5.2 Revisiting the four cornerstones to mentoring adjunct faculty  (Page 5/6)

Building balance

When it comes to teaching in a virtual world, it is important for adjuncts to maintain balance in their lives. The online environment never shuts down; so, adjunct faculty needs to learn that they cannot possibly be all things to all people (Wallin, 2005). As the worldwide Information Age continues to gain momentum at accelerated rates, the adjunct faculty member should not portray the sage on the stage. Educational leadership adjunct faculty members must learn that maintaining good health and having a passion for online teaching is best produced from a balance of work and non-work related activities in their lives. Teaching online can be totally life consuming if adjunct instructors do not learn how to develop organizational skills and effectively manage their time, how to monitor telephone calls, how to set aside specific times for reflection, and how to simply take care of self (Penner, 2001). This means not allowing the problems of others to consume them to the degree that they become distractions and negatively affect their productivity.

To achieve a healthy balance in their lives, educational leadership adjunct online faculty members should create timelines that contain due dates and outline realistic goals. They should also maintain a calendar of events, meetings and other engagements involving students, faculty and administration (Muirhead&Min, 2002). There is simply no time to procrastinate because doing so may place the adjunct faculty member in a never ending chase where quality and thoughtfulness are adversely impacted.

In the final analysis, developing balance in one’s life is the cornerstone that will ensure longevity in this virtual world. When the plan is focused on providing balance in life, the adjunct faculty member will find opportunities for increasing the capacity to improve time management, and discover ways to ensure teamwork is a constant (Penner, 2001). The out to save the world attitude, often self imposed by adjunct faculty members, needs to be overcome with a focus on setting meaningful and realistic expectations if a balance of life is to be maintained. In the final analysis to achieve balance, adjunct faculty members need to know that working as a team truly works!

Forming interpersonal relationships

Education, more so than any other enterprise, must remain human and humane. As such, it is of the utmost importance in the isolated online teaching world to examine, i.e., forming interpersonal relationships. This is especially challenging for online adjunct professors who rarely see their students, colleagues and administration. Professional development opportunities for online adjunct professors need to provide ample opportunity for the development of networks, establishing collegial relationships and encouraging teamwork (Fullmer-Umari, 2000). Above all else, the mentor-protégé rapport holds the potential for a meaningful relationship.

Relationships formed by adjunct online professors should embody core values such as honesty, respect, trust, confidentiality, dependability, and empathy. The powerful tools of technology are not a substitute for core values that form foundations for meaningful relationships (Carnevale, 2004). Some of the essentials of meaningful relationships are more challenging to demonstrate in the absence of one another. When developed effectively, the relationships formed online by adjunct faculty members with students, colleagues, and administrator can be the unifying factor for longer tenures and teaching enjoyment.