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Yep, I teach physics. I don't know of any message boards. I learned my most valuable lessons about teaching from my colleagues in our department. Aside from frequent conversations, I also sat in two full semesters of classes by two different colleagues with very different teaching styles which was very enlightening.

 

Have fun!

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Hooray!  It will be 15 years for me in January.  I've been at two schools, in three different departments.  I've taught face-to-face, hybrid, and online.

 

I'm not aware of any boards.  

 

Thankfully I've always had good department heads who looked out for me.  Being part-time, that is very important.  Sometimes you don't get all of the information you need through traditional channels, especially if you aren't on campus as much.  My previous department head and I became very good friends, and she really looked out for me, even putting me on grant-funded projects, making me aware of opportunities for professional development, etc. etc.  I even took a class from her as a student to broaden what I could teach.  Unfortunately her department was dissolved because they stopped offering the major, and she went to another college within weeks of the announcement.  I transferred departments, but I'm down to one class and only one night a week because of cut-backs there and overall at the college.  I'm on the to-be-hired list with my previous department head, but they don't have any slots for the foreseeable future. That's the life of an adjunct!

  

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Congratulations!  I just started teaching at the local community college this past September. :)  I started with just one class but they've since asked if I would do a second with the possibility of a third after Christmas.  It's meant a bit of an adjustment to our homeschooling schedule but it seems to be working out so far.  Because I was used to teaching senior classes in high school, it's been the distance/technology part that's been a steep learning curve for me - not so much the teaching aspect.  For my first class, all of my students are in different communities from one another as well as from me.  I teach in a room by myself and talk to a computer. :)  My second class will be old-school - all my students are local.  Woo hoo!  My potential third class will be a mix.  The distance thing was a HUGE change for me.  I find that teaching in front of a "live" class vs. by distance are two completely different beasts.

 

I don't know of any forums.  I found this one:

http://forums.atozteacherstuff.com/forumdisplay.php?f=122

just by Googling but I have no idea if it's any good.  It doesn't look terribly busy.

 

Best of luck!

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I just recently began teaching a couple of psych courses and am enjoying them.  They are evening courses as most students have full time jobs during the day and work on their degrees in the evening.  I was most intimidated by the technology side of things but have gradually picked it up.

I am now in the process of making some small adjustments to our daily schedule, especially on Wed. and Thurs.

My kids are in 11th, 5th, and 3rd.  My 9th grader attends a magnet school where my husband teaches.

 

rmiz

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I have gotten a lot of good information from the forums at the chronicle of higher education - chronicle.com/forums.

Yup. Had they been around when I started teaching, they'd have made things a lot easier. It also helps to hear about other schools. The reminder that our students aren't necessarily like us is helpful as well.

 

I do recommend lurking for a while before posting though!

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Yup. Had they been around when I started teaching, they'd have made things a lot easier. It also helps to hear about other schools. The reminder that our students aren't necessarily like us is helpful as well.

 

I do recommend lurking for a while before posting though!

 

Yes. The norms are different than here.

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