Tips, tutorials, and commentary on pedagogy, productivity, and technology in higher education.

Tag Archives: advice

International Travel: ProfHacker Style

March 12, 2010 in How-To by Erin E. Templeton

One of my favorite parts of life as an academic is the occasional opportunity to travel and see the world, whether a conference in Italy or a research trip to an archive in England. But the downside of these possibilities is that international travel can stress an already fraught budget and that it can be difficult to keep track of ever-changing rules and regulations about luggage and security, etc. What’s a traveler to do?

Standing Out on the Job Search

March 11, 2010 in How-To by Nels P. Highberg

There are a lot of articles out there on ways to handle the job market. I'm sure, though, that each of us could think of people who broke each of the "rules" offered by such articles and succeeded anyway. What works for one person does not always work for another, which is what makes the process so stressful.

Campus Visit: Tips and Tricks

March 2, 2010 in How-To by Erin E. Templeton

So you're on the academic job market, and you've managed to land a campus visit. Congratulations! Now what?

Prof-Hacking the Phone Interview

February 9, 2010 in How-To by Erin E. Templeton
Telephone interviews are not the standard in my discipline (English), but they are typical in other fields, and even in literary studies they are becoming more common in the current economic downturn.  Many grad-programs provide guidance to help candidates prepare for conference interviews and campus-visits, but phone interviews can pose some unique challenges.  In what [...]

For Crying Out Loud

February 1, 2010 in Pedagogy by Erin E. Templeton

Regardless of why students cry, it’s something that most of us will have to deal with at some point in our career.

Disruptive Student Behavior: What’s That Smell?

December 4, 2009 in How-To, Pedagogy by Nels P. Highberg

Before class begins, Lethargic Larry/Laura walks by, and you notice a rather pungent, unusual smell. You realize that the smell comes from alcohol or marijuana. What do you do?

Growing a Beard for Productivity

November 23, 2009 in Life by Nels P. Highberg

How can we improve our daily grooming and personal care routines so that they help us move forward through the day rather than add stress to it?

Why Not to Set Up a Formal New Faculty Mentoring Program

October 14, 2009 in Life by Jeff McClurken

ProfHacker's series on mentoring continues with a look at some of the challenges of creating formal programs for the mentoring of new faculty within a department.

The Value of 24 Hours in Passing Back Graded Work

October 9, 2009 in Pedagogy by Jeff McClurken

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received as a new teacher was from a senior colleague who listened to me express anxiety about handing back graded papers to my class. She looked at me and said, "Why don't you just deploy the '24-hour rule'?" I looked at her blankly and she explained that she told her students that it was her policy not to discuss their papers/tests/projects with them until 24 hours after they had received them. She insisted it significantly reduced the number of concerned students following her back to her office wanting an explanation for this or that part of their grade.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Other People

September 17, 2009 in Life by Nels P. Highberg

Academia is often about competition, but the extent to which we compare ourselves to others can sometimes do more harm than good.

Don’t Let Productivity Stress You Out

September 14, 2009 in Life by Nels P. Highberg

We all want to make our personal and professional lives easier, and we know there are a lot of places we can turn to for advice. It's not worth it, though, if we stress out over what we're not doing to make life better.

Pay It Forward

September 10, 2009 in Life by Nels P. Highberg

Sharing the various documents we must create as part of our work--syllabi, grant applications, annual reports--is another way we can start making academic processes as transparent as possible.