Tony,
Thanks for this post. You are right on target here. The lack of the minimum stated formal requirements like education or years of experience is a deal breaker. Meeting these requirements does not mean someone will be effective in your school. Ypu have to hire to the culture of your school. If team is important, you need to determine if the candidate will fit in on your team.
What are your strategies for determining if a candidate will be a good fit for your team?
Dave,
Good post! How do you determine if a candidate has the "personality" traits that you are looking for?
Dave,
This is an interesting perspective. Thanks for sharing it. I'm not sure the difference between manager and leader is clear cut in a classroom. We do want teachers who are innovators and who inspire trust, but we also need to keep them on task and managing student progress toward the objectives.
I'd like to say ditto to everything that Tammy, Dave and Tony have said as they have mentioned key issues. I generally first give consideration to whether the candidate has good listening skills. I believe a good instructor must have the innate ability to listen to students. To do this we have our prospectives give a test teach which consists of a 20 minute presentation of their choice. We provide minimal guidelines, time, subject matter of choice, use whatever teaching aids they feel necessary ie hand-out or Power Point. My first red flag is if a candidate does not demonstrate properly what they have been asked to do. Am always amazed when they come in and simply punt. During that time I also look for comfort in presenting; are they loud enough, clear enough; do they explain so that all can understand; do they use a variety of methods; are they boring? Last item may seem silly, but if they can't make 20 minutes interesting, how can we expect them to do a better job in 4 hours? I look for a certain charismatic attachment to their subject matter as well. If they demonstrate a personal passion for the material, it's a definite plus. Generally in these 20 minute demos we learn a great deal about ability to organize and communicate. Those who ask questions and make certain that we are understanding are generally winners. We also get a feel as to whether they will fit with our student population. Dave mentioned that we value the "fit" within our team. Additionally they have to "fit" to our student population expectations. We don't want all of our business teachers to be of the same mold. We need diversity and interest so that students of all learning styles and general abilities will have the opportunity to experience different teaching styles. It's what will make their education valued and relevant to real world experiences. We've a responsiiblity to provide consistency in quality but diversity in methodology to create energy in the classroom. So consderation must be given to where they "fit" into what we offer our students and not will they simply fill the need we have to staff a particular class. Footnote to that - when you do a late, last minute hire, some of the luxury of the process is lost. I expect we have all had to deal this challenge.
Am interested in the telephone screening process. Does anyone have specific questions that are always asked with purpose in mind?
Dave, I think you might also agree that our process itself helps determine team players. We don't hire full time faculty until they have had the opportunity to adjunct for our campus a quarter or two. During the initial quarters teaching we learn fairly quickly if a person genuinely wants to impact our mission and contributes in a way that demonstrates a cooperative spirit. We generally offer only a single course to first time adjuncts to determine that the fit is good not only for us, but for them as well. Currently we've a few part timers who are very interested in full time opportunities.
Dave,
I agree with the KSAO's you have here.
I also would look at the Knowledge and how it compliments the knowledge base of current faculty. If it is weak in a subject area I would look further for that as well.
Skills would need to be very current when looking for an instructor in an environment that has frequent changes in practice.
For abilities I would look for the abiltiy as well to be comfortable with technology and abitlity to troubleshoot routine problems that can arise. Are they able to make adjustments at the last minute if there is an equipment failure.
Other characteristics, relaxed, patient, stickler for detail when required as well.
For me these are different types of things to consider in hiring than in the previous work environment I have been in.
This thread has been very helpfull for me.
The group has listed some really great skills and qualities we look for in faculty. Another skill that we look for in the online forum is a strong sense of self direction and self motivation. It is imperative that the instructors are involved in the classroom environment regularly and a personal sense of motivation is needed to push them to log into the class daily and participate as they are expected. They must have enough self direction to be in their classes daily and working to enrich the learning environment and to complete their assigned duties with little/no supervision.
I should have stated my last sentence differently in the thread you are alluding to, Jeff. I should have said, "Just as instructors should be managers, by the same token they don't have to be leaders". But you are right there are some characteristics of a leader that would be beneficial to an instructor. Again, I don't think it would be a deal-breaker if they don't have leadership abilities. Leadership and Management are closely related but have identifiably different functions. And we definitely want our faculty to have managerial skills.
Hi Annette! Yes, I agree with your statement on knowledge. That's why it is so important to have adjunct faculty being hired that currently work in the field they are teaching. As you say, this compliments the knowledge base of our currect faculty. I think certification is another important part of hiring faculty. If they are in a frequently changing business then certification can possibly tell you how up-tp-date they are in the field. In our School of Health Sciences it is imperative that our Medical Assistant instructors stay current in their technology. Knowing that they are taking classes, getting certifications, etc. would certainly be important questions to ask in the hiring process.
Well the quick and short answer to your question, Jeff, is I would have them take the Profile assessment! This personality sorter can help with determining if this candidate's personality lends itself to our organziation. The first thing we have a potential candidate do besides completing the application online is take the Profile. We study the results very closely.
In the test teach and the interviewing process we also study how they act and react to various questions, etc. As Susan said in another thread that when we bring in new faculty they start as adjunct, usually teaching one class, giving us an opportunity to do observations and study their personality traits.
Thanks, Dave.
I look forward to your responses to the other discussion forums.
Tony,
Thanks for the post. Well said. How do you determine if a candidtae has the strong sense of self direction and the selk motivation you are looking for?
Susan,
Thank you for this contribution. What do you lookfor once an adjunct has been hired to determine if he or she is a team player?
Susan,
The telephone screening process is pretty important. I try to determine if there are any deal-breakers, (like not wanting to work until 9:30 PM), right away.
I also try to ask something about what I feel is the most important "must have" for my instructors. This is usually about an attitude or about specific training in the subject area.
Do they ask questions during the interview process is one of the first clues we get as to whether someone will be a team player. "Inquiring minds want to know" is a fair indicator that someone wants to be part of the team because they want to do things correctly. Do they exhibit a measure of self discipline in turning in what's initially required. Do they complete Teaching at Harrison 1,2 and 3 promptly? Are they interested in learning who else teaches what they do? Do they follow through quickly when asked to provide information or perform a specific task. All of these would be indicators for me in determining team qualities.
Susan,
Thanks! I look forward to your postings in the other modules of this course.
I agree with everything said in the thread. Working in a team environment is essential. Conveying program matter expertise in their presentation. One thing that I do is I ask potential instructors about their longterm and shortterm goals. I do this to hopefully reveal what it is they are trying to accomplish. I want to alleviate being in a situational hire. Meaning the instructor is just here until something else becomes available. That's not very fun when that happens in the middle of a quarter.
Some skills and qualities I look for are as follows: They have to be subject matter experts. They have to have not only a realtive degree but experience in the position. Another thing is they have to have enthusiasm. I want instructors who are excited about what they are doing. Lastly, I ask them about their long term and short term goals. I want to make sure they want to teach and it's not an experiment or a job until they find something they realy want.
I believe not only should an instructor be an expert in their field but must also possess the ability to engage and motivate students. In Adult education many life problems try to prevent the individual from completing training and as instructors we have the help them navigate through these problems. Instructors have to understand the different learning styles and incorporate lessons that use tools to help all types.
Suzanne,
Thank you for the post to this dicsussion forum. How do you measure an applicant's ability to engage and motivate students during the hiring process?
