The issue of how to handle classroom-turnover time has arisen in two recent posts (Hey, Professor Unicorn. . . and I Did Not Have a Very Good Day). Here's my theory (originally posted as a comment on the Professor Unicorn entry):
I'd say that turnover time -- usually ten or fifteen minutes -- gets divided approximately by thirds. The first third belongs to the professor of the earlier class, to be spent in packing up materials and closing down tech apparatus, so he/she doesn't have to end the class early to allow for such activities, and to deal with any questions from students who just can't be persuaded to let the professor concentrate on packing up before heading out to the hall, where (if neither of them has a class immediately following, and if the proffie is willing) they can talk at a bit more leisure. The second third is neutral territory; the outgoing proffie really ought to be out, and the incoming proffie is justified in peeking into the window, cracking a door which has no window, moving in to set up the tech cockpit (if present) if the other proffie has cleared it but is lingering with a student, and otherwise showing signs of impatience or just getting started on what preparations he/she can. The third third belongs to the incoming proffie, who is perfectly justified in leading his/her students into the room, and impatiently breathing down the neck of the outgoing proffie if he/she hasn't cleared away from the tech cockpit, board, or other necessary pedagogical paraphernalia. And everybody involved ought to be patient about the occasional infringement on his/her time (and has a right to politely protest, and have that protest politely received, if a pattern is becoming apparent).
Q How do you handle this issue? When do you think the classroom should turn over, and what do you do if a colleague lingers or barges in?
So I had a chronic offender in this area and I ignored it the first couple of times. After that, I asked (politely, I thought) if the prof could take his lingering students out into the hall so that we could get started on time. He looked TERRIBLY offended and left in a huff. Subsequently, he left the classroom on time but left the board covered with his scrawl, the projector in need of being sorted, etc. In other words, he was a passive-aggressive prick. Hopefully others will have better ideas. (I coped with the passive-aggression by being as prepared as I could be going in...my students were like a marching band in their precision attaining their seats.)
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience years ago, when I was just beginning my teaching. An older, male instructor would always talk over his time, and then spend the in-between period talking with students at the front of the room. After a few weeks of losing 5-10 minutes of every lecture, I spoke to him. A week later, I began opening the classroom door the minute his time was up. A week after that, he told me that he'd found another classroom, and that I was welcome to this one, since "it's a piece of sh*t."
ReplyDeleteBy CHOICE, I don't mind if they use 9:59 of the 10 minutes on a test day. But because that's a choice, I certainly don't mind if the following professor wants his ~half+ of that time, regardless of whether or not I'm giving a test.
ReplyDeleteBut when you routinely walk in on the dot and I do nothing to stop you, then you have set the precedent that those 10 minutes are "Ours", so if I'm in there during "our" time, you're going to have to deal. Furthermore, if you're disrespectful to me over it, you better not have some half assed lesson planned for the day where after demanding your portion of the in-between-time, you go ahead and skip out markedly early. You do not need the full 10 minutes if YOU'RE GOING TO BE DONE TWENTY FIVE MINUTES EARLY.
He acted like every second was precious to him and obviously he had time to spare. And coming in on the dot set the precedent. HE set the precedent, not me. That is "our" time.
What I ordinarily do if I'm the in-coming professor and have a repeat offender, is about what CC described in the Unicorn thread. I wait ~a third of that in between time and then let myself in. Then I start talking when my class starts no matter who is there. But I haven't been the in-coming in years, I'm always first AM class, first class after lunch. So my perspective is likely biased.
I hate the idiots who write "CLEAN THE BOARD AFTER YOUR CLASS!!!" in giant letters with lots of punctuation and sidewalk chalk. They're leaving a mess for the NEXT professor, not the one who left them a mess. And I hate sidewalk chalk. I think if you're caught using indelible chalk, you should have to lick the board clean for the next professor and let your 3 most scornful students film it with their phones.
Jeez Louise. Both instructors really ought to SHARE the classroom equally in the time between classes, the way that responsible, adult professionals do.
ReplyDeleteIf the first class is supposed to run from 9-9:50 a.m., and if the second class is supposed to run from 10-10:50 a.m., the first instructor should be O-U-T (out!) of the room, together with all baggage, before 9:59:59 a.m. The instructor for the second class should be free to enter the classroom and start setting up at any time after 9:50:01 a.m.
If any of the baggage is too big to pick up and must be left behind, it shouldn't interfere with the second (or any other) class in any way. The staff member in charge of classroom demos should be taking care of demos like this, anyway, preferably by letting the second instructor know about this.
All exams in the first class must be finished before 9:50:01 a.m. This means that all students must stop writing and turn in their exams by this time. I find an effective way to do this is to bellow loudly at 9:50:00, "TURN IN YOUR EXAMS IN THE NEXT 30 SECONDS OR GET A ZERO!" I do this so convincingly, I've never once had to enforce this rule, but it's in my syllabus anyway, in case I ever do. (My syllabus is now 16 pages long, and counting.)
In ALL cases, the second instructor should refrain from being rude to the first instructor, or any students, in either class. Both On-the-Button Betty and with Professor Unicorn were out of line. If I were department chair and they were in my department, I'd somberly tell them to improve their behavior. Good manners aren't just pleasant: they make all kinds of social interaction easier, for everyone.
I try to be moving out in the first third of the 10 minutes. Most of my classes are discussion-based, not lecture, so I generally transition into "any other questions" in the last 5-10 minutes of class anyway, which gets the majority of students out the door when class ends.
ReplyDeleteBecause I try to be prompt nearly all the time, I do ask for indulgence on mid-term day, and I usually give the other prof a heads' up in the previous class's turnover time. I only once had someone be an asshole about it.
Dickwads who don't know how to log out of the computer, or who leave the projector on, or mess up the DESKS get zero tolerance from me. I once had a class after a guy who would leave his crap all over the place, and secure cupboards unlocked, and words like "anal" on the whiteboard in the wrong kind of pen. I complained to everyone I could, and eventually my Chair asked the guy's Chair to tell him to stop being such a jerk (it was particularly jerky that he would always take his CD with his notes out of the computer, but without exiting the program, so the computer would have a fit about the missing disk).
Even being told to cut it the fuck out didn't help. This guy is an asshole, and I bet he never does any housework at home, either.
I have the luxury of effectively having my classes back-to-back in a single room. Even happier, I am the last person to use the room, yay night shift.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I need a substantial portion of that transition time to get my gear ready - I could see a 5/10 split.
But really? Put on your Big Teacher Underpants, and get a timepiece, and budget your fucking time. It's not like your class period is a random variable - like your calendar, it is a regular beast, amenable to training and planning.
Share the road, people. An outgoing prof can clean up and chat with students while an incoming prof sets up and chats with students. I've never walked in on anyone before their class is over, and I've never lingered into anyone else's class time. But if someone is clearing while I am setting up or setting up while I am clearing, no problem. There's room for two.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it drives me mad that there are no clocks in the classrooms. The Uni is too cheap to get someone to set them when we shift in and out of daylight savings time.
@F&T: Be careful what you wish for. We have clocks, but they're all 3-8 minutes fast or slow, no two are the same, and the increment changes with the daylight savings shifts. I try to remind myself to look at the clock on the computer monitor instead, but it's still crazy-making, and students, of course, interpret either discrepancy in the their favor.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this will help. I stay home as a househusband while Snarky Geek Chick does the teaching. I try to get some kind of exercise session every day at 4:00 pm, and I have a digital Timex watch with an alarm to beep at 3:55. If I don't turn the beep off it'll beep again five minutes later.
ReplyDeleteKeeping something like that in your bag or pocket, or even a cell phone alarm set to vibrate at that time could let you know it's time to wind things up.
As far as the next professor encroachment problem, Miss Manners might suggest something like fixing him with a cold stare and saying, "We're almost done, professor. We'll be out in a minute." If there's a ten minute lag between classes he shouldn't have any reason to protest.
I admire your restrain, Wombat. I'd have been livid to the point of verbally ripping him a new one.
Restraint.
ReplyDeleteStupid spell checker.