholarly development

• I have found that the first few years of full-time teaching can make “Jack/Jill a dull girl/boy.” I advise new faculty and staff members to keep an eye out for conference calls for papers and scholarly opportunities.
• Keep in touch with your academic allies locally, nationally, internationally. We often forget colleagues who are making their way in similar institutions of higher learning. Remember to drop them an occasional email regarding the work you are doing as well as displaying an interest in their own recent activity.
• A full-time appointment will often make grant and fellowship opportunities available. What you offer to your students at SCCC can benefit others across the country. Therefore, utilize any and all grant opportunities you come across throughout the year.
• Don’t forget to investigate possible publication opportunities, both in your field of expertise and your pedagogical development. You have something important to share, so publish it!
• Having said that…don’t get lost in the pedagogy! What was your dissertation or thesis topic? Have you explored that scholarship at conferences? In publications? Within your new department? As a program for the Teaching and Learning Center? As a proposal with your campus Pedagogy Committee? And most importantly, as a mentor within your own classroom?
• Reach out to the union if you need to. I always find that I have questions regarding responsibilities which have been negotiated between the college and the union. It is always important to know what is contractually expected of you as well as what you can create as an opportunity for your own growth and development.

A former chair once advised me during a New Faculty Orientation, “In your first year…the only thing you should know…is where the bathroom is!” Fifteen years later I am torn. I find that I both agree and disagree with her advice. Stay healthy and spiritually nourished but, every once in a while, roll the dice and take a chance. Your colleagues and mentors are behind you every step of the way. And most importantly, the learning environment you create will benefit every person lucky enough to come into contact with you.