Faculty Member

I have very mixed views about being a faculty member. Although I have enjoyed many aspects of lecturing and how the university is set up, I do have many issues concerning being a faculty. I feel that in most instances, faculty has been extremely critical in my field over petty differences. Whether it be views of research, or views of teaching; I have felt that it has been more politics within the department rather than the actual education of students. I feel like the goal is common but I also feel that the approach is very different and sometimes controversial the way we handle education. I enjoy my classes, and I enjoy academia, but I would like to see some consistency and commonality within the purpose and/or goals of education

Transitioning to Faculty

One of the things that I would like to mention about becoming a faculty is this...

I believe that Virginia Tech has given me a full idea of what it would be like to be a faculty member. I know this because I have actually been able to grade, lecture, mentor, and help students as the front line member. From my first post, I do not think that my perceptions have changed about being a faculty member, but I do think I am learning to block out the bad aspects that comes along with it and focus on what's good

Through mission statements, learning diversity, and overall academic demeanor. I like to stick with my original position and would like to say that teaching still is my #1 goal. I do enjoy my research, more now than ever. However, it's like giving a gift at Christmas in that when I have helped a student, it is better than any self glorifying piece of literature that I have written. If anything, I have learned that going into a potential faculty member position

Working with advisers

Just a quick note in todays journal:

I have realized how two people cannot work together in some aspects. I was unaware that actually could happen due to the fact that I have been pretty good about working with professors in past experiences. However, my last adviser and I did not see eye to eye at all. It was no fault of our own, but it was difficult to work with this person. I am a very scatterbrained type person. I have exceptional ideas (As others have told me) but I ramble on and its very unclear of what I am writing. Therefore having an adviser that is the same way made things even more difficult

On the other hand, the adviser that I am working with now is direct, to the point, and tells me exactly what to do, and it has gotten done. I think my ideas and his structure have really created a new sense of work in my academic growth here at Virginia Tech and it has been a much smoother ride.

Student Apprehension

One of the things that caught my eye today was the concept of how students become more and more dependent when grades are in question.

I lead review sessions in my class before the exam. Notably, the ones that are a couple days before the exam are relaxed, and even enjoyable. Friendly conversation is exchanged and we have good discussion about the topics as a group

Notably, when the day before the exam comes, the review sessions are more like a zoo. People already have a look of apprehension. They ask questions that are already in the book, and its disheartening to see such panic. Granted, it's predictable that this behavior would occur. However, it's still a hardship to manage the students when that level of panic is within them.

I think being accommodating, but being firm needs to be done in all aspect as a TA, especially as you do not want to be the TA that students take advantage of. Grad school is stressful enough, that added pressure is not needed. Therefore it might be a good idea to keep the level of apprehension down on the instructors standpoint as well.

Mentions of April 16

One of the things that dawned on me today while I was listening to my professor lecture today, is what is the limit of mentioning tragedy?

Everyone here is well aware of the tragedy that occurred here, and the underlying question is how much should we bring it up? My professor talked about an example relating to April 16th. As i sat back in my seat, I nonchalantly turned my head back to see if there was anyone talking to each other, looking upset, amongst other reactions. Thankfully I did not see it, but it still has bothered me that the example keeps coming up from time to time

I know personally that I have upset students in the past by bringing it up. They got emotional and I was the bad guy even though I didnt go in with poor intentions. This is something to consider when you have tragedy on campus I think.

Granted, my professor is dealing with freshman, so it may not be as bad to talk to them about it, but it sill makes me wonder how much should be disclosed

Global Higher Education

One of things worth noting here is something that was mentioned in class. Obviously with global higher education, there are different systems that are followed. Between years that a student has to study, language barriers, to just the content at hand

One of the main things that I like to consider as being a communication major is the idea of media effects in different countries. Obviously, the way we study media in the United States will be different than they way Europeans study media, even somewhere like Australia. Studies have shown that there are distinct and notable differences in the way we perceive media.

Not only that, but it's also the way that other countries teach media. One of the aspect that is the most interesting is bringing students from different backgrounds to uncover what the differences are within the classroom. We can learn much more and publishable work can be produced with this type of knowledge gained

Graduate Student v. Professor Relationship

One thing that caught my eye today is what is the relationship that a faculty member should have with a graduate student. How much disclosure is necessary? How should faculty treat us and how we should treat them?

Obviously, Grad students are held on a higher playing field. They have already excelled in a Bachelors and possibly a Masters program, therefore it would be assumed that faculty could treat a graduate student more like a colleague. I do think there are limitations, due to the fact that some graduate students still do not have knowledge base that a professor might have. Therefore there is still an opportunity for a faculty to be a mentor

Therefore, it is probably best for a faculty if many things are disclosed. Personal life, work of other students, amongst other things. I believe that should not be revealed and that the work place should have a sort of level of silence, as to not cause further corruption or discrepancy in the department

Education and the Community

Within the community, I have found that many scholars and graduate students have found their assistantships that were consistent with community awareness and help.

I know specifically, one of the COMM graduate students participates in an inner city education program in Blacksburg. He helps with mentoring and guiding young students to a promising future by leading them to go to college, or at least finish high school. This impact plays a significant role and further proves that ideals that the university does care about the community around them.

Additionally, there are also some summer programs in Blacksburg that helps younger (middle school) people how to use design techniques and can produce things like yearbooks. This concept of layout can help build a students imagination and can help with future careers and interest. All in all, there are definitely programs within the COMM dept. itself in helping the community around the university

Ethics

One of the aspect that we, as faculty, focus on is the idea of ethics in the classroom. What is correct/not correct to present to students. Is it OK to relate to students at the expense of being unprofessional? All of these subjects matter, but I want to discuss inner-departmental ethics, especially dealing with graduate students and faculty.

I remember standing in front of a public speaking class in my second semester. I found myself teaching a portion that I did not believe was helpful in the field of public speaking. Not that it was a poor idea, I just thought there were ideas that should be emphasized more than the one that was on my script. Therefore I was a bit daunted, but I proceeded with the lecture with a fake smile on my face. To me, I found that this was a breach in ethical principles. Normally, I would of said, that the information is not accurate in my mind, but my faculty thinks so. However, I am a GTA, therefore I provide my opinions. I am not tenured, I did not create the lecture, I am not running the course. Therefore, I cannot tell my opinion or focus on the subject matter that I want. I must conform to the material

So there is the ethical breach. If we do not like a faculty members decision of what to teach, then we can do a few things. We can say that the information is complete garbage and explain why your method is most effective. However, it may come to bite you because the faculty may find out you have avoided the subject matter

Second, we could always teach the subject matter despite our opinions. Which is the safe way to go, but is it ethical? Should we automatically conform for the sake of conforming? Or should we break the barriers and try to teach something else. That as well tends to be an ethical breach, therefore it is difficult to decide what to teach.

If you have meetings about lectures beforehand, ethically speaking talking with the course director beforehand would be the most effective strategy. You haven't had to compensate for a lecture, but then again, you can provide your own opinions in theory. Some professors will not be as accepting as others, but the most ethical way of approaching the subject matter is at least trying to explain the nuances of the class. The professor may be stubborn, but the idea should be applied instead of not doing anything about the class.

Diversity

In this session I will be discussing diversity and it ongoing importance in the classroom and faculty relations. Due to the increase in technology, there has been a bridge of how we can reach new cultures and students from other nations. Global relations have never been higher, and therefore we have to understand diversity and how to interact with other cultures, especially in the classroom

Within intercultural and marketing studies, we have had to come to the reality that differing nations have different ethics, morals, traditions, the way they work, how they approach uncertainty, proxemics, amongst many other things. As a university, we need to understand these barriers and accommodate for the difference in another individuals culture. 

Research has been great in mass media studies and intercultural relations. Having students that know different languages can help expand the research of how other media outlets outside the United States handle a crisis or an event that the US covers. That breaks down cultural variables and limitation. This is important and those are only a few reasons of why diversity has expanded and why we need to accommodate. The more we learn from other cultures, the more we can expand knowledge and reduce uncertainty in the classroom and within the faculty that teaches the students

Academic Freedom

While assessing the latest thread, I found myself in a quandary of interpreting academic freedom. Although there seemed to be a great deal of freedom when professors teach, the reality is that for junior faculty it is not so.

Obviously a junior faculty would not be given the same freedoms as a full tenured professor and would be carefully viewed as they created their curriculum. But I do believe we have freedom within our lectures to display knowledge, enthusiasm and and overall sense of care for the students. We do have that particular freedom in the classroom in itself.

The main thing that I am upset with is the fact that research has too many restrictions and limitations. It is important to make sure that you recognize prior studies. However, to what extent? Is a reviewer going to decline my work just because I did not include someones name and their study? I think that limits the idea at hand. Sure, you want a study to be grounded in prior literature, but not to an extend where we are required to place a name with your study. There needs to be a balance and a general acceptance of what the main idea is, what the study is grounded on, and is it an original and practical idea. That should be the main focus of research.

Research vs. Teaching

One of the things that I discovered today is the emphasis between research and teaching in an higher ed. learning setting. I help with a Intro to Communication class on top of working on my thesis and other publishable research. I have found that there has to be a balance between the two factors if we are ever going to be successful in this atmosphere.

I had a review session for a test yesterday, normally I dread these activities because I feel like i will not know the questions that will be asked. However, while keeping ahead of the game in the class, I found myself being able to answer all the questions in the review session and elaborate so it would make sense for students that do not understand it as well.

I do believe research is a significant portion of our job and there are many ways to advance knowledge in this setting. However, if I just focus on research, I am neglecting the needs of the undergraduates that may need my help just as much. I think part of being a faculty member means keeping that balance and maintaining a understanding between research and teaching

-SD