Ten Simple Rules to Combine Teaching and Research

I've been meaning to link to this article for weeks now, ever since I found them via the tomorrow's professor listserv. Some of these are common sense, but we all need to hear common sense repeated now and again, don't we? These tips are geared towards all disciplines, so some of the ideas (about powerpoints and online assignments) don't work all that well for the humanities, but there are lots of great ideas here that do cross disciplines. Some thoughts:

1) In just my brief time in academia, especially once I started teaching a 4/4 load, I've found that #1 (recommending strict budgeting of time for both teaching and research) is perhaps the most important rule.

2) Rule 2, on setting specific goals, is a trick I learned back in dissertation days. It was never helpful for me to say "I am going to write my dissertation today." I had to be so specific, writing down (another key tip) goals like "Type notes for sources A, B, and C," "Finish reading Book D," and (eventually), "Write 5 pages."

3) Rule 3, "Don't Reinvent the Wheel": So important, especially once you are teaching a full load. When I was a graduate student, I would come up with new paper assignments and syllabi for my courses just about every semester. Well, this was actually only true for the first couple of semesters...then I stopped...well, reinventing the wheel. Yes, you should consider changing the texts up every once in a while and if you find a new assignment that you are excited about, then by all means, do it. But don't feel bad for sticking with what works.

I realize I have a preachy tone here, but it's worth noting that I am actually giving myself a mini-lecture. I sometimes feel guilty for doing certain things semester after semester. I have this fear of turning into one of my old college professors (an awesome teacher overall) who used notes on yellowed paper that were certainly 30 years old. I also hear about the exciting new ideas my colleagues or friends at other schools come up with to use in their own classes and I feel my own inadequacy. But I need to get over this--if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Tinker with it, maybe--especially if the tinkering makes you more excited about what's happening in your classroom, but be okay with recycling.

4) Don't Try To Explain Everything: This one made me think. It seems like especially good advice for a general education course (like our American Literature Survey at Shepherd) where you can't possible cover everything.

5) “Be Shameless in Bringing Your Research Interests into Your Teaching”: Love this one. Thus, my (possible) Poe Seminar in the Spring and my "Black Cat" article.

6) Get the Most in Career Advancement from Bringing Your Research into Your Teaching : This one gives some good food for thought, too. I really like the idea of bringing your research into your class and seeing what students think. (I have done this with my "Black Cat" thesis with some good results.)

7) Compromise, Compromise, Compromise: After #1, this one is the most important, I think.

8) Balance Administrative Duties with Your Teaching and Research Workload: Good luck with this one. Seriously.

9) Start Teaching Early in Your Career: Fortunately, I am in a discipline that had me teaching by the second semester of my MA work, but clearly not every field is like this. I wonder how big a disadvantage this can be. When I was a new hire at Shepherd, there were a couple of folks (in math and sciences) who were brand-new to the classroom. It's hard to imagine that--from not teaching to teaching four classes? Ugh.

10) Budget Time for Yourself, Too: I love this rule. I believe in this rule. I need to practice this rule more.