Is anyone going to the APSA Teaching and Learning conference in Philly this next year? Was the 2009 meeting worth attending/participating in?
APSA Teaching and Learning 2010
(13 posts) (7 voices)-
Posted 3 years ago #
-
no and no
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yes and yes. Particularly if you're looking to work in a good/solid LAC, emphasizing your interest in teaching is good. It's a small conference, so you also build good network connections. My first time there got me a forthcoming publication in PS.
If you are at an R1 and don't care much about teaching, then the APSA-TLC is clearly not for you. If you'd like to pick up some tips to better reach your students, it is. Also, many deans/chairs look favorably on people attending such conferences. FWIW.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^I'm definitely not at an R1. What section were you in? Are you going this year too? I can never get my paper proposals for the teaching panels accepted by NPSA, but for some reason APSA-TLC accepted me. Do you think that it's very competitive?
Posted 3 years ago # -
I would echo bianchi77's comments. Both myself and one of my departmental colleague attended. Very good for making connections and some very useful information and scholarship being done that is of value for LAC.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I think APSA-TLC is competitive and serious. And, yes, I'm attending again. Remember, while this is a specialized conference (i.e. small attendance) it is the official teaching conference for the APSA. So APSA heavyweights will be there snooping around. Papers from this conference have a better chance of getting vetted for later publication in a PS "The Teacher" section. This is an APSA journal, so it will get lots of attention and may help w/ tenure (in most cases is WILL help). It sends a signal to colleagues (both at your department and potential future placements) that you are serious about teaching. A must for LAC positions. Also, publishers may be there who you'd like to pitch your intro level textbook idea to. Finally, you can have the letter that states you're attending sent to another person. I'd tell your chair, then have it sent to the dean. That puts you on his/her radar.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Why is the conference fee so steep? $225, I think.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Smaller conferences always cost more. But it's worth the $225.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Once you choose a track, is it kosher to pop into a single session from another track? With two sessions (I and II) for some of the tracks it's difficult to pick one when there are papers in both that I want to hear about. Any advice from previous attendees?
Posted 3 years ago # -
I think it might be. You're *supposed* to stay in your track, and their are probably benefits to doing so. But I will also likely hop to one or another track to see some friends present. I don't think you'll be sanctioned.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yes and yes. Particularly if you're looking to work in a good/solid LAC, emphasizing your interest in teaching is good. It's a small conference, so you also build good network connections. My first time there got me a forthcoming publication in PS.
Can a university be stupid enough to actually take conference attendance as a relevant signal for a serious interest in teaching?
Even TLC conferences mean you are spending more time travelling, eating biscuits and having awful coffee with friends and colleagues rather than writing a killer syllabus and preparing notes for your next lecture or seminar.
"Oh, this guy went to TLC 2006, he must be good and really into it I guess" is myopic inference if both parts of your brains work. Please share your wisdom on that. The advice given until now seems counter-counter-intuitive enough to be wrong.
If TLC is instrumental in getting something published, fair enough.
Posted 3 years ago # -
^So you complain about the value of going to a teaching conference and then suggest that it is only worthwhile if it leads to getting something published? Obviously, you're not planning on working at a LAC.
I would say that it shows both engagement with the discipline and an interest in becoming a better teacher. I'm sure it won't get you a job, but it can't hurt, and it might give you something interesting to talk about when they ask about your teaching experience, interests, style, etc.
Plus, since most people probably have an attitude similar to yours, I'd say that going to the conference does say something about a person.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yes, going to a conference probably won't get you a job. That goes for any conference. I can imagine a hiring committee also looking at someone who attends MPSA, APSA, Southern, and ISA year after year and worrying about them taking too many trips to eat buiscuits & drink bad coffee w/ colleagues. But that's not why we go to conferences, right? We go to find out what's new, to share and learn ideas about research interests, and -- this is what helps w/ future jobs -- networking.
The APSA-TLC conference is the only conference for teaching. This means that it has a small, but dedicated group of organizers who are heavily supported by APSA as an organization. That means clout. Then the attendees are dedicated to teaching, and so you spend 2+ days listening to people share experiences about teaching (at various kinds of institutions). This gives attendees a chance to improve their teaching portfolios. Benefits? How about better teaching evaluations -- which may translate to looking better to a search committee. Or perhaps how to be more efficient w/ teaching prep -- which means more time to do research, which means more publishing, which makes you more competitive for future jobs.
And, of course, several publishers will be there. And they may actually want to talk to attendees. Heck, they may openly ask if anyone is interested in textbook writing for them. That may help, no? Finally, the attendees may eventually sit on search committees and will remember you fondly. A broad social network is a powerful asset in academia (and in other walks of life).
Fundamentally, I agree with Aristotle. Since so many people have a negative view of teaching (they'd rather have a root canal) -- or at least that's the vibe they give off -- attending APSA-TLC may be a powerful indication to LAC hiring committees that you do indeed value teaching and that you think about how to improve your teaching. Although I'm not sure regularly attending a traditional "research" conference has the same impact, since you're *supposed* to attend them (though not attending conferences for years at a time will raise red flags).
Posted 3 years ago #