Faculty tips on setting boundaries and finding balance

This past August, we hosted our annual New Faculty Orientation. This day is an introduction to teaching & learning at Concordia, with presentations and group discussions on a variety of topics including building an inclusive classroom environment and using educational technology in the classroom. This year, a new addition was inviting previous attendees back to share advice with the new cohort. New faculty appreciated the insights from their peers, and we wanted to share a few snippets from the conversations.

Dr. Katie Young, an Assistant Professor in the School of Irish Studies assured new faculty that they “don't have to be perfect from day one…just remember that you're hopefully going to be teaching some of the courses you're teaching this year many times in the future”. She reframed the focus for the first few years of teaching by saying “rather than looking for perfection, I think it's a great opportunity to learn what works and what doesn't work, and to gain insights from the students as well about what they find interesting, what kind of activities they really engaged with to build for future years.” 

Similarly, Sabrina Lairy, Lecturer in the Accountancy department, acknowledged that as first time teachers, you won’t always have all the answers. She shared a phrase she uses in class when she doesn’t know an answer right away. Saying “let me think about that and get back to you” or “that's a great question, and we'll cover that at the beginning of next class” helps her stay focused on the topic at hand, especially when she has a larger class that can lead to various topic tangents that she may not have expected. This phrasing also helps her to give the students a more thoughtful response.  

On balancing the competing priorities of teaching, research, and mentorship, Dr. Gabriel Vigliensoni, an Assistant Professor in Design and Computation Arts, advised new faculty to learn the rhythm of their department. He suggested asking “colleagues about the yearly cycle of things here at Concordia in order to get a sense of what's going on during the fall term, what's going on in the winter term, and in the summer”. He shared that understanding key dates and deadlines such as grant applications helped him get a sense of the various seasons within academic work and allows him to prioritize and shift focus throughout the year. 

On finding work-life balance, Cédric Jamet, Lecturer in Applied Human Sciences and Graduate Program Director of the Human Systems Intervention Masters program, highlighted that “it's really important to maintain these sacred areas where you can be someone else than a teacher, picking a goal that was completely outside of teaching or research and focusing on that” such as tending to a hobby or community outside of work. Building on this, Sabrina recommended to intentionally schedule times in your calendar for personal commitments, not just work ones. 

In closing Dr. Young advised new faculty to “take up all of the opportunities that you can and don't be afraid to ask or reach out”. Other faculty shared similar sentiments, suggesting reaching out to the staff and faculty in your department and the other units at Concordia for support. In addition to the Centre for Teaching and Learning, you might find it also helpful to explore the services offered by Health & Wellness, along with additional resources and faculty-specific tools available on Carrefour.