Why blog about teaching?

Last week was my first week in my new job at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, FL.  This is my first full-time teaching position, but so far the transition hasn't been too difficult for me.  The best perk of all: my own office.  I don't think many people take time to appreciate their office - I know when I was working at CSUS, I didn't stop to think about how even my small cubicle was my own space.  But now, I have a space to call all my own, to decorate as I please, to leave all my school things when I go home at the end of the day.  Sure, I still will take some work home with me, but the days of my rolly-bag are behind me.

Perhaps the best piece of advice I have ever received but never followed was at my first National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology (NITOP) conference.  In a workshop for new teachers of PSYC 1, it was suggested that master teachers keep a journal or make notes about each and every lecture that they give.  This allows for real-time reflection on the success of a given lesson plan, with specific points on what worked and what you would like to change for next time.  The problem with this is that, as an adjunct faculty member, I was always running all over the place (they don't call us "freeway flyers" for no reason) and just couldn't seem to find the time to do this.

So here I am, only one class period into my brand new semester, teaching a class I haven't taught in over a year (and 5 sections of it, no less), and excited to track my successes (and failures) in the classroom.  I'm choosing a public forum for this because I want to be of use to other instructors.  So if you're reading this and you want more information on any of the activities I discuss, please let me know.

Specifically if you are a psychology instructor, consider becoming a member (it's cheap!) of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (teachpsych.org).  It's a very rich community that it really pays to be a part of (pun intended :) ).  The mentorship and opportunities for professional development that I've had with STP have been (and continue to be) fantastic.