Natalie Manages Her Tasks in Chunks When Designing for Multiple Courses

Natalie is an ad hoc instructor at a four-year institution. She also works as a graduate assistant for a public university and a consultant for a private university. These jobs are part-time while she is working on her doctoral studies. She teaches a three-credit undergraduate-level course with an enrollment of 26 participants during a six-week summer semester. Natalie considers herself a multi-tasker because she works in three different positions, carrying out similar tasks, in different capacities. For her, dealing with all these responsibilities, tasks of each position must have its own space. Workload management for her is not just for the course she teaches; it is also for her personal life. Natalie uses design, teaching, and time allocation strategies to manage her workload.

 

Design	Designs her course for each position in its own online space, time, and physical location. Designs the entire course in the LMS in advance because it includes incorporating voiceover, video, authored video resources, and scripts. This requires sophisticated technology, intensive blocks of time, and focused attention. Completes tasks in small chunks.
Teaching	Uses a scavenger hunt activity to orient learners to the online environment, group discussions to engage learners in conversations about the topic, and team projects in which learners share their work. Uses essays as an assessment tool and provides individual feedback on learner writing. During the semester, she provides quick responses to learners based on her expectations.
Time-Allocation	Accomplishes her work from task to task. Schedules specific time for her online course work. Completes her most important tasks, like grading, when she is most alert such as late mornings or early evenings. Provides feedback in the beginning of the week (on Monday evenings) for about three hours. Creates a schedule for her learners for when to post responses to the discussion. Spends an average of 10 hours a week on the online course. Checks her online course at least once in the morning and twice in the evening. Has virtual office hours for learners to meet with her for questions or concerns about the online course.

             

For online instructors, who work in different positions doing similar tasks, like Natalie does, managing the workload can be complicated. Because instructors in this situation must distinguish between the various tasks, they need to allocate specific online space, time, and physical location to adequately accomplish these tasks. In an era when the Internet is ever-present from job to job and during our personal life schedule, setting boundaries and holding to them, is the solution.

 

Reference

Conceição, S. C. O, Lehman, R. M. (2011). Managing Online Instructor Workload: Strategies for Finding Balance and Success. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.