Navigating the academic job search and probationary process Dave Mrofka

1. Navigating the academic job search and probationary process Dave Mrofka Please begin by sitting next to the partner you chose when you registered...

2. Why? Two significant accomplishments...getting the job and integrating yourself within your department Why Me? Geoscience education? Pedagogy? Huh?

3. Goals for the session: • Prospective and adjunct instructors will be given information on academic job search issues including applying & interviewing. • We will briefly discuss typical workloads for 2YC geoscience instructors and the diverse population at Mt. SAC (what you might or might not expect elsewhere) • We will discuss some key tips that might help you in your interview process. • Work on your teaching statement using a guide from SERC.

4. 2YC geoscience faculty workload • Teach primarily introductory-level lecture and lab courses to a primarily non-science major audience • Support student success • academic advising, mentoring, club advising • Engage in professional development • workshops, grant work, curriculum development • Contribute to department and college mission • service on committees and task forces, faculty coordinator positions • Misconception: less curricular freedom than at 4YCs • Misconception: limited field opportunities • Misconception: no research opportunities

5. 2YC student population: reality • The median student earning a single Associate Degree from a California Community College in 2012-2013 took 4.1 years. (Campaign for College Opportunity, 2014) • difficulty getting required courses • personal and work obligations • many students start with Basic Skills (pre-collegiate) courses • You will likely encounter students who have been enrolled for 4+ years who have just discovered geoscience • Misconception: You will not encounter academically outstanding students... Photo courtesy of Mystic-Williams Seaport

6. The interview process • Step 1: prepare and submit application • Review minimum qualifications, including degree name. (Ex: required degree in Earth Science. Your degree title is Geology. You will be screened out.) • Application package must be complete by the deadline, no exceptions. • Most important elements of your application: • Clearly and concretely explain your teaching experience and philosophy. • Demonstrate an understanding of the community college student population using specific examples. • Explicitly address how you fit the minimum and desired qualifications. • Describe how you would contribute to the department and the institution (recon necessary)

7. The interview process • Step 2: initial interview • Prepare a 10-30 minute teaching demonstration on an assigned topic. • ~30 minute prep pre-interview to review questions. • ~1 hour interview: questions, 1-2 short, spontaneous teaching demos, and your longer teaching demo. • Interviews are scripted and identical for all candidates. • Most important elements of the initial interview: • Your teaching demo should embody your teaching philosophy. • Do your homework—be prepared with specific questions for the hiring committee. • Prepare a polished, concise description of your background and qualifications.

8. The interview process • Step 3: final interview • There are likely 2-3 finalists, possibly ranked by the search committee. • Brief interview with an administrator (President or VP), manager (Dean), and search committee chair • Conversation may focus on your understanding of the college’s mission and your proposed contributions • Most important elements of the final interview: • Do your homework—be prepared with specific questions about the institution. (Assessment, vision of the college in the next ___ years, professional development and service opportunities, etc.) • Prepare a polished teaching and service elevator talk.

9. 5 interview tips for community college positions: 1) Don’t lead with your research in your verbal or written application/interview materials. Research is not the focus of a 2YC faculty position. 2) Your teaching demonstrations are all about showcasing how you teach—“finishing” the demo is not important. If you lecture for most/all of your teaching demo, the committee will assume that that’s how you teach. Show the committee who you are as a teacher. If you advertise yourself as using specific active learning strategies, use one (or more) in your teaching demo. 3) Prior to submitting your application and the interview, research the courses that the department offers and any institutional-level programs or initiatives to which you could contribute. 4) There will definitely be a question about serving a diverse 2YC student population. Know your audience and think about this question in advance. 5) The committee wants to see that you have specific strategies for serving a diverse student population with respect to classroom management, pedagogy (field and classroom), and assessment.

10. Writing your teaching statement What to do: • Skim the handout, “Exercises to develop a teaching statement” • Answer as many of the bulleted questions as you can, in a quality way (who cares if you don’t answer them all), in the next 15 minutes. • Discuss with your partner one of those bullet points that you feel is a real strength for you as a teacher, or will be. • Last, discuss with your partner one of the bullet points that you hadn’t considered...or perhaps is missing from your teaching philosophy.

11. Part 2: Navigating the Probationary Process (a.k.a. “How not to have to repeat part 1) • 2-4 year process • tenure based on: • classroom evaluations by committee members • tenure portfolio • student, peer, administrative evaluations • Service choices • tenure committee generally meets annually with probationary faculty member • serious concerns may be addressed with a prescriptive (required action plan for improving a particular problem)