Teaching Psychology: A Step by Step Guide

Balancing Teaching, Research, and Service Dealing With leaching Anxiety Some Final Comments

Has reading this book left you wondering how you will find the time to deal with all that teaching entails while still meeting the other obligations that you face as a member of the psychology department, let alone a member of your family? If so, welcome to the club. The truth is that, no matter how much time you plan to devote to teaching responsibilities, it will be less than you need. Especially at the beginning of your teaching career, it always takes longer than you think to plan class sessions, meet with students (or answer their e-mail), grade exams or papers, set up and administer record-keeping systems, accommodate students with special needs, and the like. Don't despair. Your first term of teaching psychology will probably take more time than any subsequent one, given equivalent course loads. This is because as you gain experience and build your arsenal of teaching materials, methods, and systems, the teaching process will become progressively easier and less time-consuming—although it will never be effortless or quick. You will always have to find ways of balancing the effort to teach effectively with all your other academic efforts—such as writing; conducting research; going to departmental, college, and campus committee meetings; engaging in service activities; attending conferences; preparing grant proposals; and on and on (King, 2002a).

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