Professional Development for Teaching-Track Faculty

2021 SIGCSE TS
Virtual Pre‐Symposium Event
Friday, March 12, 1-5 pm EST, 2021

Enrollment in CS courses and programs continues to be high. To meet this increased demand, many Ph.D. granting departments have added or are actively recruiting teaching faculty (typically with academic rank) to their faculty. The half-day virtual event will focus on the professional development of teaching-track faculty (professor of practice, instructor, clinical faculty, lecturer, etc.) in Ph.D. granting departments. The event fills a crucial need as many departments have limited experience on how to mentor, evaluate, and promote this new type of faculty. The sessions will focus on how teaching faculty can strategize their involvement in departmental as well as research activities, different forms of scholarship and leadership activities to pursue, and best practices for success, promotion, and advancement. Academic leaders involved in supervising and evaluating teaching track faculty will provide their perspective and insights.

Agenda

[PDF]

• 1:00 – 1:10 PM EST: Welcome and Introductions
  [slides]
  Overview of event format, tools for interacting with participants
• 1:10 -1:40 PM EST: Networking
  Participants connect with others at their “virtual table”
• 1:40-1:50 PM EST: Break
• 1:50-2:30 PM EST: Panel 1: Teaching Faculty Careers
  Panelists will describe the role of teaching faculty at different institutions, and how their careers have evolved.
  [slides]
  Chair: Lori Pollock (U of Delaware)
  Panelists:  Adam Blank (Caltech),  Shaundra Daily (Duke), Margaret Ellis (Virginia Tech)
• 2:30-2:50 PM EST: Break
• 2:50-3:30 PM EST: Panel 2: Promotion and Advancement
  Panelists will describe how teaching faculty are evaluated at their institutions, and point out important aspects of the process
  [slides]
  Chair: Geoffrey Herman, University of Illinois
  Panelists: Nate Derbinsky (Northeastern),  Joe Hummel (UIC), Sara Sood (Northwestern)
• 3:30-4:00 PM EST: Table discussions about the panels
  Participants will discuss what they learned in the panels in small groups.  Mentors will help synthesize the information and provide another perspective.
• 4:00 -4:10 PM EST: Break
• 4:10-4:40 PM EST: Affinity breakouts
  Chair:  Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego
  
  • Issues for experienced/teaching faculty: This final session will provide repeat attendees and more experienced teaching faculty with a chance to network with each other.
  • Issues identified by participants: During the event, participants will identify issues they would like to discuss in more detail.  Breakout groups will be organized by the most popular topics.
• 4:40-5:00 PM EST: Wrap up and next steps

Organizers

• Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, cjalvarado@eng.ucsd.edu (Chair)
• Susanne Hambrusch, Purdue University, seh@purdue.edu
• Geoffrey Herman, University of Illinois, glherman@illinois.edu
• Amy J. Ko, University of Washington, ajko@uw.edu
• Lori Pollock, University of Delaware, pollock@udel.edu

CRA Anti-Harassment Contact

• Christine Alvarado, UC San Diego, cjalvarado@eng.ucsd.edu

FAQ

• • Q: How is this event different from similar SIGCSE events?
    A: The proposed event complements existing SIGCSE events targeted at teaching faculty and instructors. More specifically,
    • The New Educators Workshop (offered at SIGCSE 20) is targeted at academic-oriented graduate students, postdocs, and pre-tenure faculty interested in general questions about teaching, job searching for teaching positions, and teaching careers.
    • The Professional Development for Teaching Faculty Pre-Symposium (this event) is targeted at teaching-track faculty in Ph.D. granting departments. The focus is on professional development and career advancement for teaching-track faculty in a research department. The event does not cover teaching, classroom management  practices, or job searching.  Graduate students and post-docs will be considered as space allows.
    • The Managing the Early Academic Career for Women Graduate Students Pursuing Faculty Positions in Undergraduate Computing Programs workshop focuses on mentoring information and advice for women graduate students (in their final year) interested in an academic teaching career.
  • Q: Is there a limit on the number of participants? 
    A: Yes. The maximum number of participants is about 60. Should the number of applications exceed this number, the number of applications accepted from one department will likely be limited.