Student to Teacher: The Silent Transformation
Why did no one warn me? I was 25 years old, a second-year master’s student, standing in front of 70-plus undergraduates with my heart pounding
Carlie Cunningham
February 19, 2025
A FREE PUBLICATION FROM THE CREATORS OF THE TEACHING PROFESSOR
new faculty
Getting Started: A Basic 10 Point Guide to Launching an Academic Career
There are over 4,000 universities and colleges in the United States employing over 1.5 million faculty, over half of which are either tenured or on
Robert Greenstreet PhD.
February 7, 2025
Strategy Mapping: An Essential Tool for New Academic Faculty
Finding your path to tenure as a novice educator can be daunting and anxiety provoking. It is reported that challenges for junior faculty are most often related to decoding expectations of the academic organization and creating relationships with colleagues (Kahanov et al, 2012). Few tools exist to help new faculty navigate the complexity of the first years of academic life.
This article will introduce readers to a process called strategy mapping. The result of the process of strategy mapping is a tangible document called a strategy map. Though strategy mapping is a process that originated within the business world, its applicability within academic settings holds much promise. Within academic settings strategy maps can be used to prioritize teaching, research, and service expectations, particularly for novice educators who have little experience in the academic environment. This article will further demonstrate how the strategy mapping framework aligns with organizational expectations of academic life; how strategy maps can be used to optimize goal setting for new educators; and how strategy maps can be used as a tool to optimize structure and direction within formal mentorship relationships.
Keith Adamson, PhD
January 23, 2019
Teaching Concerns of New (and Not So New?) Teachers
The list of concerns was compiled from a qualitative analysis of 10 years of graduate teaching assistants’ online discussion posts. The 120 students wrote the posts in a three-credit course that prepared them to teach beginning communication courses. It’s a list that raises some interesting questions. Are the concerns legitimate? They are listed in order of importance. Does that order change as teaching experience accrues? Should it change? Which of these are ongoing concerns, and perhaps, most importantly, how do we deal with the issues raised by the concerns?
Maryellen Weimer, PhD
October 7, 2015
Overcoming the Imposter Syndrome: Advice for New Faculty
Last week, an imposter took over my classroom. Come to find out, that imposter was me.
I started teaching three years ago. I was fresh out of graduate school, equally thrilled and terrified at the prospect of teaching my own classes. On paper it sounded straightforward: teach others the same material I just finished learning myself. I could do that, I told myself confidently. Then on the first day of class I met The Imposter.
Jennifer G. Craven
September 16, 2014
Advice for New Faculty: Six Lessons from the Front Lines
Teaching can be a daunting profession even for a seasoned veteran. For new faculty members, it can feel like a daily battle just to keep your head above water. So what are some ways that new teachers can ensure not only academic success for their students, but also maintain their own emotional and personal well-being? Below are six lessons learned by two new faculty members who have managed to keep their students learning and their sanity intact:
Dawn McGuckin M.Ed. and Mubeen Ladhani M.Ed.
September 13, 2013
