Do you have a contract? Has your
supervisor seen it and discussed it with you? If not, have you suggested this
to your supervisor/s?
Do you get paid appropriately according
to the roles and responsibilities you have been asked to assume? Does your
workload align with the payment you receive?
Do you have a statement of duties,
roles and/or responsibilities that outline what is expected of you? If not,
have you approached you supervisor to discuss this?
Are you required to be available
for student consultation time outside scheduled class hours? Are you paid
for this consultation time?
Are you required to attend any lectures?
Are you paid for this time? If not, have you approached your supervisor to
discuss this?
Do you have adequate access to office
space, necessary supplies, phone, fax and computer facilities, email, library
rights and support services? If not, ask your supervisor or relevant personnel
officer about arranging this.
Are you aware of all the University,
School or Union policies and practices that affect you (including intellectual
property, harassment, workplace health and safety procedures, ethical guidelines)?
If there is a School handbook for sessional staff (or teaching staff in general),
do you have a copy?
Training and professional development issues
Have you read relevant policies
or guidelines on casual employment as a sessional teacher at university; for
example the NTEU handbook entitled “Smart
Casuals”?
Are you aware of University policies
on bullying and harassment? Do you know about how to access support services
if these issues or other personal problems are affecting your work?
Have you participated in any formal
induction process (including being shown how to access resources, complete
administrative tasks, use teaching technology, facilities, etc.)? Are you
paid to attend these sessions?
Are you provided with any resources
or guidelines to assist you in your teaching practices? Are there any available
in your School/Department or from a university unit such as a staff development
unit?
Do you know what level of training
and support you are entitled to? Have you accessed it? If you are not officially
entitled to any, who could you approach in your School to arrange some internal
or external training and professional development?
If you believe you have a particular
training need, have you approached your supervisor or someone else to discuss
the possibility of receiving training or mentoring?
Are you paid for professional development
activities that you are obliged to undertake?
What processes are there for you
to provide feedback to your School or supervisor about the level and type
of induction, training and support? Have you approached anybody with your
feedback on this yet?
Does your School or supervisor make
opportunities for you to liaise and share ideas with other sessional teachers?
If not, what could you do to create these opportunities?
Are you trained in how to mark students’
papers and/or carry out assessment procedures? If not, have you suggested
some form of training to your supervisor to ensure consistency of assessment
across the entire course/subject?
What processes are there for you
to provide feedback to your supervisor about the level and type of support
and supervision s/he provides?
Is there a handbook outlining workplace
health and safety policies and procedures? Have you read it? What is your
role in implementing these with your students and/or in your teaching (e.g.
in laboratory sessions)?
Evaluation and recognition
How do you receive feedback about
your own performance? Do peers or mentors intermittently review your performance?
If not, could you approach a peer or supervisor to ask about the possibility
of receiving feedback on your work?
If you are a beginning teacher,
do you receive coaching or mentoring from a more experienced teacher? If not,
could you approach your supervisor about the possibility of being mentored?
Is there a requirement to undertake
student evaluations of your teaching? Do you know how to organise this?
If student evaluations are not compulsory
but you would like feedback from students, are you able to do this voluntarily
and do you know how to go about organising this?
Can you provide feedback to the
course coordinator or Head of School about the level and type of supervision
and evaluation you have received? If there are no formal means for doing this,
can you identify ways to do this informally?
Integration and Communication
Can you get in touch with your supervisor
and fellow teachers when you need to (via email, email lists etc)?
Do you meet regularly as a teaching
team with other sessional and full-time staff who teach the same or similar
courses? If so, are you paid to attend these sessions?
If your students have concerns external
to their course or program of study, do you know where to direct them? Do
you know about your university’s student support services, including:
academic skills programs
career advice
counselling
disability services
indigenous student support
international student support
student equity
IT training
library skills
accommodation
finance
enrolment
student union
If your students approach you with a need, problem
or concern outside the scope of your role as a sessional teacher, direct them
to the appropriate student support network or section. Don’t feel you must
solve all their problems for them!!
How do you receive University-wide
information and messages that may be of interest to you or are relevant to
you as a staff member? For example, do you have an allocated pigeonhole for
receiving mail and newsletters, access to a computer with email, etc?
Is there a contact person for sessional
teachers who is responsible for communicating with casual staff and disseminating
relevant information? Who is it and have you had any contact with them?
Do you know how the course/subject
you teach fits into the academic program as a whole and what role it plays?
If not, is there some way you could find out? This information can be helpful
in your teaching to make links with students’ existing and emerging knowledge.
In what ways can you make a contribution
to the curricula or to the development of teaching and learning practices
within your School or course? For example, do you know about your School’s
Teaching and Learning Committee or Program Advisory and Review Committee?
If no formal means currently exist, could you suggest this to your Head of
School or supervisor?
