We all know that person — that superhuman Ph.D. candidate teaching for the first time. She spends hours crafting her lectures. She took a whole weekend to come up with the perfect learning activity. She gives meticulous comments on student assignments. “Teaching is my passion,” she tells you over coffee, “I certainly can’t spend less time on it.”
Except that she should.
For graduate students and A.B.D.s with teaching loads, managing your obligations as instructors can be the difference between finishing a dissertation or not, and feeling burnt out and exploited. I should know: I taught 17 courses while I worked on my Ph.D. Here is some hard-won knowledge for graduate students and A.B.D.’s who are struggle to balance their teaching and research.
I have a new piece up on Vitae about how to manage your workload while finishing a PhD.
If you’re coming to my site by way of Vitae, you can learn more about my research here.
MELANIE NEWPORT 