Commuting, traffic, and weather conditions, may cause stress.
Inadequate school supplies and equipment, may result in stress for the instructor.
I think that a great source of stress for both students and faculty is to view their current situation with descriptive words that include I ...must, have to, or should.
To many requirements that are changing on a daily basis. The inability of the creators of the deadline s to really understand what they are asking, what it takes to accomplish their requirements. Lack of ownership on the part of the decision makers to create realistic objectives
One of my biggest stressors is communication or the lack of it. It seems that, at times, communication is a knee jerk reaction. If instead, people would get all the information before reacting, it would reduce stress in my life. It would also be helpful if people would consider the actions they take that may have a effect on others.
When I look at this question it is easy for me to see what does NOT cause me stress: teaching in the classroom, teaching in clinical, designing curriculum, students needs and issues. I love the student interaction aspects of my job.
That said, I am more and more aware that the stress I am experiencing is related to inadequate/inconsistent support and direction from my Administration/Director. I know that I am responsible for how I deal with this, so am seeking out constructive ways of coping. This course is definitely a start in the right direction!
There are not enough hours in the day.
Is there a general rule of thumb for how many hours of planning/preparation it takes for each hour of lecture time for a new class?
There is time needed for preparing lecture notes, quizzes, and homework. Then time is needed for grading and entering the grades, etc.
Scheduled time for tutoring is required, as well. And then mandatory faculty development courses must be accomplished within a certain time frame. I realize prior preparation and planning is necessary to adequately prioritize time but it feels overwhelming.
A big stress causer in my field of work is having non working equipment for student use. It's a recurring issue that is very stressful cause I then have to work around this and find a way to teach the students something without being able to show them visually. For most applications it's ok, but not in the line of work I am in. That and lack of supplies are big stress causers.
When your filing cabinet becomes your car trunk, this is a logistical stressor. Having to always transport "everything" because you are required to work in the office, to visit clinical sites, and work from home to meet deadlines.
In addition students' needs become a stressor when their responses are unprofessional or required after business hours.
The source of stress related with the college requirement is the administrative work load for paperwork. This becomes a stress as our main focus in this role is to retain and acquire new relationships with new sites and coach/evaluate our students at their clinical sites.
At school it is equipment issues and poor support from certain employees. The biggest thing that causes stress is the word no.
Brian, So true. The word No is both hard to hear and often hard to say. Sometimes others push back on us, and other times, we are the ones that push back on them. In both instances, this can feel stressful.
Dr. Melissa Read
Kimberly, Sounds like you face a lot of stress in your role. Yes, many of us drive around in our 'offices.' This can be particularly stressful if we don't keep them organized and clean. I recommend taking some time each week - even if it's just 15 minutes - to get your car trunk organized. You will find that this small time investment can help you feel much more comfortable and confident in your work.
Dr. Melissa Read
Dawn, That's a great question and one I've gotten a lot lately. The answer depends on the complexity of your subject matter, as well as how familiar and experienced you are with teaching a course. For courses that are complex, or ones that you have not taught before, you may find yourself spending a good deal of time getting organized. On the other hand, for simple courses and those you've taught before, you may need very little preparation.
Dr. Melissa Read
Commuting, the hours, the lack of discipline for the students upheld by the administration and lack of communication with other teachers outside of the department.
Constantly changing requirements create a situation where many of us wait until a)the requirement goes away, or b)we are nagged and nagged and called on the carpet and finally do it.
Some general areas that are major stressors in my career come from my students needs. I usally teach 5th semester and on top of teaching new material, I have to assure that my students have a solid foundation. Do they remember the basics that learned so long ago? If I notice thay are missing something I have to find a time for reveiw. it seems every class is different in what they need.In some classes in some classes it varies from student to student and I have to fine the time for each of them.
EVEN THOUGH I LOVE MY JOB; THE ADULT LEARNING ENVIROMENT IS, AND CAN BE VERY STRESSFULL. MY BIGGEST STRESSOR IS THE STUDENTS, BECAUSE THEY FEEL AS THOUGH, THEY DO NOT WANT TO EARN ANYTHING. THEY WANT everything HANDED TO THEM.
I would say that one of my biggest stressors is the fact that they are so by the book. This text book is horrible, and has multiple typos. The exams even have the same questions two or even three times.
1. prepping for the class and keeping up to date with changes.
2. managing time effectively with the work.
The most common standard stressor for me is the college frequently changing the text, so there isn"t enough time to develope a routine or rhythym.Conflict stressors exists when students miss clinical and exams. It takes an enormous am't of extra work to help the student catch up. In the beginning the lack of teaching skills presented a very large anxiety stressor, and the ever present cutting technology strssor is always present.
Gail, Thanks for sharing. These are common stressors for instructors indeed. When text changes are out of your control, this can be particularly stressful. You might connect with your administration to learn more about why changes are being made and to potentially influence their decisions on changing texts in the future.
Dr. Melissa Read
