Research shows that engaged and continuously developing teachers are more effective in the classroom. However, with a significant proportion of adult English as a second language (ESL) instructional staff consisting of adjunct faculty, it is crucial to address issues such as high turnover rates, feelings of isolation and marginalization, limited…

As increasing numbers of higher education students take online courses, there is a corresponding need for additional instructors to teach these students. The research literature indicates that there are different instructor roles, competencies, and attitudes that are required for teaching effectively online than for teaching in campus-based…

Adjunct faculty make up a large contingent of faculty teaching in today's colleges and universities. In fact, the use of adjunct faculty allows these institutions to fulfill their educational missions. Much is written in the popular press and in periodicals dedicated to higher education about adjunct faculty. While some of this is accurate, a…

Within the overall framework of design-based research, this paper reports on a study that focused on evaluating an online training course for online instructors. This intervention was designed as a possible solution to the problem facing some higher education institutions of how to provide quality, accessible training for mostly part-time…

This article reports on an inter-institutional project to design, develop, pilot, and evaluate a state-wide online training course for higher education adjunct faculty who are preparing to teach their first online course. We begin with a brief literature review to contextualize the stated problem the project sought to address: the need for…

This article discusses academic freedom that is currently under threat at many public two-year schools, which serve almost one-half of the nation's first-year college students. The growing reliance on part-time faculty exacerbates the problem, with many adjuncts feeling muzzled for fear of losing their jobs. The problem of academic freedom at…

The growing use of part-time, non-tenure track faculty in higher education has become a nationwide phenomenon. The college-teaching part-time instructor is one who is working for low pay, has little job security, and has few benefits. College part-time instructors' employment is in a contingent state. They do not have the job protection provided…

This chapter describes the context, development, and fall 2004 implementation of the Year of Critical Thinking at Prince George's Community College, an effort to engage all full-time and adjunct faculty in teaching critical thinking in their classes.