Welcome, Adjunct Faculty!

We're proud that you've chosen to share your talent and expertise with students in the North Carolina Community College System. You're a vital part of our team and as such, you deserve our support as you strive for excellence in the classroom. Whether you're new to teaching or just would like a refresher, this website is for you.

The purpose of this Adjunct Faculty Toolkit is to provide an overview of essential tools for effective teaching. These tools were selected by a focus group of community college instructors who understand the needs of adjunct faculty like you. You may have been hired for your discipline-specific or technical expertise, rather than teaching experience. You may have been hired with only a few days' preparation time before the course begins. If either of these is the case, you will find that the Toolkit content—while by no means comprehensive—will enable you to jump into teaching at the college level.

In the top right-hand column of this page you will see the list of the six tools identified as vital to your teaching practice. Each corresponding page begins with a short definition of the topic, followed by helpful links containing examples, expert advice, journal articles, and supporting evidence. The tools include:

• Creating a Syllabus—explains the purpose of a syllabus; provides templates on which you may model your own course syllabus
• Conducting a Successful First Day—describes how to set the tone for the whole semester and clarify your expectations of students
• Knowing Your Students—outlines how understanding demographics, learning styles, and diversity can lead to better communication with your adult students
• How to Teach Without Relying on Lecture—illustrates how active learning equals student engagement; explains how to facilitate cooperative learning experiences and improve classroom discussions
• Classroom Management—covers many aspects of managing the learning environment such as organizing course content, conducting class, grading assignments, and dealing with conflict
• Fair Assessment Practices—addresses appropriate methods for evaluating student understanding and techniques for gathering feedback throughout the instruction process.

In addition to these tools, this site offers responses to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posed by adjunct faculty and answered by experts within the NC Community College System; a Glossary decoding educational jargon and providing links to examples and implementation tips; and a link to additional professional development resources available through the North Carolina Network for Excellence in Teaching (NC-NET).

Home | Introduction | Glossary | NC-NET
Tools: Creating a Syllabus | Successful First Day | Knowing Your Students | Teaching Without Lectures
Classroom Management | Fair Assessment Practices

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