The Adjunct Professor’s Complete Guide To Teaching College: How To Be an Effective And Successful Instructor, by Anthony D. Fredericks, Ed.D

In general, it must be admitted that this book is a very good one in terms of providing a realistic and sobering look of what it means to be an adjunct professor in the contemporary world of education. This does not amount to either wholehearted praise at the way that the author describes the task of teaching contemporary students or the harsh existence that the field has for those who depend on it for their entire livelihood at near-poverty wages and heavy burdens. The field of the adjunct professor exists largely as part of a two-tier system for educators in which many low-paying professors toil in obscurity and with intense job insecurity so that colleges themselves can remain profitable for their core tenure track professors and facilities. This harsh reality, that being an adjunct professor means foregoing much of any chance for permanent employment in the field, although it can be a supplement to a regular income if one has the drive and passion for one’s subject matter and the profession of teaching, is certainly one that needs to be said, but it does not make that reality any more appealing.

The book is itself the result of the author’s involvement in the education field with views that are pretty current within the field and that reflect a certain political mindset that is not going to go well with all readers and that certainly rubbed me the wrong way in some areas. The author makes some dogmatic statements on how students learn and what students want that are more in line with the dictates of Progressive views on education than a proper understanding of reality or teaching. When one strips away the author’s notable politicized education background, there remains enough here that is worthwhile for the reader to thoughtfully consider what he has to say and to pick and choose from the author’s comments and suggestions to add to their own approach. Admittedly, a great deal of what the author has to say will go over far better in certain audiences and certain parts of the United States than others, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the author himself was educated in Eastern Pennsylvania and reflects the background of education developers and curriculum advisors that, in many ways, are responsible for the sorry and intensely divisive political atmosphere in which education is conducted today. This does not make what he says without value, but it does make this book more something that must be taken cautiously rather than taken as biblical truth or anything on close to that level.

In terms of its contents, this book is about 350 pages long or so and is divided into five parts as well as other supplementary material. The book begins with an introduction. The first part of the book consists of two chapters on starting out (I) that place the reader in the position of a confused and new adjunct professor (1) who needs to learn what they didn’t talk about in the interview (2). This is followed by chapters that prepare someone to teach (II), with discussion of seven best practices (3), designing courses (4), selecting and using textbooks (5), and designing a course syllabus (6). A large part of the book is devoted to teaching college students successfully (III), with chapters on what college students want (7), how college students learn (8), first impression (9), conducting a class (10), effective lectures as a measure of effective learning (11), teaching large classes (12), the power of questions (13), the right way to have discussions (14), and collaborative and cooperative groups (15). This is followed by challenges and possibilities (IV), with chapters on problem students and their solution (16), teaching nontraditional students (17), diverse students and populations (18), the evaluation of students (19), and issues and concerns (20). This is followed by a discussion of the life of an adjunct professor (V), with chapters on the evaluation of teaching (21), the reader as a successful adjunct professor (22), and a bonus chapter on how to get a position in the field, as well as appendices on professional resources and sample syllabi. The book ends with an index and information about the author.